NYC – Squirrel Appreciation Day

Today is Squirrel Appreciation Day

 

How well do you know NYC’s furry friend?

• squirrels play a major role in helping to nourish our trees.
• Squirrels are mostly active during the daytime. They eat nuts, seeds, and berries, but please don’t feed them. They can bite! Squirrels are perfectly capable of feeding themselves.
• Squirrels also have an incredible sense of smell. They bury many nuts and seeds throughout the year, and are later able to retrieve the nuts from exactly where they buried them,
• We call a squirrel’s nest a “drey”. Their nests are made of leaves, and are easiest to spot this time of year when the leaves are off the trees. Squirrels live in small family groups. . Mothers give birth about one or two times a year in winter and early summer, and can have a litter of one to five babies.
• Eastern grey squirrel adults are about nine to 12 inches long, and weigh about 20 ounces (less than two pounds). Squirrels live to about three to five years old in the city, but can live up to 8 to 10 years old in rural areas.
• If you see an injured squirrel, the best thing to do is leave the squirrel where it is, give it some distance, and call 311. The more information you can provide 311, the better. Please remember that young animals often look as if they have been abandoned, when in fact their parents are nearby.

I guess you can tell that I must be either bored or anticipating the snow storm, or both.

Have fun and stay safe.