www abdopublishing com Published by Abdo Publishing a division of ABDO PO Box 398166 Minneapolis Minnesota 55439 Copyright 2015 by Abdo Consulting Group Inc International copyrights reserved in all countries No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher Checkerboard Library is a trademark and logo of Abdo Publishing Printed in the United States of America North Mankato Minnesota 102014 012015 Cover Photos iStockphoto Interior Photos Alamy pp 9 17 AP Images p 15 Glow Images p 9 iStockphoto pp 1 5 6 11 13 21 27 29 Science Source pp 12 18 19 22 23 SuperStock p 25 Series Coordinator Megan M Gunderson Editors Rochelle Baltzer Bridget O’Brien Art Direction Neil Klinepier Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Petrie Kristin 1970 author Squirrels Kristin Petrie pages cm Backyard animals Audience Ages 8-12 Includes index ISBN 978-1-62403-663-7 1 Squirrels Juvenile literature I Title QL737 R68P43 2015 599 36 dc23 2014024643
Table of ConTenTs Squirrels 4 Origin Habitat 6 Large Eyes to Bushy Tail 10 Nuts More 14 Baby Squirrels 16 Busy Days 20 Senses Sounds 24 Enemies Defenses 26 Thriving Species 28 Glossary 30 Websites 31 Index 32
4 squirrels Squirrels Many people love to watch their crazy antics and acrobatics on trees roofs and bird feeders To others squirrels are destructive unwanted pests Squirrels like to steal bird feed eat corn and gnaw on tree bark Squirrels are found in natural and human-made habitats on nearly every continent They survive on their own in forests They also happily accept food from homeowners or from strangers in the park Squirrels are mammals from the scientific order Rodentia They share this order with other rodents such as rats beavers and chipmunks Squirrels make up the family Sciuridae which includes nearly 300 species Some of the most common squirrel species in North American backyards are eastern gray squirrels American red squirrels and eastern fox squirrels Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Mammalia Order Rodentia Family Sciuridae SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
5 The family Sciuridae includes tree squirrels below ground squirrels and flying squirrels
