A squirrel’s tale (Photo feature)

September 12, 2016: In the above combo photo, a Squirrel grabs pieces of biscuit from a tree which was put by people at Hotel Hayat Regency Premises in the Capital on Sunday. Squirrels’ diets consist primarily of a wide variety of plants, including nuts, seeds, conifer cones, fruits, fungi and green vegetation.

With urbanisation at its peak in Kathmandu valley, Squirrels have been forced to scavange and survive in the very few trees left with the rise of concrete jungle.

Surprisingly, the furry mammals have been known to live up to 20 years in an urban setting as opposed to three to six years in the wild.

Nests are normally found in the crowns of trees, high above the ground to protect the young from predators.

Squirrels are active during the day and sleep at night. They do not hibernate over winter. Squirrels play a big role in tree propagation.

Basically, the long-tailed furball’s natural habitat is in hardwood or mixed forests where nuts are found in abundance. They have adapted very well to city life due to the invention of bird feeders. Eliminating this food source should encourage the animals to move on.