Meet Ontario's Red Squirrels
From stashing cones to sounding alarms, these fiery little mammals are busy preparing for the long Canadian winter.
As the colours fade and leaves fall across Halton Hills, a rusty-furred, bushy-tailed creature darts through the now-bare canopy, searching for food to stash away for the cold Canadian winter ahead. Meet the American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), one of Ontario’s most spirited residents and a common inhabitant of forests across much of North America.
As the snows and arctic blasts of winter loom, the red squirrels are seeking out a wide variety of foods, including:
Seeds and nuts, from pine and spruce trees
Mushrooms
Berries
While primarily herbivores, they are true omnivores; in the spring and summer, they will occasionally raid nests for eggs, but in late autumn, the focus is on calorie-dense seeds.
Unlike some other animals, red squirrels do not hibernate. Instead, they remain active year-round, relying on the food stores they’ve built up to sustain themselves through the harshest months.
Naturally, red squirrels forget some of their food caches, becoming inadvertent seed dispersers that help foster the growth of new trees and maintain a healthy forest ecosystem.
Always on alert, red squirrels fiercely protect their territory and food stores. Often, you’ll hear their sharp, birdlike chirp echo through the woods before you ever catch sight of them. A crisp warning meant to drive off any creature daring to cross into their territory.
As you head out this winter, take a moment to look, listen, and appreciate our rusty-coloured, tree-dwelling neighbours.
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