squirrel area

[agreen 0]

Hi

what kind of area, territory does a squirrel use or need.Merry Christmas to all our readers.

[gnipper 5,964]

Anywhere theres trees the dirty little b*****ds will move in.

[john b 38]

This is a copy of a post I made on a thread earlier this year

 

 

I took these notes from Wildlifeinformation.org

• Density may be 5-50 per hectare
  
• Home range may be only 0.5 hectare.
  
• Male home range generally larger than that of female
  
• Home range size affected by food supply, habitat type, population density.
  
• Smaller inter-individual distances than for Sciurus vulgaris - Eurasian red Squirrel.
  
• Foraging area may move in autumn due to differences in food availability
  
• Hierarchy within and between sexes
  
• Fights rare, but include wrestling and chasing with biting
  
• Peak aggression during breeding and dispersal
  
• Groups of adults may huddle in nests, particularly in winter
  

[foxdropper 17,092]

Its my belief that they do hold territories but that they also overlap with others ,depending on the social standing of the individual .Ive seen up to eight of them racing up and down trees in obvious agression but shot some so the order was changed no doubt .

[wife 1]

i have found a few times large groups of squirrels sharing the same small wood,i have bolted 5 squirrels out of a hole with the ferret and this has been in the winter not summer,out of these i have then gone 3, 4 trees further and poked a drey and moved 3 more out of the drey,this has gone on again for another 300 yards,and then you get a large wood and only a small colony there,then when checking another small wood you will find only 2 in each hole or sometimes one,walk 10 minutes and come across another load, some of these places have never been shot or trapped and in some woods i have come across i have seen simply loads of squirrels,we have had bags of anything up to 12 in a day and lost alot more which have not gone in the bag and have got away,go to the same wood the next day and again you can come of with another 10,every year i work the same patches and every year i say to who does it with me mext year will be quiet but in the last 2 years there seems to have been more squirrels than ever,each summer i see countless squirrels on the roads dead and see alot more,today i seen 5 on a small 100 yard long wood when checking traps

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Just to mention; They appear, in my experience, to have a definate preferance for mixed, deciduous trees. That's by no means exclusive though. I've shot them out of conifer plantations before now.

[wife 1]

Just to mention; They appear, in my experience, to have a definate preferance for mixed, deciduous trees. That's by no means exclusive though. I've shot them out of conifer plantations before now

they do seem to prefer decidious trees due to the amount of food being readily avaliable for them i guess but like you said we do a few good size pine plantations and there is a good amount of squirrels in there,only going back 2 months a go on foot walking the dogs after 4 hours of walking across our mountain and our mountain being well above sea level and we was a good mile away from the nearest small patch of decidious trees the russels took off,we was only walking the dogs and were not hunting and on this part of the mountain the only animals you are going to see are sheep and fox and the odd rabbit,the dogs put there nose down and went to a pine tree,up the top i could see a drey,the worst place to put a drey as there was no wind protection at all and on this part of the mountain it goes well below minus and ray mears would have his work cut out to survive of the land,but i climbed it and gave it a poke and yes a squirrel gave the dogs a run and went to a dry stone wall,looked around and there was no trees for a good 200 yards and they were all pine,it took us 10 minutes to hit the nearest decidious patch of trees and from what i could see there was a good number of squirrel nests in it,funnily enough i am going back up there in the next week checking holes with the terriers and will take a few photos to show how remote of a place it is for a squirrel to be

Edited December 21, 2007 by wife

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Indeed. As ye might have heard, Wife; We now have the b*stards in Co. Leitrim! I can assure ye; There's precious little decent, mature, deciduous woodland round here. But still they've come I just pray I'm carrying my rifle if I ever see one.

 

But then, it's like the Pine Martens here. They run the ditches, miles from the big fir plantations they're supposed to live in.

 

I guess it just goes to show; The only certainty about wild animals is their unpredictability? And a pest is a pest because the pests get Everywhere, sooner or later. B*stards.

[stephen58 1]

Hi lads do not mean to put the cat amongst the pigeons! but I have taken 15 squirrell;s out of a church roof in the middle of Brighton city centre! you can hardly call that a woodland I personally think that there is no hard and fast rules about squirrell;s I think that it;s down to successful breeding / food available /predadation etc they never fail to amaze me where they turn up!!! best regards Steve

[Guest little_lloyd]

Ive had a fair few from different locations,, Hedgerows, Parks,Orhards, Glades of popular trees.

 

And in loft spaces.

[foxdropper 17,092]

Does nobody else agree with the dominants theme then Young bucks are driven off in late summer from the breeding territories .A buck has a harem and is not monogamous .Does have social rankings too ,just like a rat colony .Dont you people know anything .lol.

Edited December 23, 2007 by foxdropper

[john b 38]

I half agree FD

 

That link in my post says the the following

 

Promiscuous.

Little courtship.

Males may congregate on home range of oestrous female, and fight.

Mating chases of several males after one female may occur; dominant male presumed to mate with female.

Pair separate after mating.

[foxdropper 17,092]

Good man . Time spent in the woods though ,will outweigh anything read on a link written by scientists .Not saying dont put them up ,just investigate for oneself .Damn ,I should be writing my own book .