Red squirrels seeing red

by KEVIN STRAUSS

Red squirrels are never shy creatures, but in August, they are even more aggressive as they defend their territories (and food caches) from dispersing “teenage” squirrels. In a behavior that might be the envy of some human parents of teenagers, mother squirrels chase their 4-7 young away this month. The young squirrels are looking for their own territory and food sources. But some squirrels quickly learn that many good places are already taken and other sites are home to squirrel predators like the weasel-like fisher, owls, foxes or bobcats. It is common for dispersing teenagers to fall prey to these predators. But that is part of the reason that rodents like squirrels have so many young. A squirrel population can suffer 80 percent predation and still grow a bit.

While we might blame the mother squirrels as bad parents, they seem to know how to survive and how to care best for their August litters. When living with their mothers, teenage squirrels frequently fight over food and will even occasionally cuff their mother, so it is no surprise that a mother squirrel will chase them off before giving birth again. That way, the mother and her new August litter don’t need to compete with the half-grown spring litter. By chasing off competing teenagers, the mother squirrel can also reduce competition as she builds up her food cache for the winter.

Gathering food

August is also the month where red squirrels begin harvesting white spruce cones. One August day I was walking through a mixed woods and saw what looked like a steady drip of spruce cones and branch tips dropping from the trees. Looking up I saw a red squirrel furiously chewing off the tips of the tree. The squirrels then climb down the tree and gather up the cones to deposit in their “food cache” in a hollow tree or underground chamber. It seems more efficient for a red squirrel to chew off the tips of the trees rather than chewing off individual cones.

In addition to caching spruce cones, this is also the month in which red squirrels begin gathering mushrooms for the winter. Squirrels seem to be able to eat mushrooms that would make us sick. They also seem to practice food preservation by wedging mushrooms in branches to dry. Once the mushroom is dry, the squirrel puts it in her food cache. So don’t be surprised if you see mushrooms appearing to grow on healthy tree branches.

Red squirrels have a home range of about three squirrels per acre (about the size of a football field). Squirrels nest in hollow tree nests or in leafy nests in the branches of trees.

So if you notice red squirrels being more even more aggressive, it is not your imagination. They really are “seeing red” as they defend their territory this month.