Winter is a harsh season for squirrels to survive. But, the adaptation power of the squirrels is excellent. They follow some secret strategies to survive in winter. These strategies include various physical and behavioral changes for the winter season.
This article will be a useful guideline on “How do Squirrels survive in the winter”. We will discuss the secret strategies of squirrels. They follow these strategies to be prepared for the winter.
Moreover, you will know the details of the squirrel’s adaptation during the winter season based on some vital research. Read this informative article till the end to learn 5 special strategies of squirrels to survive in winter, and their survival place for winter.
How Cold Can Squirrels Survive?
Squirrels can survive extreme amounts of cold. Their temperature tolerance is very high. Squirrels commonly can survive between -10°F to 0°F (-23°C to -18°C). But this survival depends on various factors. They follow some strategies to survive in winter. If the squirrel cannot execute these strategies or techniques, they cannot survive extremely low temperatures.
Besides, their food storage depends on their activity in the fall season. If any squirrel spends lazy days during fall and fails to collect enough food, it generally cannot survive in winter.
That means, their winter survival mostly depends on their strategies, not only on temperature.
How Do Squirrels Get Ready for Winter?
It is very tough for squirrels to survive in winter. They handle this tough situation effortlessly using some clever strategies. These strategies are their preparation to get ready for winter. Here we will discuss these amazing strategies in detail.
5 Clever Strategies for Winter Survival: Easy Table
| Strategy | Description | Purpose |
| Hoarding Food & Food Retrieval | They store foods for the winter season and use their sense of smell to search for food. | These food storage processes ensure food supply for winter. |
| Enhanced Nesting | They prepare their nest with extra layers for the winter. | The enhanced nesting ensures warm shelter for winter. |
| Behavioral Adjustments | They reduce their activity and interactions with other squirrels. | These adjustments save energy to survive. |
| Physical Adaptation | Thicker fur growth, tail adaption, and insulated feet assist them in surviving in winter. | These adaptations help them to handle cold temperatures. |
| Metabolic Adaptation | Torpor system and fat reservation are two important metabolic adaptions for winter. | Metabolic adaptations reduce calorie requirements and provide the required calorie supply during winter. |
We have given an easy table above on the 5 clever strategies of squirrels for winter. Now, we will describe these strategies and you will get a broad knowledge of these strategies. After reading these descriptions you will understand how they apply these tricks, and why they use these strategies. So, let’s jump into the details.
- Hoarding Food & Food Retrieval
Hoarding Food: Squirrels have an impressive food storage process. Squirrels during winter cannot forage food because of the extremely low temperature and unavailability of food. So, they collect food in large amounts during the fall season.
Then, they use the hoarding technique to store the food for winter. Hoarding is a process of hiding nuts, seeds, and fruits under the root of trees, in the crevices of trees, and even under the ground. There are two types of hoarding techniques. They are;
- Scatter Hoards
Squirrels hide their food in various locations around them using scatter hoards. This process enables them to reduce the risk of losing all their storage in a single attack.
- Larder Hoards
The larder hoards technique is the opposite of scatter hoards. In this technique, squirrels hide food in a single location but in a large amount. Squirrels find the safest spot to hide the food. Then, they hide their collected food in that location.
Food Retrieval: Squirrels have a good memory to remember the caches where they hide food. However, if they forget the locations, they use another technique called Food Retrieval. Food Retrieval involves using the sense of smell to find the location of food.
- Enhanced Nesting
The second strategy is making an enhanced nest for a warm shelter in winter. They make various kinds of nests for winter.
Dreys: Squirrels create nests with leaves, twigs, wooden pieces, and other natural materials in the branches of trees. They add extra layers with natural soft materials to the nest during winter. They use moss or removed fur from their body as layers. These layers provide insulation and enhance warmth.
Tree Cavities: Squirrels make shelter in tree cavities during winter. It is a natural shelter that protects them from cold environments and predators.
Alternate Shelter: Squirrels can take shelter in buildings, birdhouses, or human-made structures like monuments during harsh conditions.
- Behavioral Adjustments
Squirrels bring important behavioral changes to survive in winter. Such as;
Reduced Activity & Interactions: Squirrels are generally very active for foraging, collection of food, and other activities. However, they reduce their activity and increase sleeping time during the winter. A squirrel only ventures when necessary in winter.
Besides, they limit interactions with other squirrels. It helps them to avoid attacks from the predators.
They reduce their activity and interactions in winter, their calorie expenditure is also reduced. That’s how they can save energy. It helps them to survive in winter with low calorie and limited food.
- Physical Adaptation
Squirrels commonly bring 3 necessary physical changes during winter.
- Thicker Fur Growth: Squirrels can grow an extra coat of fur in winter that is called “Winter Fur”. This thick coat of fur provides the squirrels extra warmth to survive in winter.
- Tail Adaption: Squirrels have long bushy tails. They use their tail to cover their body during winter. It helps them to keep their body warm in winter.
- Insulated Feet: Squirrels have developed feet with thick fur during winter. Though they do not get out frequently in winter, they may venture out when necessary. This extra coat on feet protects them against frostbite.
- Metabolic Adaptation
Metabolic adaption is an amazing technique for survival. Squirrels have 2 useful metabolic adaptions to be prepared for the winter.
- Torpor: Torpor is a resting state for squirrels. Squirrels can reduce their body temperature during winter and lower their metabolic rate. So, they can live with low calories. After knowing about the Torpor, you may ask, do squirrels hibernate? Not true hibernation. Squirrels stay at their nest, collect food from stashes, and eat limited food in winter.
- Fat Reservation: Fat reservation is an amazing survival trick for squirrels. They eat more in the fall season and make extra layers of fat. They burn this fat to provide energy to their body during winter. This process helps them to survive in winter with limited food.
Where Do Squirrels Go in the Winter?
We have already informed you about the shelter of squirrels during winter. Here, we are giving a table so that you can easily understand the living places of squirrels in winter.
| Location | Description |
| Dreys | They make nests with leaves, twigs, and other natural materials on the branches of trees. |
| Tree Cavities | They live in the natural tree cavities during winter to survive extreme cold. |
| Man-Made Structure | Squirrels can live in buildings, monuments, and attics during winter. |
| Ground Nest | Squirrels rarely make nests on the ground during the winter season. They use the burrowing process to make the nests. |
Conclusion
Squirrels have remarkable adaptability to survive in winter. Nature makes this small creature with a beautiful adventurous life. We come to the earth to survive and squirrels are a perfect example of this statement.
They adapt various strategies in food storage and shelter. Surviving with low calories and extremely low temperatures during winter are the most important skills of squirrels that enable them to survive the winter season.
We bring an overall guideline of their survival system through this article on “How do squirrels survive in the winter”? You can discover the adventurous life of squirrels by reading this article. Be with us to read more informative articles on squirrels.
