American Red Squirrel

Description:

Small squirrel with reddish fur and a white venter. They are very noisy and highly territorial.

Habitat:

I found this squirrel fighting with a chipmunk along a dirt road in a deciduous forest. When they spotted me coming, they broke up their fight, the chipmunk ran off, and this squirrel hid in a wood pile but was clearly curious about me.

Notes:

Red squirrels are known to tap sugar maple trees to harvest the sugar in the sap. To do this, they actually bite into the tree trunk in order to puncture the xylem.