Should We Be Afraid of Carnivorous Squirrels?
Squirrels in California changed their dietary preferences, as it turns out. According to the latest study conducted by U.C. Davis and UW-Eau Claire, it has been found that California ground squirrels eat fruits and nuts (nothing out of the ordinary so far, right?), but also hunt and eat voles, small mouse-like rodents.
The study took place in 2024 at Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County, California, and it discovered that the park’s ground squirrels exhibited carnivorous behaviors, especially in the peak summer months, and hunted voles.
According to the study author, Jennifer E. Smith, “it was shocking” to find out that squirrels could, in fact, be carnivorous too. “We had never witnessed this behavior before.
Squirrels are one of the most familiar animals to humans. We see them all the time outside our windows, we constantly interact with them. However, there’s this never-before-encountered in science discovery, that sheds plenty of light on the fact that there’s a lot more to learn about the natural history of the world around us.”
Data from the most recent study proved that 74 ground squirrels interacted with these small rodents between June and July, and almost (42%) of them hunted the smaller rodents down.
There is plenty of video proof in the park. In this footage, squirrels are “hunting, eating, and competing over vole prey.” According to a UC Davis press release, this carnivore-like behavior in these sweet animals peaked in the first two weeks of July. That’s also when the vole population was at its highest at the park.
The study proved that squirrels developed a certain hunting behavior that emerged ever since the voles became more available at the park.
The fact that California ground squirrels are automatically more flexible and can easily respond to changes in their food availability will, by definition, help them persist in environments that are continuously changing due to the presence of humans.
The study shed light on the fact that even if certain types of ground squirrels showed a carnivorous side, they didn’t appear to eat any creatures other than voles. Smith named them “incredible opportunists” since they turned out to be so flexible with their eating habits.
As the study’s scientists also noticed this new type of behavior, they also said there are many questions left to answer, including how the squirrels started to hunt the voles, whether it was “passed down” behavior from their parents, and how this overall hunting behavior affects the “ecological processes.”
According to Los Angeles County, California, ground squirrels eat green grasses as well as herbaceous plants right after hibernating. At the same time, they prefer seeds, grains, fruits, and nuts in all the other months.
They are known to be dormant during the wintertime as well as the summer months. In the wild, ground squirrels generally live up to five years, and they can grow up to 20 inches.
Do you want to build a squirrel house? Start by constructing the house
If you’re feeling ready for your next woodwork project, crafting a house for your squirrel’s neighbors is definitely a great way to start.
Luckily, it’s not the most elaborate project, so you have all the chances to tackle it with success. What you will need is a jigsaw, an electric screwdriver, and a bunch of screws (3 to 4 dozen). If you don’t own an electric screwdriver, no biggie.
You can also go the old-fashioned way with a hammer and nails. Screws will hold the squirrel’s house’s design more securely than nails would, but nails are also better than nothing. Make sure you have a measuring tape, pencil, paper, first aid kit, and some sandpaper on hand.
Next up, gather the wooden boards. Try to scrap the lumber for this project. Exterior-grade plywood can be efficient, too, but this material is much easier for the squirrels to chew on.
Get yourself two boards of 12″ x 12″ or even larger to use as the floor, roof, as well as overhang. It would also be useful to have two additional ones of 35″ x 6″.
The six is mainly based on the average squirrel size. If you happen to notice larger species like Red or Grey squirrels, just use a larger wood.
Then, you need to focus on the front and back panels. The whole idea of a good squirrel house is for the roof to overhang slightly.
To get there, the frontboard needs to be one inch shorter than the backboard. You can use a measuring tape to mark 18″ on one board as well as 17″ on another board. Make sure you draw straight lines with your pen across the board.
Then, use the saw and carefully cut along the line in the same fashion. Take your time while you see, since a good cut is much better than a rapid and choppy cut.
Create your own sidewalls. The sides need to be the same width as the front and back panels. The side panels will also need a more advanced cut.
It goes like this: you measure 18″ on one edge and 17″ on the other one. Then, each plank’s top will be cut into a slanted edge. You can use your measuring tape to mark the proper measurements.
Then proceed to make the doorway. Squirrels need an entrance to use, right? Take one of the side panels, then measure three inches from the 18″ side. You can use the 3″ mark to make a hole that’s 3″ in diameter.
What you will do is basically remove the pointed edge of a sideboard. Of course, it doesn’t really have to be three inches in diameter, but it should be quite close to that.
The hole size will decide what species can fit into the house and which not. For instance, the last thing you’d want is to report possums in your “squirrel house”, only because the opening was too large.
Attach the walls by positioning them in place with your hands. You need to make sure the front and rear edges are perfectly aligned with the proper sides.
As soon as you are pleased with the outline, then it’s time to attach the walls.
Carefully connect the flooring using one of the 12″ x 12″ boards as flooring for the squirrel house. Then, position the frame you made in the previous step on top of the 12″ boards.
Carefully align them with the 18″ wall along the edge of the floorboard, and center the frame. Make a mark where the corners will fall on the floor.
The most fun part: is filling the house. Some DIY aficionados prefer inserting a wooden divider into the house with a 3″ gap to make two stories.
Squirrels love playing in compact spaces, that’s for sure. You can make it super comfortable for the squirrels if you can find a fluffy pillow or even the contents of a stuffed animal.
Or, alternatively, if you’re looking for a nice bedding material, use dried moss you can get from a craft store or even from one of your hikes.
Measure the inner dimensions to make a floor divider for the house. Then, hold the divider and ask someone to assist you with attaching it with a nail or a screw.
Don’t worry if there are gaps between the floor divider and the walls. This doesn’t automatically mean they need to be as tight as the exterior structure.
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