What is the nest of squirrel called? Where does the protein live?

Ordinary protein is the only representative of the genus in the fauna of Russia. Veksha is another common name for the animal.

What an animal looks like

Ordinary protein has small dimensions - from 19 to 28 centimeters, 2/3 of this figure takes the tail. The wool covering the whole body of the animal is not the same in length. On the back, abdomen and legs it is shorter than on the tail. From this, he looks much larger than his real size. The tail plays an important role during the jumping, which is the main way to move the squirrel.

On the rounded head of the animal are large eyes and long ears. In the winter, they are well marked with brushes. Hind legs much longer than front. Flexible moving fingers are provided with sharp and tenacious claws. This allows the protein to move freely along tree trunks and branches.

Color and quality of fur

The condition of the hair protein depends on many factors. A great influence on wool cover is provided by the temperature regime. In winter, fur is longer, thick and soft, and in summer it is short, rare and harder. With changing weather conditions, the color of the animal also changes. In the warm season, fur can have shades of red or brown. With the advent of winter, wool acquires shades of gray with the presence of black or brown. Naturalists and hunters have repeatedly described cases when they met proteins that were purely white or black. In addition, the color of the tail may be different from the animal's body. In the variability of fur color, one can be convinced of the photo of a protein.

It should also be mentioned that the quality of the animal's fur and its color depend on the habitat of the protein. The inhabitants of the northern and southern latitudes are different from each other in the color of the fur coat. Proteins living in coniferous, deciduous or mixed forests differ among themselves. Moulting takes place twice a year - in spring and autumn. Its duration and intensity depend on the weather conditions and the quality of the food that the proteins eat during this period. In the harvest years molting begins and ends earlier. In the absence of food, the process is extended for a longer period.

Food

Belka is a dweller of forests. The main food for the animal are the seeds of plants of wood species. The animal does not refuse from berries, mushrooms, nuts, acorns. In lean years, proteins feed on kidneys, lichens, bark of young shoots, needles, herbaceous plants. Sometimes this can damage the vegetation of those places where the protein is bred very much.

They love squirrels to eat eggs that are extracted from bird nests. An adult animal can hunt small birds or their chicks.
The best habitat for an animal is mixed forest. It is here that throughout the year the protein finds the best food for itself. In total there are about 130 kinds of various feeds in the animal's diet.

Lifestyle

The squirrel lives in the hollow that it finds in the trunk of a tree. In addition, the animal does not abandon the empty birdhouses, old bird nests. Therefore, living in the forest zone, proteins are always provided not only food, but also a place for shelter from danger and bad weather. In auspicious times the animal actively moves, searching for food. In the snowless period, the vector easily moves along the surface of the earth. In winter, the nest of the squirrel remains free only when the animal leaves for feeding. The rest of the time the animal spends in a safe hiding place.

The squirrel moves easily along the branches of trees, making jumps of 3-4 meters along a straight trajectory. When the descending movement jumps to a distance of 10 - 15 meters. The tail helps to control such jumps.

Hollow of squirrels

For the inhabitants of deciduous forests, the most reliable place to hide from bad weather and various hazards is a hollow. The protein thoroughly insulates it. She pulls inside the shelter dry leaves, soft grass, lichens.

The hollow of the squirrel is usually located at a height of 7 to 15 meters. This distance from the earth is the safest. Some types of protein arrange their homes at a height of 4 - 6 meters. At the same height, there is a nest of squirrels, which she builds herself if necessary. The "female" is most often occupied by a female. The male does not build shelters, he uses for cover the old abandoned nests of birds or his relatives.

Knowing who lives in the hollow of the old tree in the forest, one can assume that the prudent squirrel must necessarily take care of building its own dwelling. After neighborhood in a hollow with a marten, bees or other larger inhabitants can not always be pleasant for a small animal.

Gaino

The nest of squirrel is called gaynom. This kind of shelter is built by a beast from dry branches, twigs, twigs. To impart strength to the base of the structure, clay or earth is used. The details used in the construction are fastened together not only by interlacing with each other, but also with the help of moss, bast, and bast. The choice of building material for a protein house depends on the forest where it lives. Therefore, the appearance of the nest of squirrels living in different areas of habitat, sometimes differ from each other.

After the construction is completed, the gayno has the shape of a ball with a diameter of 25 to 30 centimeters. In appearance, the nest resembles a basket with a lid. Most nests build squirrels living in coniferous forests. The shelter is located in the fork of the tree trunk or among the large boughs of the crown. When choosing trees to build a nest, the squirrel prefers firs. There are cases when the squirrel nests were located in the immediate vicinity of the earth in the juniper bushes. But the choice of such a place for shelter is very rare and happens only when the animal is not disturbed by the animal or predatory animals.

Gaino, as the nest of squirrel is called, has two lateral outlets. One of them is necessarily turned to the trunk of a tree on which a shelter is placed. This way the animal uses at the moment of danger. On the trunk it is easy to get to the crown and hide from the danger among the branches.

The animal lays the inside of the nest with a thick layer of insulation, which consists of its own wool, moss, dry soft grass, bast. The walls of the Gain have no slits and holes, except for the entrance. But their animals can be carefully closed from the inside if necessary. In a cold winter, a nest of squirrels can take up to five animals. However, such an animal settlement is an exception. Belka likes to be alone in her nest.

How the protein uses the nest

Veksha is very clean. She constantly cares about the nest, corrects it, creates a cozy atmosphere in it. And this is not accidental. It turns out that the animals hide in the nests, not only from a storm, a hurricane, a blizzard and frost. They need this refuge to escape from the heat. In summer, when hot weather is set, the protein can be seen in the forest only in the morning or in the evening. The rest of the day they spend in their safe hiding place.

The female uses gayno, as the nest of squirrel is called, for the derivation of the offspring. Young whitish leave the maternal home only a few months after their birth.

How many nests you need to watch

It is interesting that the protein lives in a hollow and at the same time can have several more nests suitable for shelter. Sometimes the number of nests in which a protein lives, reaches fifteen. Two or three of them are basic, they are built with special care and accuracy. And the remaining nests can be called spare. In them, the animal shelters from predators and bad weather, if this is necessary, and the main nest is far from the place of stay of the animal.

It is noticed that from one nest to another, the protein passes through 2 - 3 days. It is believed that this way it gets rid of parasites.

Care for the offspring

The nest of proteins, intended for rearing the offspring, differs from where she lives alone. The jack is large. The animal builds it with greater care and accuracy. Sometimes not one such nest is built, but two or three. Appeared helpless cubs of protein carry from place to place in the teeth.

Squirrel storage

The life of the squirrel and its progeny depends on the quality of the feed. Its enough quantity is especially important in the cold season. That is why in the summer and autumn the animal adds excess food to the storerooms. These stocks will necessarily be in demand in the winter.

Storage rooms are arranged in hollows and roots of trees, in burrows. Some of their stocks (for example, mushrooms), the protein hangs directly on the branches, not hiding them from prying eyes. But most often the pie tries to hide the food so that it is not visible to other inhabitants of the forest. For this protein, the moss corrects its paws, which she had to lift to hide supplies. In doing so, she tries to hide the traces of her activities.

Quickly forget about the location of your own storerooms. Its reserves can be used by relatives or other forest dwellers, especially those who live in the hollow where the pantry is located. But the protein itself can feel free from the preparations of any other animal without constraint. The main thing for her is to find a similar pantry. Sometimes, during a crop failure, it happens that stocks are very small. The pantries are emptied already in late autumn or early winter. Bedfeeding leads to a mass death of protein.

In the harsh winters the migration of squirrels to urban parks can be a real salvation for them. Living with a person, animals can always find their food. Animals quickly get used to the presence of people and are not at all afraid of them. In recent times, the cases when the protein is tamed have become frequent. In captivity, the animal, of course, will live longer, especially if it is good to take care of it.