Chasing Tails: The Squirrel Diaries

By Umang Rajpurohit


Radhika, also referred to as "Gilheri" (Hindi for squirrels) by our whole group, never stood in one place, always running here and there, which is why she is called "Gilheri." Squirrels are the same, always restless, jumping from one branch to another. But that's not all they are known for; there is more to them than just their energetic vibe.




1. "They literally runs the Ecosystem"


One of the interesting behaviors of this mighty little creature is storing food (nuts and seeds) in the ground. The most interesting thing to note is that they often forget the actual location where they hid the food, which results in the growth of new trees from the seeds. On average, squirrels hide 3,000 to 10,000 seeds in the ground every year. Just imagine their contribution to the ecosystem!












2. "A Squirrel's tail is not just for show"

A squirrel's long, bushy tail helps them balance on branches, which allows them to make quick directional changes. Not just for balance, the tail is also an important part of their communication. In the winter and colder seasons, the tail acts as a protective shield on their body.







3. "There are above 15 different species of squirrels in India alone"




From the near-threatened Indian giant squirrel to the most common Indian palm squirrel, India is home to a variety of squirrels. The one we see around our surrounding is the Palm squirrel, which have stripes on their back(it's related to mythology that during the construction of Ram setu,even squirrels were contributing in the construction part of Ram setu and when Rama got to know this, he praised their efforts and stroked it's back which left the three stripes).




4. "They are smarter than the average rodent"

Here is a video from my gallery, we were all so excited about him taking some nuts(no don't go that way).

Of course, I'm not praising them for how smart they are (if I did, my friends would start wondering why they never got any compliments!). One of their behaviors, known as "deceptive caching," is where they pretend to hide nuts or seeds in the ground but actually it's all a dramatic act to fool predators from stealing their food. Also known for their running style, they follow a zigzag pattern to escape from predators.

As I started the whole squirrel thing with Radhika, let's end with her too. Squirrels and Gilheri, I mean our Gilheri (Radhika), both have one thing in common, and that is their two long teeth. Haha! Just kidding.

This is all from my side, never stop exploring and keep in mind- "Adventure hi zindagi hai"







Credits- All the pictures used in this blog are clicked by- Vaidehi Mehta(you can checkout her account where she posts pictures of birds of Rajasthan).










About me-


I write.