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| The American Red Squirrel is the most characteristic of the Algonquin Highlands area. It is rust-red to grayish in colour, brighter on the sides, and white below. The tail is a similar colour, but outlined with a broad black band, edged in white. The coat is duller in the summer, and in the winter the ears have prominent tufts. They are 25 to 38 cm in length, and weigh between 140 and 225 grams. The Red Squirrel prefers forests that have a high population of coniferous trees, which provide a major part of their winter diet. They are busy in late summer and fall collecting cones and transporting them to hollow logs, under fallen trees, and under layers of moss or underground. These storage caches are called middens. As well as pine and spruce seeds, they consume and store a wide variety of foods including acorns, beechnuts, berries, many varieties of seeds, birds’ eggs, mushrooms and fungi. They also harvest maple sugar from the bark of Sugar Maple limbs. Their territory ranges between one and three hectares, including the tree cover above. The Red Squirrel knows every centimetre of this territory, relying on this knowledge for survival when chased by a predator. While out of reach from harm, they produce a chatter of various notes and chucks of abuse to pursers. The Red Squirrel’s nest is often made from shredded bark in a hollow or fallen tree, a hole in the ground, a hummock, or a tree crotch. The female is in heat for only one day in late winter, when she will allow males on her territory. She will produce a litter of 3 to 6 young born between March and April, and sometimes a second litter between August and September. The Eastern Grey Squirrel is often seen in the Algonquin Highlands. They differ in fur colouration, a grey or black and may change with the seasons. Their fur is thicker and longer in winter. The grey fur is a grizzled salt-and-pepper combination produced by lead-grey underfur, overlain by banded grey and black guard hairs tipped with white. Black individuals are generally a glossy uniform black all over, but the species may show all shades of gradation between black and grey. |
(Family Sciuridae)
American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
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