These pretty little animals are widely distributed over the earth;
though to this remark Australia seems to form an exception, since no
species has yet been discovered there. However, there is much of that
great island continent yet to be explored; and perhaps it may turn out
that Australia has its squirrels, as well as other parts of the world--
no doubt squirrels with pouches.
In number of species--and also of individuals, it may be added--America
excels all other countries, and the great forests of North America may
be regarded as the head-quarters of the squirrel tribe; but, if we give
precedence to size, the squirrels of the East Indian countries are
entitled to the first place.
Animals known as Squirrels are of three very distinct kinds--viz.,
Squirrels, properly so called; Ground Squirrels: and Flying Squirrels.
These three kinds are very naturally separated into three different
genera; but the closet naturalists, not content with this simple
division, have again subdivided them into other sub-genera, using very
difficult names to distinguish them. In our little sketch we shall
simply call them by the three names above-mentioned.
The _Squirrels_, properly so called, are not only tree-climbers, but, as
every one knows, dwell habitually upon trees, and there make their nests
and their home. And perfectly at home they are among the highest
branches; for under no circumstances do they ever miss their footing, or
are they in the slightest danger of falling. In fact, they can not only
run with the greatest agility along the branches, but equally well with
their backs downward; and can spring from branch to branch, and also
from tree to tree, over wide intervals of many yards. They can also
leap down from the tops of the tallest trees to the earth--a feat often
witnessed by squirrel-hunters--and do so without the appearance of
having received the slightest injury; for, without pausing a moment on
the ground, they continue their flight towards some other tree, where
they expect to find better shelter from the short gun or rifle of their
human enemy.
The squirrel builds a nest in the tree, similar to that of some birds;
but they have also in the same tree a more secure retreat in case of
being pursued. This is a hole in the trunk or one of the larger limbs--
some natural excavation caused by the decaying of a branch--in short,
what is termed a "knot hole," which is common in many kinds of timber.
In this hole the squirrel usually lays up its store of winter food,
consisting of nuts, beech-mast, etcetera; and here it takes refuge when
hunted, finding the tree-cave a safe asylum. Unless decoyed out again,
or, which often happens, _frightened_ out again, by rubbing the trunk
with a piece of stick, the squirrel must escape scot-free nine times out
of ten, since no hunter would think of felling a huge tree to procure so
insignificant a reward as the carcass of a squirrel; and without felling
the tree, and splitting it up, too, the creature could not be reached.
Various devices, however, are practised to decoy it forth; and these,
unfortunately for the little refugee, too often succeed.
The squirrels are the life of the American woods--indeed, a journey
through these great forests would often be very monotonous were it not
enlivened by the presence and gambols of these beautiful creatures; and
in the depth of winter, when the squirrels keep within their dark
tree-caves, the solitude of the forest seems redoubled. But even during
frost and snow, when the weather is fine and the sun shining brightly, a
few will be seen venturing forth, as if to take an airing.
A great many species exist in the forests of North America; sometimes
only one, and sometimes several, occupy the same district. They are of
different colours and sizes--some as small as the common squirrel of
England, while several species are three or four times as large. Some
are grey, others brown grey, several species of a fox red, and those
esteemed the most beautiful are of a uniform jet black. Several new
species have lately been found in the forests of Oregon and California.
Their habits are all nearly alike; but to one species of Grey Squirrel
belongs a habit as distinct as it is singular. This is their habit of
collecting together in immense flocks of many thousands, and migrating
over vast tracts of country, crossing broad rapid rivers, and staying at
no obstacle. The object of this migration is not known, only that it
appears to be the result of some impulse--such as excites to a similar
movement the springboks of South Africa, the buffaloes of North America,
and the passenger pigeons.
In Europe the squirrel is represented by the Common Squirrel of our own
woods, and which is found throughout the whole of Northern Europe and
Asia, wherever there are trees. Although of a reddish colour in
England, as well as in France, it assumes different hues, according to
the different countries it inhabits; and in the more northern latitudes
it is quite grey. Another European species, distinct from the English
squirrel, is a denizen of the Pyrenees and the Alps of Dauphine.
The Palm Squirrel is a beautiful species belonging to the tropical parts
of Africa and India, and dwelling principally upon the palm trees--as
its name imports.
Another, known as the Barbary Squirrel, belongs to North Africa, and is
also a dweller upon palm trees.
The largest, and perhaps the most richly-coated of the tribe, is the
Malabar Squirrel of India, which is as large as a domestic cat. It also
haunts among palm trees, and is fond of the milk of the cocoa-nut,
either in a liquid or solid state.
There are squirrels also in Eastern Africa. India has several species,
and the great islands of Madagascar, Ceylon, Java, Borneo, Sumatra,
etcetera, have each one or more species of large and beautiful
squirrels.
The _Ground Squirrels_ differ from the true squirrels in several
respects, though the chief difference lies in the fact that the former
make their nest or lair upon the ground, while the latter universally
lodge themselves aloft among the branches. The Ground Squirrels can
climb, and appear to ascend trees almost as nimbly as their congeners;
but they rarely do so unless when pursued, and then but seldom go beyond
the lower forks or branches. Their nest is usually in some hole or
cavity among the roots, though several species have been lately
discovered in rocky regions, dwelling in the crevices of rocks. They
approach in habits to the marmot tribe, and seem to link the tree
squirrels with these last. Usually, these ground squirrels are striped
longitudinally with black, red, and white stripes, giving them a fine
appearance; and the species are of different dimensions, from that of
the ordinary squirrel to the size of a mouse. In America, for a long
time, but one kind was supposed to exist; but latterly a great number of
species have been observed and described: denizens of the far West--of
the prairies, and remote valleys of the Rocky Mountains.
The African species of ground squirrel, already mentioned as the Palm
Squirrel, has its dwelling among the palm trees, on the fruit and roots
of which--especially that of the date-palm--it subsists. It is also an
inhabitant of India, where there is at least one other species of palm
ground squirrel.
In Europe, and throughout the whole of Northern Asia, the ground
squirrels are represented by the _burunduk_--a very interesting little
species, quite similar in habits to those of North America.
The _Flying Squirrels_ are the last of the group. These are the most
singular of all, and resemble great bats more than squirrels. They
possess the power, not exactly of flight, but of making very long leaps
from a higher to a lower level, so long that they might almost be
regarded as flights. They can pass from one tree to another standing
more than a hundred yards apart, and this without descending more than a
few feet below the level from which they started. This feat they are
enabled to perform by means of a broad membrane that extends from the
skin of their fore-legs to that of their thighs, and which, when
stretched out, endows them with the properties of a parachute. Their
bodies, too, have a flattened shape like the bats; and this also helps
to sustain them in the air.
They are true squirrels, however, living upon trees, as the common
squirrels do, and looking very like the latter, notwithstanding their
winged legs. In one point, however, they differ essentially from the
common squirrels; and that is, they are _nocturnal_ in their habits. In
the daytime they are never seen, except by accident; but in the
twilight, and during a clear night, they may be observed making their
long leaps from tree to tree, through the glades or along the edges of
the forest. There are several species inhabiting the forests of
America, and of late California has yielded several new ones. In the
tropical forests of America there are several large species, and the Old
World has its flying squirrel in the Polatouka, which inhabits the pine
forests of Northern Europe and Asia.
The largest species of these singular quadrupeds appears to belong to
the Oriental Islands--to Java, Sumatra, the Philippines, and Moluccas,
or Spice Islands, as also to Japan. The great Teguan, or flying
squirrel of the Moluccas, is in reality as large as a cat!
The singular Ay-ay of Madagascar is sometimes classed among the
squirrels and sometimes among the lemurs. It certainly bears a great
resemblance to the squirrel family; but the habits of all animals
belonging to Madagascar are so little known that it is difficult to
assign them to that exact genus in which Nature intended they should be
placed.