In other times of the year, you may view these little mammals as pests in vegetable gardens, flower bulb diggers, birdseed stealers or attic occupiers. But this Squirrel Appreciation Day, it is time to see them in a different perspective. These unique creatures are some of the most successful in adapting to urban living. They remind us of the wildlife surrounding us. Use this opportunity to enjoy and appreciate those bushy-tailed squirrels.
Squirrel Appreciation Day 2018
Squirrel Appreciation Day 2018 will be on Sunday, January 21, 2018.
Squirrel Appreciation Day takes place every year on the 21st of January.
Squirrel Appreciation Day Origin
The founder of this day is a wildlife rehabilitator of North Carolina, Christy Hargrove McKeown. Christy is affiliated with the Western North Carolina Nature Center and started this day on January 21, 2001. The holiday is held in midwinter for that can be an inactive time of year for squirrels. By and large, this day is especially for the bushy-tailed tree squirrels familiar in Eastern U.S.
Christy has a website christywisty.tripod.com that contains information about squirrels and links to other sites for further information. According to her ‘there are no official events scheduled’, just ‘help celebrate by putting out extra food for the squirrels’. But she also warned that ‘too many treats will lead to health problems’.
- The word squirrel came from the Ancient Greek word skiouros meaning shadow-tailed.
- Around the world, there are some 285 species of squirrel.
- Squirrels belong to Sciuridae family of small or medium-sized rodents.
- They are native to the Americas, Africa and Eurasia.
- The hardest time of year for them is early spring, the time when buried nuts start to sprout and no food sources are available yet.
- Their diets mostly consist of nuts, seeds, fruits, green vegetation, conifer cones and fungi. But when faced with hunger, they also eat insects, small birds and eggs.
Squirrel Appreciation Day Celebration
- Appreciate squirrels by digging more facts about them. Read a book about this nut-burying animal or find out more in the internet.
- Visit a local park and be entertained by the squirrels skirting around trees.
- Watch documentary videos featuring the lives of squirrels.
- Have fun with your kids watching Alvin and the Chipmunks.
- If you’ve found a squirrel, share it with the local wildlife rehabilitator.
- Don’t forget to give them a treat, but just enough to keep them healthy!
Squirrel Appreciation Day 2019
Squirrel Appreciation Day 2019 will be on Monday, January 21, 2019.