North Carolinas State Mammal: Grey Squirrel Guess the Covered Word Lesson Created by: Morgan Blanton

Guess the Covered Word Reading Strategy Start Start –Where is the word? Beginning, middle, or end of the sentence? Cover it up (except through the first vowel or vowels)! Think Think –What makes sense? What about grammatical clues? Look Look –How long is the word? Listen Listen –Letters, suffixes, prefixes, syllables known little words

In 1969, North Carolinas General Assembly named the grey squirrel as our state mammal. It belongs to the order Rodentia which is the largest group of living mammals. Rodents make up 40% of mammal species today. Included in this group are mice, groundhogs, and gophers.

In North Carolina, they live in all regions, from the coastal plains to the mountains. The grey squirrel has been known to build a nest in many unusual places, like in an attic or a crawl space. Squirrels have also built nests in automobiles, chimneys, barbecue grills and under porches. An adult squirrel normally lives alone. But will, in severe cold, share its nest with other squirrels to conserve body heat. Once the temperature rises, the guests will be on their way.

A squirrel's brain is about the size of a walnut. They use squeaks to communicate with each other. When used in conjunction with tail gestures, these sounds form the basis for their communication.

Squirrels chew on tree branches to sharpen and clean their teeth. Their incisors will grow six inches per year, but stay short due to the constant wear they receive. A squirrels teeth grow continuously. A squirrel will break the shell of a nut with its teeth, then clean the nut by licking it or rubbing on its face before it is buried. This action applies a scent to the nut which helps the squirrel find it later, even under a foot of snow. It does not hide nuts where it finds them, but carries them to a new spot, burying each nut individually in a hole.

The grey squirrels diet consists of nuts, seeds and fruit. It will eat bird eggs, bugs, and even an animal carcass if there is no other food source available. The grey squirrel requires some salt in its diet, and may find this salt in the soil along roads where snow and ice may have been. The average adult squirrel needs to eat about a pound of food a week to maintain an active life.

Grey squirrels come in many colors. Shades of grey are the most common followed by shades of brown. There are also pure white and pure black squirrels, but both are types of grey squirrels. Squirrels eyes are located high, and on each side of their head. This allows them a wide field of vision, without turning their head.

References Google search for grey squirrel images