I love squirrels and this time of year.  Seems like around now, squirrels tend to get a little bit more bold in my backyard.  It was was timely to come across this article.

Source: Gina Joseph, The Macomb Daily

It seems there is a lot to love about squirrels. Here are at least a dozen courtesy of a few squirrely fans:

1. There are more than 300 species of squirrels living around the world with the exception of Australia.

2. The smallest among the family is the African pygmy squirrel, which is about 5 inches long from nose to tail.

3. Female squirrels typically give birth to two to eight offspring. Babies are blind and totally dependent on their mothers for two or three months.

4. Squirrels have four front teeth that never stop growing.

5. Flying squirrels actually glide by extending their arms and legs and coasting through the air from one tree to another. Flaps of skin connecting limbs to body provide a wing-like surface. These gliding leaps can exceed 150 feet.

6. The species has a superhero: Squirrel Girl! Children’s author Kate Di Camillo’s “Flora and Ulysses” is about a squirrel who writes poems.

7. In Japan they have squirrel gardens where people pet the animals wearing oven mitts.

8. Squirrels can find buried food beneath a foot of snow.

9. Squirrels can leap 10 times their body length and turn their ankles 180 degrees to face any direction when climbing.

10. Squirrels can run 20 mph.