Squirreled Away

Ever wonder why a squirrel has a big, bushy tail? Besides making the squirrel look very cute, that tail serves more practical purposes. It keeps the squirrel warm in winter and cool in summer and helps it balance when climbing or sitting. Squirrels also flick their tails to warn each other of danger.

Squirrels eat nuts, seeds, fruits and berries, pine cones, insects, and even bird eggs. In the fall, they stay very busy collecting and storing nuts and seeds that will give them energy during the winter. Squirrels need all that energy because they don’t slow down in the colder months like many other animals do—they stay active.

Gray squirrels may collect and hide 1,000 nuts and seeds in a single fall season. And red squirrels can store away more than 15,000 pine cones. It’s a good thing they collect plenty of food, because sometimes they forget where they stashed some of it. Some of the nuts that squirrels forget about grow into trees. God thought of everything when he created the world, giving the squirrel kind the smarts they would need to survive.

Download the pdf below to see if you can you solve the maze by helping the squirrel reach the acorn!