What do squirrels do with their tails?
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When we see a squirrel from afar, we normally notice its big and bushy tail first. Squirrels use their tails in many ways, they can wrap it around their bodies to protect them from heavy rains, likewise, when they see a predator like a rattle snake, they do wag their tails for self-protection.
Squirrels do spend a lot of time to groom their tails. Squirrels often twitch their tails to signal to other squirrels the presence of danger around the corner. They twitch their tails when they are also suspicious of humans or animals around, raising suspicion from other squirrels around.
What Do Squirrels Do With Their Tails?
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The squirrel’s tail is unique to it and beautifies it to a great length. The purpose of the fluffy appendage is actually more than its physical aesthetic looks. It is adopted for many uses and serves the animal in more functions than one would ordinarily think.
The tail is the most attractive and conspicuous part of the squirrel’s body for an onlooker, but for the animal itself, it is almost a universal tool.
The squirrel’s tail serves it in three major ways that aid its survival – protection, balance, and communication. See details below:
– It provides a balancing function when the animal climbs. It does this by maintaining balance as the squirrel climbs and jumps from one tree to another.
– In the instance that a squirrel loses its grip and is about to fall off a tree, the tail serves as a natural parachute, slowing its fall so the animal can safely land. Atimes in a free fall situation, the squirrel would cushion its fall by putting its tail to the ground first before the rest of the body.
– Secondly, it uses the tail as a rudder while swimming. Although squirrels are not well known as swimmers, they do swim and their tail helps them perform the magic. It aids them in maintaining a course in the water, especially when there is turbulence.
– It also serves as a defensive shield. Squirrels are often preyed on by other animals like the rattlesnake. When in danger, they deploy their tails to ward off likely predators that they sense around them.
how do squirrels use their tails
The tail is used by squirrels as a direct means of communication among themselves, especially in mating season. Potential partners attract themselves with their tails; and rejections are also communicated with the tail. By flicking its tail quickly 3 consecutive times, a squirrel can warn other squirrels nearby of danger, perhaps from a predator.
With the help of its tail, the squirrel can adapt to different weather conditions – in rainy weather, the tail acts as an umbrella and a towel when the animal is wet. The animal would wrap its tail around itself to keep warm when the weather is cold or while sleeping. The same tail keeps the body cool during hot summers, when more blood gets pumped into it.
Squirrels can however still survive without their tails as a squirrel would sometimes lose part of its tail in an accident, which makes them look funny, but they get by.
Can A Squirrel Lose Its Tail? Will It Grow Back? Interesting Facts!!
The tail on a squirrel is a fascinating device that has a lot of uses. Those fluffy appendages help with balance, regulate body temperature, break their falls, are used for communication and even battle! Unfortunately it is not uncommon for a squirrel’s tail to come off.
What Happens When A Squirrel Loses Its Tail?
A squirrel losing its tail is a relatively common event. A squirrel can get its tail stuck between branches on fence boards while they are chasing each other and have the thing yanked right off. Squirrels can also lose their tails during a fight with a predator.
A squirrel can not regrow its tail. Once the tail is gone it stays gone and the poor fella just looks goofy.
Squirrels can live a long time in the wild but without their tail but are at more risk for an early death.
A squirrel without a tail will not be able to balance as well in the treetops and is at greater risk for a fall. This is especially dangerous as the squirrel won’t be able to use his tail to slow the descent. A squirrel without a tail will not be able to use flagging to scare off predators making it more of a target.
Lastly, a squirrel without a tail has lost one of the mechanisms it uses to control body temperature making it more susceptible to the challenges of extreme heat or cold.
More Tail Facts
Keep reading to learn some pretty amazing ways that squirrels use their tails including Fighting Rattlesnakes!
The Tail Is In The Name!
The scientific name for most tree squirrels (sciurus) is based upon their tail. The name, Sciurus, comes from the Greek skia (shadow) and oura (tail) and refers to the squirrel “sitting in the shadow of its tail”.
- Eastern Grey Squirrel: Sciurus carolinis
- Western Grey Squirrel: Sciurus griseus
- Fox Squirrel: Sciurus niger
- Eurasian Red Squirrel: Sciurus vulgaris
If you have spent much time at all watching tree squirrels then you have undoubtedly seen one sitting in the classic pose with its tail curled up over its back.
The Tail Controls The Temperature!
A squirrel’s tail is an important thermo-regulatory device. The most basic temperature controlling functions of the tail is providing a source of shade in warm weather and protecting the animal from rain. The squirrel can wrap its tail around itself in winter for warmth as well.
On a more sophisticated level, a squirrel can control blood flow to the tail. When a squirrel is hot it can send excess blood to the tail for heat dissipation. When a squirrel is cold it can reduce blood flow to the tail to conserve heat.
Squirrels Use Their Tails As A Parachute!
You might have guessed that a squirrel uses its tail to help maintain its balance as it scampers through the tree tops but did you know that the tail also acts as a parachute if the squirrel takes a tumble?
According to Nu Sci magazine, “During a fall, the hairs on the tail separate in order to catch as much air as possible. This slows the squirrel’s fall and provides time for the squirrel to orientate itself for landing.”
Of course, not all squirrel’s have a safe landing when they fall from significant heights but every little bit of stopping power helps.
Squirrels Use Their Tails To Communicate!
Squirrels wag and flick their tails when they spot something dangerous.
This behavior, called flagging, has been described as a way of communicating with other squirrels (Look out! I see something dangerous!) AND communicating with the potential predator (I see you! Don’t even try it!!). The flagging tail also helps the squirrel seem larger than it actually is is an attempt to discourage a predator.
By communicating both with their tails and through various alarm calls squirrels do a great job of keeping each other safe.
It has also been suggested that squirrels flag their tails as a way of showing frustration. The video below highlights an interesting study out of the University of California, Berkeley where a researcher intentionally frustrated a bunch of squirrels in a non-threatening manner and observed their tail action. The more frustrated the squirrels became the more they flagged their tails!
Squirrels Use Their Tails to Fight Rattlesnakes!
This is seriously cool…or hot…depending on how you like to look at things
A researcher from the University of Nebraska discovered that California ground squirrels use their tails in a highly specific manner to combat rattlesnakes.
Whenever a ground squirrel spotted a snake of any variety it would flag its tail back and forth as a way of letting the snake know that it had been spotted.
However, if the snake was a venomous rattler then the squirrel would go one step farther. The ground squirrel would send extra blood to its tail to make it heat up and emit infrared energy. The infrared tail signature was easily seen with IR imaging cameras.
The rattlesnakes are able to pick up the thermal/IR signature of the squirrels tail and would often switch from a predatory to a defensive mode. Presumably the snake would realize that its ambush advantage had been lost and it would be in for a tough fight against a sharp set of teeth and claws if it tried to attack.
What is fascinating is that the squirrels would NOT increase its tail temperature in the presence of the non venomous Gopher snake which lacks heat seeking sensors.
