Red Squirrel Living in my woodpile

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Elliot, Post 1.

My observations are on a red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) that has taken up residence in my woodpile.  The squirrel arrived here 3 years ago and appears to be staying.  The squirrel was busy in the fall gathering walnuts, maple leaf seeds, green pine cones, fall sunflower seeds, and nuts to store in the woodpile next to my home.  He was also active in the  fall chewing on wood for its pulp and stripping cardboard boxes to insulate his home for the winter.  The squirrel is now very active and can be heard during the day and seen munching pine cone seeds.  He appears to like eating sitting on top of certain posts as is evidenced by the pine seed shells underneath these poles.  I have observed him travelling certain corridors that occur mainly on trees but also on roofs like my own home and garage.  I have heard him make different calls and am wondering if each call has a certain significance.

Questions

Why has the squirrel left the forest to come live in an urban community?

Why has the squirrel chosen this particular woodpile?

What else does this squirrel eat?

What are its predators?

Are squirrels becoming a pest in urban environments?

What is the squirrel’s territorial range?

Are these squirrels an abundant species or a threatened species?

One thought to “Red Squirrel Living in my woodpile”

  1. yes good start
    note that some of your questions are quite broad, and range beyond this particular set of observations. These questions (and literature around them) might be useful in the Discussions section of the paper

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