Douglas Squirrel

Douglas Squirrel, Pine Squirrel or Chickaree
(Tamiasciurus douglasii)

What they look like: They are reddish-brown on top and white or orangish-white underneath their stomachs. In the winter their fur sometimes begins to look grayer. They have small ear tufts in the winter time. Imagine if we had hair on our ears that stood up straight! It would look silly don't you think?

How big they are: The Douglas Squirrel is about 6-7 inches long and its long bushy tail another 5-7 inches. They are about as long as a football.

Where they live: The Douglas Squirrel builds its home from south West British Columbia and Canada all the way down south to Northern California. This is an international squirrel! The Douglas Squirrel needs trees that have cones with seeds to survive, so they only live in forests with plenty of conifer trees.

What they eat: Douglas Squirrels eat mostly seeds from conifer trees such as Douglas fir, Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock and others. Conifer trees are the type of trees people decorate for Christmas. During the fall every year they take the young cones from the trees and bury them safely under the ground in a secret place. It gets boring only eating cones so they'll also eat different types of berries, mushrooms, and fruits.

Habits: During the day Douglas Squirrels are playful and active. They're so quick they can run in and out through the trees as well as on the ground. Just like people, they don't like wandering outside when the weather is bad; they would rather sit cozy in their nests. Douglas Squirrels have summer homes and winter homes. Their nests in the summer are made of moss and small pieces of bark and twigs. In the winter they use holes in trees as nests. These squirrels have loud voices that warn other animals in the forest of danger.