Review: Squirrels — The Animal Answer Guide
Squirrels are a rather ubiquitous animal throughout the world, but how much do we really know about them? As I discovered while reading this book, I at least, knew very little. Squirrels: The Animal Answer Guide was a fantastic read about the fascinating world of squirrels. The book has taught me much, from what squirrels eat, to how they behave towards other squirrels and predators, and about their athletic feats, such as how far can they jump. In reading the book, I’ve discovered the incredible diversity of squirrels, such as the large and colorful Malabar giant squirrel (Ratufa indica), or the fact that marmots are squirrels.
The book is divided into 12 chapters, each covering around seven questions in a specific topic. You can see all the questions directly in the index, which is incredibly useful if you are not interested in reading the book cover to cover (although it is a fantastic cover-to-cover read, the Q&A format makes it easy to just read small sections at a time). There are pictures throughout the book (mostly in black and white, with two sections of full-color pictures) which illustrate the concepts (or species) being talked about. There is also an appendix with every species of squirrel (with common name and general location), as well as a bibliography for those wanting to go deeper into “squirrelology”.
I loved how many answers first provided an overview of the answer, applicable to many squirrels, to then usually provide species-specific examples (or type of squirrels), often from field observations or experiments. It’s important to mention that many examples come from North America or Europe. As a research article written just a couple of years after this book highlighted, there is a lack of research on squirrels in the tropical & equatorial regions of the world; however, I felt that the book did do an effort to include information on lesser known squirrels (such as tropical species or nocturnal species) when possible.
The book is written in a light tone and avoids unnecessary jargon, making it accessible for a large public. It sometimes even includes light-hearted jokes, for example, the first paragraph to the question “Do squirrels talk?”
Squirrels communicate, but they do not use language the way we do. Despite the literature, like Doctor Doolittle books, that suggests that animals speak to one another, humans are the only animals that use speech.
If you decide to read this book, you will get answers to all your squirrel questions, and you will discover fascinating answers to questions you had never thought of asking. My favorite answer is to the question “Why are squirrels important?” but the answer is rather long (and worth reading in its entirety), so instead, here are three of my favorite facts I learned about squirrels thanks to this book:
❶ Squirrels who have evolved alongside venomous snakes have evolved resistance to the venom of those snakes.
➤ Venom resistance is not consistent across a squirrel species, but rather it changes between squirrel populations depending on whether there are snakes in the area or not.
❷ Many squirrels feed on mushrooms and other fungi.
➤ Several species collect mushrooms and hang them up to dry on tree branches to then eat them or store them away!
❸ There are a few records of squirrel “migrations” in the past
➤ Large numbers of squirrels moved away from an area, even swimming across major rivers and lakes (and crossing highways, with many dying as a result)
If you are intrigued by the book, but would like to have a peek, the Internet Archive has a copy you can check out here! I encourage everyone who lives around squirrels or has an interest in them to buy and read this book. Whether it is to simply learn a bit more about these rodents from afar, or to become a (better) squirrel observer, this book will satisfy your curiosity.
