The flying squirrel By Giovany Merced

climate  The climate they need is some wind and sunny weather

location  The flying squirrel lives in two different locations. The flying squirrels live in the south and the north.

habitat The flying squirrels habitat forests, leafy areas,backyards,and other places like that.

 The squirrel lives with two different organisms  The flying squirrel lives with black bears and the gray owl

What does the organism look like  The flying squirrel is furry with a big tail and small paws.

Where does the organism live  Coarse woody debris is defined as "sound and rotting logs and stumps, and coarse roots in all stages of decay, generally greater than 3 inches in diameter, that provide habitat for plants, animals and insects, and a source of nutrients and structures for soil development" (Stevens, 1997).

How does the organism survive in its environment  A flying squirrels' pelage is designed to allow it to blend in with its surroundings, and when a flying squirrel detects the presence of a predator, its first instinct is to remain stock-still and not make a sound. This behavior will prevent a predator, hopefully, from "zeroing-in" on the location of the flyer in question, lose interest, and leave the area for "greener pastures". This period of immobility also serves to allow the flying squirrel some time to decide upon its method and/or route of escape, should the predator attack. Flying squirrels, with the exception of juveniles, know their home range like the back of their paws! Every single refuge is known to them, and all the best routes to get to each refuge as well. The most dangerous period in a flying squirrel's life is when it is a juvenile, or a "teenager". Inexperience in dealing with predators of various species, combined with an un-honed locomotion skill-set, minimal knowledge of its environs, and a propensity for risk-taking make young flyers an easy target. We see high mortality rates in juvenile flying squirrels, far higher than that found any other age group. A flying squirrels' visual acuity is likely limited to seeing only blurred movement at at great distances. Because it has eyes on the sides of its head, it cannot judge with impunity how far away a predator may be until it is too late. So you can see, life is a precious commodity for many prey animals. If a predator is not fooled by a flying squirrel remaining perfectly still, it will attack. This is a time when all a flying squirrels arboreal abilities come into play. Through a combination of running, jumping and gliding, the squirrel will attempt to get to a refugee before being attacked. When a flying squirrel is being watched or followed by an owl while gliding, it will instinctively run to the other side of it's landing spot in order to avoid being taken. In fact, this instinctual behavior is so well-ingrained, you can watch wild flyers perform this manoeuver as a precaution, even when no owls are in the vicinity

What does the organism eat  The southern flying squirrel has a diet very similar to that of the northern flying squirrel, however, there are differences - mainly due to food type availability. Food types vary according to geographic location. For example, the southern flying squirrel will eat pecans in the southern part of its range, but not in the northern part of its range, as the pecan tree does not grow naturally in northern climes. mast tree crops of all types, including acorn (red oak, black oak, mossy cup oak, white oak, pin oak, etc.); hickory nut (shagbark, bitternut, pignut); pecan; walnuts; beech nut; horse chestnut; hazelnut; etc. seeds of various varieties insects (beetles, moths and their larvae, etc.) spiders slugs, snails tree and shrub buds flowers (tree, shrub, herb) fruits of many trees and shrubs berries (most types) fungi bird eggs, nestlings bark cambium carrion, especially in winter months

Great grey  The great greys diet is small rodents and the flying squirrel

How does the organism defend itself  Many flying squirrel predators locate their prey by a combination of sound and movement (there are exceptions, of course - snakes locate their prey via a combination of smell, warmth, and vibration).

How does the organism communicate  The organism communicates by a squeaking to each other

young  The babies look like a red animal and It has no fur  The organism cares for its young by covering them with there wings  They cant fly for a few months and the adult has fur

How should we be concerned  You don’t have to be concerned because hunting for flying squirrels is illegal in most states

How can we help this organism  Humans can cut less trees in the north and south

What questions about this organism still keep the scientist scratching there heads  Scientists practically know every thing about this organism

Ecosystem diagram

Food web

quiz  What are the two places where flying squirrels live  How do flying squirrels fly  What's the top predator of the flying squirrel  How do the babies look like  What is the climate for the flying squirrel

answers  North and south of America  The loose skin expands when the spread out there paws  The gray owl  Small red and hairless  Sunny and windy