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Did you know that the squirrel helps to plant forests in Denmark? Squirrels save a lot of acorns and shoulders for the winter, but do not find it all again. The forgotten nuts and seeds are thus sown and germinate in the spring. 

Squirrel

Family: The squirrel group- gnawing the family  

Weight: 250 and 500 grams

Lifestyle: Solitary and Territorial 

Diet: Predominantly herbivorous but occasionally bird eggs and chicks

Squirrels are mainly found in coniferous and mixed forests, but squirrels are widespread in almost the entire country and also occur in deciduous forests, parks and gardens.

Males and females live on their own and both sexes defend their territory. Squirrels build almost spherical nests, which are placed high up in the trees. Around the squirrel's area, it has several nests that are used as hiding and resting place. The nest in which the young are born is more powerful than the other nests. 

Often the squirrel hides small stores of food on the forest floor and in cavities that it finds around. Squirrels mainly eat cone seeds, nuts, alder and insects, less often bird eggs and baby birds.

Easy to recognize, or..?

The squirrel is easy to recognize by its large bushy tail and red color - however, not all squirrels have red fur. The classic red squirrel occurs in two varieties; the red and the black.

Red and black squirrels belong to the same species and have young internally. The color difference occurs in the same way as different hair colors in humans. However, the black squirrel is far rarer and in many areas completely extinct. This is because the red fur gene is much stronger than the black one, so if a red and a black squirrel have young, the young will turn red. This means that the black squirrel has almost disappeared. A small population is found in Rold Skov.