After stealing a quick glimpse of an adult squirrel carrying its young across the road, I realised how little I knew about the everyday life of squirrels.
I have always enjoyed seeing squirrels as they frantically climb trees; or dart across the road ahead of you; or my favourite sightings, when they are basking in the morning sunlight, all huddled on top of each other as the sun rays hit their tawny coats creating a golden hue.
The early morning sun keeps these squirrels warm as they stretch themselves out on a Jackalberry tree.
The particular squirrel species we find at Londolozi is the Smith’s Bush Squirrel or Tree Squirrel – Paraxerus cepapi. These squirrels are rather small (about 35cm) and only weigh around 200 grams. Although their name suggests that they only are found in trees, it is equally common to find them foraging on the ground eating seeds and nuts, especially at this time of year with long grass and fruiting Marula trees.
Tree squirrels are known to stash their food in a process known as ‘scatter-hoarding’ whereby they privately dig holes to place their seeds and nuts in then carefully pat down the soil on top with their noses in an attempt to prevent other squirrels from raiding their food stash. To avoid their entire cache of food stores being taken, they scatter their stash around their home range as squirrels are known to steal from one another. Although this hoarding behaviour occurs throughout the year there is a peak towards the end of the summer months anticipating the drier, food-scarce winter.
As well as scatter-hoarding, squirrels can also be scatter-brained, as they forget where a large percentage of their stashes are buried!
Once the outer fleshy part of a marula fruit have been removed they are able to find the two ‘plugs’ that house the decadent seed which is said to taste like walnuts. With its sharp teeth and expert skills, the squirrel feeds away at the nut, which is inaccessible to most animals (including me and my Leatherman)
The name Tree Squirrel does however reflect where they flee to when danger approaches. When big predators pass by the squirrels generally alarm frantically from the outer branches and for danger like eagles they will usually duck into a cavity.
A tree territory is defended by a dominant male who will advertise his territory through his call. When a female comes on heat she will alert the nearby males who will then come to her. The territorial male then has to fend off these peripheral males and they are often seen chasing one another from tree to tree.
A squirrel alarming from the safety of a high branch.
Once the squirrels have mated, after an almost two month gestation the female gives birth to 1-3 kittens – yes, baby squirrels are called kittens. These kittens are born in a tree cavity which is known as a drey, which is lined with fine grass and lichen to incubate the blind, hairless and helpless young. Both squirrel parents care for their kittens and they persist in family groups until the young have moved off to form their own bonds or find their own territories.
They are meticulous groomers and groom each other often, both morning and evening, whilst basking in the sun. This is how the ‘common scent’ is thus shared with all family members and any squirrel that does not share this ‘family scent’ is then recognised as an intruder. It is important for a small species as this to groom as parasites such as ticks would cause a great deal of harm and energy loss relative to their small bodies.
After about 10 months squirrels are then sexually mature and this is when they leave their natal group to start their own squirrel family. A squirrel’s life is roughly eight years which to me is pretty amazing for a small creature such as this.
All it takes is a little bit more information to gain a proper appreciation of a seemingly inconspicuous creature like a squirrel…
I love the squirrels of Londolozi! They are wonderful to see and hear when alarm calling about danger approaching. The volume of noise they make in comparison to their size is remarkable! Victoria
Thank you for sharing this with us. What a sweet story of such cute little creatures. Nice photos as well. My nieces and I enjoyed this story very much. My niece just so happens to be eight years old said that was sad that is as long as they live is her age. Very interesting little tid bit. Thank you and much respect and appreciation from NC.
Kirst, I loved all squirrel🤗
Nice blog! I can’t help comparing them to “our” red squirrels there are many things in common
If the dominant male squirrel is successful mating with several females, how does he then divide his time to help care for several sets of kittens once born? I enjoyed the article and thank you for the opportunity to ask a question.
Hi Michele,
I’m answering for Kirst here (who has more squirrel knowledge than me) but I think there is usually only a single breeding pair. If there do happen to be more than one female who breeds, it’s likely she will look after the young while the male defends the territory.
Best regards
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond!
informative indeed.most appreciated
Good story Kirst on the squirrels and very interesting. I am sure not many people know to much about them. They are very cute and very agile, always on the go with endless energie. I ‘ve learn’t something new today and that is, that the little ones are called kittens, and also that the scent is on all of them through grooming each other.
Thank you for highlighting this small, seemingly unimportant rodent, the tree squirrel. I’ve noticed there, as well as here in Northern California, when threatened or not happy, they they will chatter at incredible decibels. Between the squirrels and monkeys, often the predators are outed before they have a good hunting opportunity. Sampson, my resident Eastern Grey Squirrel, kept me entertained during the worst months of SIP, a little rust/gray package of fur with an uncharacteristically thin tail, rushing to the back door in the hopes of scoring a few peanuts each morning. His family is habituated to this area, living in the towering redwoods or palm trees, traversing the neighborhood in search of nuts, seeds, fruits, etc. At one time this was an area of tree farming and vegetable fields but growing population demands pushed developers to build houses- and so the result is tree squirrels living with us, mostly peacefully.
Thanks Kirst, for this interesting information about squirrels. They are really cute animals.
What is the status of the Sparta female and her sub adult daughter?
Hi Stephen,
We don’t know as we don’t see her on Londolozi anymore…
I love this post Kirst! Here in Northern California, we predominantly have the western grey squirrel (sciurus greseus) and the eastern fox squirrel (scirus niger), and their behaviors are endlessly fascinating. I live in an area blessed with lots of trees, and these little characters are abundant and adorable. Some find them pesky, but I am grateful for their natural presence in an otherwise urban environment. Thanks again!
What an informative article, must admit to a tendency to take them for granted, especially as they are so globally spread – and the more interesting bigger species.
But just think how many forests they’ve inadvertently planted – and that’s a good thing
Great blog today, one never really knows much about squirrels. With that being said, we haven’t heard much about the Tsalala female and her cub, do you have any news about them? Thanks
Kirst, Thanks for the interesting story on the squirrels! The amount to learn about all the diverse wildlife within your sight as a Londolozi Ranger never ceases to amaze us and thanks for the great images too!
On my visits to Londolozi I always noticed how guides and trackers paid attention to squirrels when they were alarm calling. Sometimes it seems they were just being silly, but sometimes we found leopards! Ask Sersant, a great tracker, to demonstrate his perfect mimic of a squirrel alarm call!
Great read Kirst, love these comical, busy little creatures ❤️. Super to learn a little more about their habits. The last one I saw in the KNP was splayed out on our veranda trying to cool himself down and wasn’t moving for anyone…we had to step over him/her each time we went inside. 😂