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Everyday this squirrel trades dried leaves for fresh nuts at this woman's apartment window.

Squirrels are nimble, bushy-tailed rodents found all over the world. They belong to the Sciuridae family, which includes prairie dogs, chipmunks and marmots.

There are more than 200 species of squirrels, according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), and they are categorized into three types: tree squirrels, ground squirrels and flying squirrels. These three categories are further broken down into many squirrel types, such as Albino, Mountain Tree, Antelope, Spotted, Grey, American Red, Douglas, Fox, Pygmy, Northern Flying, Southern, Arizona Gray, Idaho, Arctic Ground, Albert’s, Franklin, Richardson, Rock, White and Black squirrel.

Since there are so many types of squirrels, they range greatly in size. The smallest squirrel is the African pygmy squirrel. It grows to 2.8 to 5 inches (7 to 13 centimeters) in length and weighs just 0.35 ounces (10 grams). The Indian giant squirrel is the world's largest known squirrel. It grows to 36 inches (1 meter) long and weighs up to 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms).

Grey squirrels, commonly found in North America, are medium-size squirrels. They grow to 15 to 20 inches (38.1 to 50.8 cm) in length, with their tails adding an extra 6 to 9.5 inches (15.24 to 24.13 cm) to their length. They typically weigh about 1 to 1.5 pounds (0.45 to 0.68 kg).

Squirrels live on every continent except in Australia and Antarctica, according to the BBC.


Tree squirrels typically live in wooded areas, since they prefer to live in trees. Ground squirrels live up to their names. They dig burrows, a system of tunnels underground, to live in. Some squirrels also hibernate in burrows during the winter to keep warm.

On average, squirrels eat about one pound of food per week. Many people think that squirrels only eat nuts, but this isn't true. Squirrels are omnivores, which means they like to eat plants and meat. Squirrels mainly eat fungi, seeds, nuts and fruits, but they will also munch on eggs, small insects, caterpillars, small animals and even young snakes.

Squirrels don’t dig up all of their buried nuts, which results in more trees!

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