9 April 2018 - THE FLYING SQUIRREL

THE FLYING SQUIRREL
G'day folks,
Welcome to some facts about flying squirrels.

The flying squirrelis a medium-sized rodent, closely related to the squirrelsfound in woodlands and across grasslandsaround the world. Flying squirrelstend to be slightly larger in sizethan the common squirrel.
Despite the name, flying squirrelscannot actually fly, although they can be airborne for a remarkable length of time. Instead of flying, flying squirrelsmove through the air by gliding (normally between the trees), with the longest recorded glide of a flying squirrelbeing nearly 90 meters.



Flying squirrelshave a furry, stretchy membrane that stretches between their front and back legs. When the flying squirrelneeds to get away quickly, it opens its arms and legs out and uses the membrane like a parachute. Flying squirrelsalso have large eyes, and stubby flattened tails.
 There are nearly 50 different speciesof flying squirrelfound in forests around the world. Flying squirrelsrange in sizeand colourdepending on the speciesof flying squirrel. The largest speciesof flying squirrelis the Woolly flying squirrel, which is found in Pakistanand the smallest flying squirrelspeciesis the pygmy flying squirrel, found in the jungles of Borneo and Malaysia.




Flying squirrelsare omnivorous animalsmeaning that their dietis based on both plant and animalmatter. The flying squirrelis a nocturnalanimal, so it forages for food under the cover of night as flying squirrelsare not able to easily escape the birdsof preythat hunt during the day. Flying squirrelseat nuts, seeds, fruits, berries, insectsand birdeggs.

Due to their small size, flying squirrelshave numerous natural predatorswherever they live in the world. Domestic cats, raccoons, snakes, birdsof prey, foxes dogsand coyotesare all primary predatorsof the flying squirrel.




Flying squirrelsare known to breed twice a year, in the early spring and again in the summer. After a gestation period of roughly 40 days, the female flying squirrelgives birth to between 2 and 7 baby flying squirrels, which are blind and naked when they are born. The baby flying squirrelsdevelop fur and open their eyes when they are about a month old. The young flying squirrelsbegin to glide and forage with their mother when they are roughly 2 months old.

 

Clancy's comment: I often wonder if these cute things inspired the likes of Superman and Batman. Just askin' ...


I'm ...