Squirrel Babies!
- Decan Frost
- Jul 7
- 2 min read
A small fact we've talked about before.
What is the role of a squirrel father?
The male squirrels don't take part
of the actual birth of their babies,
even if he wanted to,
he's not even allowed in the drey
while mom is giving birth.
His job is very simple, protection and food.
While mom is in heavy labor and giving birth,
you will hear all the neighboring squirrels
chirp, stomp and make a lot of fuss
in the tree tops for upto 5 km/3 miles away.
They will all work together to mask,
hide and distract any and all predators
from picking up the scent of birth
taking place inside the drey.
The father will be extra vigilant
and highly vicious to anyone or anything
that even dares to approach his queen
and his upcoming babies.
Size and species doesn't matter,
he will attack a human, cat, dog,
badgers, snakes, owls, hawks and eagles,
with great precision and mainly
aiming for their eyes and soft flesh.
He will risk and sacrifice his own life,
to protect his queen in labor.
She can have between 2 and 6 pups.
Once it's done and over with,
the forest will once again turn quiet.
The father might visit his new babies but,
not all mother squirrels will allow this.
The father will provide food for the mother,
by storing it a few feet from the drey.
Once their eyes have opened
and they become more lively,
the father will help keep the babies
inside the drey, as the mother
still need food and toilet breaks.
The babies are drey bound,
till they are about 4 to 6 weeks old.
Once it's time to come out,
the father is once again ready
to sacrifice his life, to protect his curious
and excited babies in their discovery
of the big, wild and very dangerous world.
When they around 10 to 12 weeks old,
they will be on their own.
They may form small dual groups
of 2 boys, 2 girls ect.
They will work together,
till they are around 1 year old,
where they will become solitarians
until they find a mate and the circle is compl
Disclaimer:
1.: Not my photo
2.: This does not apply to other species of squirrels.
Hi Decan, I found this very interesting. Strange how animals have different ways of doing things. What I found captivating, is when the female is in deep labour, and all the other squirrels around make so much noise. Amazing how they work together in case predators are attracted by the scent of birth. I'm worried about Mable and Pico now, when they eventually have babies, fingers crossed everything goes well 🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️🐿️