Of course, it’s not uncommon to hear a clambering across the roof that’s sometimes followed by scratching and squeaking in the attic. Where do squirrels live in the winter?After spending most of the warmer seasons fattening up for the winter, squirrels tend to stick to their nests during the colder months.
Tree squirrels mature slowly and, in some cases, may share their parents’ den even after the first year. Most winter squirrel litters are relatively small (two to five young) and arrive in March. December and January are the most active months for winter tree squirrel mating. The two most common tree squirrel species in the United States, the eastern gray squirrel and the reddish-brown fox squirrel, have both a summer and a winter breeding season. As long as temperatures stay above freezing and no snow or sleet is falling, tree squirrels may still be seen climbing trees and retrieving scattered food stores. Look in the hollow of a tree or scan its bare branches for masses of leaves and twigs (called dreys) and you might spot a wintering squirrel family. Tree squirrels don’t hibernate though they seem more scarce during the winter. Most species of ground squirrel, including the Arctic ground squirrel of Alaska, hibernate and are inactive throughout the winter months. During the winter, however, all squirrels tend to become idle and typically stay in their nests.
Some squirrels are early risers, but others such as the eastern gray squirrel prefer sunset to sunrise. What do squirrels do in the winter? Do squirrels hibernate?Tree squirrels are most active during daylight hours. Studies show that the adult gray squirrel, for example, eats almost its own weight (one to one and a half pounds) each week during the peak months of activity in order to store fat for winter. In other words, the squirrel’s lifecycle hinges on surviving winter. However, most squirrels spend the warmer months hoarding food, getting plump and building shelters. Given the number of squirrel species-more than 200-and the fact that these rodents have established themselves in just about every natural environment, it’s difficult to make generalizations about them. But if a squirrel isn’t squirreling away food in the colder months, what exactly is it doing? The sight is a familiar one: a squirrel dropping a nut or acorn into a hole to store it for the coming winter (thus the phrase “squirreled away”).
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