Sciurus vulgaris (Eurasian Red Squirrel)

Description:
The Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) is a small, elegant tree-dwelling rodent known for its fluffy tail and reddish fur, which may range from fiery red to brown or even grey, depending on region and season. Its underside is always white. Northern and mountain populations often display prominent ear tufts, especially in winter. The bushy tail acts as a counterbalance during jumps, a thermal blanket, and a communication tool. The red squirrel is a diurnal, solitary species closely tied to woodland habitats.

Scientific Classification:

• Kingdom: Animalia

• Phylum: Chordata

• Class: Mammalia

• Order: Rodentia

• Family: Sciuridae

• Genus: Sciurus

• Species: Sciurus vulgaris

Dimensions and Weight:
The red squirrel is 18–25 cm long, with a tail of 14–20 cm. It weighs between 250 and 400 grams, gaining weight in autumn to store fat. It is smaller and lighter than the competing eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis).

Habitat:
This species is widespread across Europe and temperate Asia. It inhabits coniferous and mixed forests, as well as deciduous woodlands and, occasionally, urban parks with sufficient tree cover. It favors mature forests with abundant seed-producing trees such as pine, hazel, beech, and oak.

Behavior and Habits:
Red squirrels are diurnal, most active in the early morning and late afternoon. They are solitary and territorial, using calls, body language, and tail flicks to communicate. They build nests ("dreys") in trees using dry leaves, moss, and twigs.
Their diet is mainly herbivorous, including seeds, pine nuts, hazelnuts, berries, mushrooms, buds, and occasionally insects, eggs, or nestlings. They bury food (caching behavior) to retrieve in winter. While not true hibernators, they reduce activity in cold weather.

Dangers, Enemies, and Threats:
Natural predators include birds of prey, martens, foxes, and wildcats. However, the greatest threat is from the invasive gray squirrel, which:

• Outcompetes the red squirrel for food and space,

• Has higher reproductive success,

• Carries Parapoxvirus, fatal to red squirrels but asymptomatic in grays.
  Habitat loss, fragmentation, and pesticide use also contribute to population decline.

Protected or Endangered Species:
The red squirrel is a protected species in Italy and many European countries. It is listed in:

• Appendix III of the Bern Convention,

• National and regional conservation priority lists.
  Active management programs are underway, especially in areas of gray squirrel invasion, to preserve native red squirrel populations. Though stable in many regions, its conservation status is vulnerable in areas of direct competition with the gray squirrel.

E, per finire, un video divertente sulle capacità arrampicatorie dello scoiattolo.

References___________________________________________________________

Dagny Krauze-Gryz , A review of the diet of the red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in different types of habitats - October 2015 - Warsaw University Of Life Sciences

Abstract. The Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) has a wide range and inhabits various habitats, both primeval and human-transformed (ie city parks). Its diet consists of numerous items, including plants, fungi and animal matter. It can be considered a generalist species, but conifer and broadleaf seeds dominate its diet. In coniferous habitats, coniferous (mainly pine) seeds are eaten most often, while in deciduous habitats, seeds of deciduous trees, as well as conifer seeds when available, are eaten in large quantities. In places where supplemental feed is given, it forms a bulk of the diet, but seed availability still governs food choice. The spring diet is most diverse: when seeds are scarce squirrels use various supplemental feeds, ie buds, shoots, or flowers. Numerous fungal species were also included in the diet according to most studies. Nevertheless, population densities and factors that influence individual fitness are correlated with seed production, and squirrels optimise their foraging strategies via changes in space, activity patterns and food selection regarding their energetic, mineral and secondary metabolite content.

Liu, Z., Li, B., Ma, J., Zheng, D., & Xu, Y. (2014). Phylogeography and genetic diversity of the red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in China: implications for the species’ postglacial expansion history. Mammalian Biology, 79(4), 247-253.

Abstract. The geographical distribution of Sciurus vulgaris spans much of the Palearctic from western Europe and the UK eastward to the pacific coast of East Asia. S. vulgaris occurs in China only in the far northwest and the northeast. Understanding of the species’ postglacial expansion history in East Asia has been limited by the paucity of molecular data. In this study, we used partial D-loop and cytochrome b gene sequences to assess mitochondrial DNA variation in S. vulgaris in China. Our objectives were to (1) determine phylo-geographical patterns of S. vulgaris in China; (2) understand the species’ postglacial expansion history in this region; and (3) quantify genetic diversity levels within S. vulgaris populations in China. We identified a supported phylogenetic group in S. vulgaris from China, and found no tendency for haplotypes to cluster by geographic region. Our analysis of S. vulgaris from China and other regions supports the hypothesis that the Calabria region of southern Italy is a glacial refugium for the species. We tentatively propose a postglacial expansion pattern for the squirrels: migrating from Calabria via Central and Eastern Europe to Russia and from there to China, and firstly to the northwest and then to northeast in China. We found high levels of genetic diversity in S. vulgaris populations across China as a whole, and discussed its influential factors.