Cheeky Grey Squirrel

Hi guys
Here is a short and some facts on the grey Squirrel that I seen the other day I have linked this to my long form video on the same subject if you would like to check it out.

The grey squirrel is not native to Ireland or the UK they originated in the USA but where brought to the UK in 1876, and subsequently to Ireland in 1911

2) 6 mating squirrels where brought to county Longford as a wedding present in 1911 and got released.

3) It is estimated that all grey squirrels in Ireland can trace their lineage back to the 12 squirrels that came over

4) the grey squirrel is a an omnivore it can eat unripen fruit and seeds , bulbs roots nuts berry's, but can eat birds eggs and chicks.

5) The grey squirrel does not hibernate but does store food around the place in caches and only comes out of their drays in the winter to look for the food store.



6) The life span of the grey squirrel is 1 to 6 years but records have shown grey squirrels to live up to 12 years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity,

7) The oldest grey squirrel to ever live was in the Wisconsin's Racine Zoo and it lived to the ripe old age of 23 years and 6 months

8) Unfortunately the grey squirrel can carry a pox virus which it is immune but the red squirrel can be infected and die. The virus has the same symptoms as the myxamatosis virus which nearly killed all th wild rabbits in Ireland .

9) Squirrels teeth never stop growing like most rodents and the name rodent come from the word rodere which translates to graw

10) recent research subject that the grey squirrel is more intelligent than the red squirrel, not only is their brain bigger but also the can remember better where they stre their food.


The grey squirrel in Ireland is being treated as vermin personally I think they are a beautiful little mammal, in recent research it has been found that the grey squirrel is losing is grip on territory epically in the west and midland due to the reintroduction of the pine martin which I will be covering in a future video, but for now in places like the Nation botanic gardens they can be found roaming freely.

#geysquirrel
#botanical
#nuts
#squirrel