The Strangest Things You'll Ever See A Squirrel Do

Squirrels are among some of the more controversial forms of wildlife around. While some despise the damage they can do to their gardens, others might find them to be a welcome presence in their yards. Whatever your feelings about squirrels, everyone can agree on one fact: Squirrels are among some of the most fascinating, yet strangest creatures you might encounter on a regular basis.

All of the different types of squirrels have interesting behaviors, whether you encounter the ever-prominent eastern gray squirrel, red squirrel, eastern fox squirrel, or flying squirrels. However, some of these squirrels have some of these traits in common. What can often seem like quirks or strange behaviors to humans are actually just normal behavior to these furry creatures, though. These can involve anything from their daily movements to their feeding habits. Just keep in mind that no matter how strangely a squirrel might seem, it's best to observe their behaviors from a distance.

Among some of the strangest — but often amusing — squirrel behaviors are the way these furry rodents can jump around trees and objects. Such acrobatic skills are arguably the most popular squirrel behaviors to witness, as many squirrel lovers enjoy watching these creatures effortlessly move around their surroundings. They can even perform these actions in unfamiliar areas, such as a new building or tree, for example. What's more, squirrels can remember what each jump and leap are like to help guide future judgment when they come across similar situations.

If you're lucky enough to see these squirrels in action, you might even wonder if they're simply showing off these parkour-like skills. On the contrary, squirrels' acrobatic skills are actually survival mechanisms designed to help them quickly move between trees. Without them, a squirrel would not be able to reach varying heights and move away from predators. Even worse, a squirrel could suffer a fatal fall. While you will certainly want to keep squirrels away from fruit trees you might have, seeing these animals jump from tree to tree make for a fascinating viewing experience.

As the leaves fall from trees during the autumn months, you might notice squirrels are digging holes in the ground. If you have a backyard, this space might become vulnerable to this squirrel behavior as well. You might think everything is back to normal, only to again witness the squirrels digging up your yard once again. Squirrels do this to create "caches" or food storage holes they can return to during the harsher winter months, and is considered a survival mechanism for these furry creatures.

Amazingly, each eastern gray squirrel can hide up to 10,000 nuts and seeds in caches every year, and they keep track of about 1,000 spots at any given time. The reason why the squirrels have to bury so many nuts and seeds all comes down to statistics: Much of what they bury may end up being recovered by other squirrels. While this digging behavior can be annoying to some homeowners, these holes aren't technically harmful to lawns, and the squirrels always refill them with dirt. (You might even be able to think of this as a natural form of lawn aeration.) Unfortunately, though, the hiding and digging up of food can also happen alongside other food-related behaviors such as feeding from home gardens. If the damage is severe, some might consider how to get rid of squirrels from their outdoor spaces.

On a hot summer day, you might come across a squirrel lying on their stomach. At first, such a sight might cause some concern. Before you reach out to a wildlife expert though, know that this behavior doesn't necessarily mean there's anything wrong with the squirrel. If you spot one lying on the ground or in a tree face-down on their stomachs with their legs extended outward, they are more than likely just trying to cool off.

Also known as "splooting," a squirrel may lay on their stomachs as a way to stay cool in hot weather. Interestingly, this position allows them to release sweat through their paws, as this is where their sweat glands are located. You can think of splooting as a sort of respite from all the crawling and climbing the squirrels have to do throughout the day, where they can likely build up a lot of heat in their furry bodies. It's also possible you might see these strange squirrel behaviors more often, as much of the country continues to experience hotter-than-normal temperatures from year to year. No matter what the causes of global warming, such impacts are being felt by all life on Earth, including squirrels who might have to engage in splooting more often to deal with the heat.

If you've ever had a cat or a dog, you know that animals can communicate a lot with their tails. The same goes with wild animals like squirrels. You might come across one of these rodents sitting on top of a fence post, tree, or building and staying completely still. Upon closer inspection though, you see their furry tails flicking standing straight up in the air and flicking around. It turns out that there are numerous meanings behind this sort of squirrel tail-flicking.

First, a squirrel might flick their tail as a way to communicate with other squirrels nearby, including indicating potential dangers. They might also move their tails in this way if something startles them. This would explain why a squirrel might freeze in place while flicking its tail if you catch them off guard in your backyard, or perhaps when you're walking your dog. A squirrel may also flick their tail as a way to keep themselves balanced as they maneuver difficult terrain or walk vertically up trees and posts. Finally, another explanation for this mysterious tail flicking may involve mating season. During this time, male squirrels are more likely to flick their tails in an attempt to attract females.

Squirrels are perhaps best known for their acrobatics, which can make them fascinating to watch in any location you might happen upon them. If you listen closely though, you might hear these furry animals make some weird noises from time to time. Among these include high-pitched whistles or bark-like vocalizations. Unless you see the squirrel before it scurries off somewhere else, it's easy to attribute the sounds to another wild animal.

If you are able to determine that a nearby squirrel is definitely making weird vocalizations, there are some explanations to these. First, a squirrel might whistle or make high-pitched noises if they are not happy. Or, perhaps, they might make frantic bark-like noises if a predator or passerby invades their spaces. Squirrels are also likely to emit lower-key barking sounds during mating season, which usually occurs during the spring and summer months. If you hear rapid squeaking and chattering from multiple squirrels, you can assume they are playing, fighting, or simply talking with one another.

During the fall, you might observe a squirrel holding bits of pine straw and other organic materials in their mouths as they quickly climb back and forth on a tree. The end result is a large, ball-like feature gracing a treetop, or perhaps within large branches of a tree. What may be a curious combination of bits and pieces from your yard or that of a neighbor's on top of a tree is probably a squirrel nest.

Also known as dreys, these large, round nests primarily consist of leaves, small branches, pine needles, and moss. While these are commonplace in trees at heights exceeding 20 feet or more, squirrels dreys are often mistaken for large bird nests. You can usually tell the difference based on their sizes, as dreys are hard to miss. While all types of squirrels build dreys, eastern gray squirrels build the largest ones. In fact, these can be up to 2 feet wide! You might also be more likely to see dreys during the autumn months when leaves falling from trees make these structures more prominent. Interestingly though, you might observe more drey-building activity again during the summer months — this is actually attributed to female squirrels teaching their young how they can build dreys. With these facts in mind, it's easy to see why dreys are important aspects of a squirrel's life cycle.

While it can be fascinating to observe squirrels among trees and in other outdoor spaces, your home is certainly not among the places you want to find them. However, a squirrel taking up residence in human homes can happen. This can seem like an odd behavior to us, but for the squirrels, this is done out of necessity.

Squirrels may enter homes and other structures as a way to take shelter, especially during the cold winter months. They might even decide to bring their young with them. One of the most common places for squirrels to hang out is in your attic, and it may even be possible to hear them run around. Nevertheless, having squirrels in your attic or other part of your home can be dangerous due to the extensive damage they can cause to insulation and wiring. If you're looking for ways to get rid of squirrels in your attic, though, it may be best to leave the job up to a wildlife professional who may be able to humanely deal with the issue. They can also help give you suggestions to prevent future squirrel residents by sealing points of entry.

Squirrels are indeed wild animals that frequent multiple areas between rural and urban areas alike. In cities and other urban settings, though, it's understandable to forget this fact. It's arguably even more challenging to remember squirrels are wild animals when some are bold enough to approach people. If you've ever had a squirrel walk right up to you in a park, for example, you might be wondering whether this is normal. You may even be wondering how you should respond in turn, as there's always the possibility of the rodents scratching or biting humans during close encounters.

Overall, squirrels are tentative creatures that don't usually approach creatures that are larger than they are. This includes humans. Such squirrel behaviors are most common in urban areas, and it usually means squirrels are used to getting food from humans. As such, a squirrel might walk up to you in the hopes that you'll give them food scraps. This explains why you may be more likely to experience a squirrel walking up to you in a city, but not so much in a suburban backyard. Less commonly, a squirrel may approach a human out of curiosity, or if they are sick or injured. If a squirrel does walk up to you, avoid touching them, and never feed any squirrel by hand. If you're concerned about their well-being, consider contacting a wildlife professional.