Do Squirrels Mate For Life? Curious Squirrel Species Facts Revealed!

Squirrels might be seen as sociable creatures, but they actually prefer to live solitary lives.

Squirrels are rodents, with over 200 species of them found all over the world. They are seen everywhere and are very territorial in nature.

Squirrels mark their territory by urinating, and during the mating season, these boundaries might be crossed. Squirrels have their breeding season twice a year. This generally takes place between December- February, and May-June. You would probably find an increase in the squirrel population right after these months.

When the breeding season starts, female squirrels who have reached a mature age are chased by male squirrels. This is called the mating chase.

Several male squirrels pursue a female squirrel, and competition to prove the dominant male begins.Male squirrels fight amongst themselves, and the one who wins gets the chance to mate with the female squirrel.

The mating ritual involves the female running into other territories and creating vocal sounds that attract the males. The mating habits of squirrels are interesting as the female squirrel ultimately gets to decide who will mate with her and father the babies that will be born as a result.

When you are done with reading this article, you might also like to look at the articles do squirrels hibernate in the winter and do squirrels have rabies here on Kidadl!

Do squirrels stay together as a family?

Squirrels are solitary animals. They don't really have a two-parent household. The only family experience that squirrels might have is the time when a baby squirrel is too small to leave the nest and lives with its siblings and mother.

When female squirrels attract males during the mating period, the relationship between female and male squirrels lasts only until the female is bred. Once the mating ends, the males leave the females and go away to carry on their routine.

After the mating squirrel gets pregnant, the female squirrel will stay in her nest, also called a drey, for a short period.

In some cases, a male squirrel might guard the pregnant female squirrel until she gives birth and then leaves for his own territory. The female squirrel births a litter of baby squirrels after 38-46 days.

The average litter size or the number of baby squirrels is five to six at a time. The mother squirrel would then tend to the infants, feed them, care for them, clean them, and even throw away their feces.

Mother squirrels and their babies stay together for the first few weeks, and when the infants grow up, they leave to find their own nests too. Sometimes, baby squirrels don't leave their mother's nest even when they turn one year old.

Do squirrels have one mate for life?

During the mating chase, female squirrels are pursued by several males simultaneously. Females mate with multiple males one at a time during the breeding period. Two squirrels mate once and then leave each other.

However, squirrels do not mate for life. Males do not court or get together with the females. Once the craze of the mating fades, both the males and females go their separate way. While the male goes back to its territory and routine life, the female has to take care of the litter that is born after several days.

The males do not hold any responsibility for providing for the female or the babies. The males leave, and the females care for their young squirrels.

It is the female that takes care of everything. Moreover, since multiple males mate with a single female, it is hard to identify who the father of the baby squirrels is. Studies have shown that most times, the dominant male that gets the first chance to mate is the father of the squirrels.

The solitary nature of squirrels makes them territorial. They don't tolerate strangers entering their territory or eating the food from their food storage. Males show this aggressive behavior a lot. They don't like it when other males enter their territory, which often leads to fights between them.

Do male squirrels mate with other males?

Now that we have discussed the mating process of squirrels, have you ever wondered if it is possible for male species of squirrels to mate with other males? Do squirrels that are siblings mate with each other during the mating season?

During the mating chase, which female squirrels initiate, the males run after the female until one of them gets to her. In this process, the males have to struggle and fight with each other to become the winner who gets the right to mate with the female.

The actual mating isn't a long activity, and once the first attempt is over, the female again starts the chase.

Interestingly, female squirrels can recognize their kin. They have a great sense of smell that they use to catch the scent of other squirrels and identify their family members. The female can easily detect her siblings from the others. This further helps her to decide who she wants to mate with.

This shows that there is no inbreeding between siblings in squirrels.

At what age do squirrels mate?

Red squirrels, flying squirrels, gray squirrels, fox squirrels, and tree squirrels are all wild squirrels that live in natural tree cavities. On the other hand, ground squirrels live under the ground in burrows. What all of them share are mating habits and the age they mature enough to mate with others.

Like other mother squirrels, female tree squirrels live with their infants until they grow up. Even though they are the most solitary creatures of all squirrels, they still care for their young ones.

Since the average litter of squirrels at a time has five or six babies and the breeding period takes place twice a year, the approximate number of squirrels born in a year is 10-12.

The life expectancy for each species of squirrels differs. While the life expectancy of gray squirrels is up to two years, the average is around six since when they live in the wild. Their life expectancy can potentially be up to 12 years or even more in a few cases.

Red squirrels live for five to nine years. California ground squirrels are considered to have a lifespan of three to four years in the wild, yet they can also extend it to six years on average. Moreover, in captivity, ground squirrels' life expectancy is sometimes increased up to 10 years.

With such different lifespans, the question that arises is at what age do they mature to participate in the mating rituals. squirrels reach sexual maturity at the age of 10-12 months.

By this time, they are physically and mentally developed enough to mate with each other. The females become fertile by 10-12 months and can give birth to their own babies.

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