Flying squirrel

“ Our flying squirrel is in no proper sense a flyer. On the ground he is more helpless than a chipmunk, because less agile. He can only sail or slide down a steep incline from the top of one tree to the foot of another. The flying squirrel is active only at night; hence its large, soft eyes, its soft fur, and its gentle, shrinking ways. It is the gentlest and most harmless of our rodents. A pair of them for two or three successive years had their nest behind the blinds of an upper window of a large, unoccupied country house near me. ”

“ No one can see one of our small flying squirrels in life without being charmed by its delicate grace of form and velvety fur, nor fail to note the large black eyes which give it a pleasing air of lively intelligence. Flying squirrels are distinguished from all other members of the squirrel family by extensions of the skin along the sides, which unite the front and hind legs, so that when the animal leaps from some elevated point with legs outspread the membrane and the underside of the body present a broad, flat surface to the air. ”

“ Flying-Squirrels,
when tame, make the most gentle pets, but when wild, and rudely seized by hand, they have a vicious way of using their chisel-like teeth which induces more caution the next time. A smoke-stupefied squirrel is much more pleasant to handle than a wild one, frantic with fright.
If, however, you protect your hand with an ordinary bicycle or golf cap, you can seize almost any small animal with impunity. I caught nine flying-squirrels in one night, with no protection for my hand but an old cloth cap. ”

“ The flying squirrel was one of the most interesting of the little animals we found in the woods, a beautiful brown creature, with fine eyes and smooth, soft fur like that of a mole or field mouse. He is about half as long as the gray squirrel, but his wide-spread tail and the folds of skin along his sides that form the wings make him look broad and flat, something like a kite. In the evenings our cat often brought them to her kittens at the shanty, and later we saw them fly during the day from the trees we were chopping. ”

“ Indeed, the flying-squirrel has little or no advantage over him, and in speed and nimbleness cannot compare with him at all. If he miss his footing and fall, he is sure to catch on the next branch; if the connection be broken, he leaps recklessly for the nearest spray or limb, and secures his hold, even if it be by the aid of his teeth. ”

“ Old woodpecker holes or natural cavities in trees are favorite nesting places, and the flying squirrel is almost never found away from the nest 38 except at night or when disturbed. It is a shy and retiring creature, preyed upon by owls, martens, weasels, and other small carnivorous animals on the rare occasions when it comes to the ground. Flying squirrels are omnivorous, nuts and other vegetable foods are apparently preferred, although meat is sometimes taken when available. ”

“ Then there is the flying-squirrel, which resembles the striped species. It does not really fly, but has the power of flattening its legs and feet in such a way that they do not look unlike wings. In leaping, the legs and feet sustain it in the air until it almost seems as if it was flying. ”

“ Just as the tree was ready to fall, and was wavering to and fro, the squirrel, that had kept on the topmost bough, sprang nimbly to the next tree, and then to another, and by the time the great pine had reached the ground, the squirrel was far away in his nest among his little ones, safe from hunters, guns, and dogs."
"The black squirrel must have wondered, I think, nurse, why so many men and dogs tried to kill such a little creature as he was. Do the black squirrels sleep in the winter as well as the flying squirrels and chitmunks?" ”

“ Squirrels of various kinds and different hues are numerous here; one of which is called the flying squirrel, not from its having wings like a bird, but from its being furnished with a fine loose skin between its fore and hind legs, which it contracts or expands at pleasure, and which buoys it up, and enables it to spring from branch to branch at considerable distances, with amazing nimbleness. ”

“ The Flying Squirrel of North America, Assapan, is next to the smallest variety of the whole species, the Jaguan, or East Indian, being the largest, nearly equaling a cat in size.
The fur of the North American Flying Squirrels is exceedingly soft and delicate. In captivity they suffer themselves, by day, to be gently handled, making no effort to bite with their little sharp teeth as other Squirrels do. Overcome with sleep they lie curled up in their cage, as much hidden from view as possible, rarely bestirring themselves before nine o'clock at night. ”

“ These animals have a large bushy tail, the hair of which spreads out on each side like a feather; and by it they are guided and supported when they leap. The flying squirrels, as they are called, have an expansion of the skin of the sides, which extends between the hind and fore legs, by which they are suspended in the air when passing from tree to tree, and by it are enabled to go to greater distances without being actually able to fly, as their name would imply. The general colour of the English squirrel is red in summer ”

“ But these are not all the strange characters to be found in the book of Nature, which lies open before us in the Australian Bush—a book of fantastic contradictions, of Rabelaistique twists and turns, and of the oddest humours. There is the flying squirrel—which does not fly, and is not a squirrel at all,—with a long fold of skin stretching from the front to the back leg at either side, enabling its possessor to glide through the air for a considerable distance, though always from a greater to a lesser height. ”

“ The flying-squirrel lives sometimes, like the chickaree, in a hole in a dead limb, or he often takes the old abandoned nest of a gray squirrel for his home, lining it with very much softer material than the former occupant used. ”

“ The American flying squirrel is much less than the European, being not above five inches long, and of a russet grey or ash-colour on the back, and white on the under parts. It has black prominent eyes like those of the mouse, with a long flat broad tail. ”

“ In Africa, south of the Sahara, the place of the Oriental flying-squirrel is taken by a separate family. They have a different arrangement of the parachute from that of the flying-squirrels of India. This wide fold of skin is supported in the Asiatic {150}squirrels by a cartilage extending from the wrist. In the South African flying-squirrels this support springs from the elbow, not from the wrist; they have also horny plates on the under-surface of the tail. Many of the tropical flying-squirrels are quite large animals, some being as large as a small cat. ”

“ I mean that it cannot raise itself from the ground, like a bird can. But it can leap to a surprising distance, for besides a large bushy tail, it has a very curious membrane, or skin, on each side of its body, reaching from the fore to the hind leg. So when the flying squirrel leaps, it stretches out this skin as wide as possible, and as the air bears it up, it appears almost to fly from one tree to another. ”

“ The graceful gray squirrel is scarcely less familiar than the red one. He makes a lively pet, and we have all seen him turning the wheel attached to his cage. The curious little flying-squirrel, however, is a stranger even to those to whom he may be a near neighbor, for the reason that his habits are chiefly nocturnal. He ventures out occasionally on a cloudy day, but is shy and retiring. Thoreau relates an interesting experience with one. He captured it in a decayed hemlock stump, wherein it had a little nest of leaves, bits of bark, and pine needles. ”

“ It must have wings, but it has no feathers!"
"It has no wings, dear lady, but it has a fine ridge of fur, that covers a strong sinew or muscle between the fore and hinder legs; and it is by the help of this muscle that it is able to spring so far, and so fast; and its claws are so sharp that it can cling to a wall, or any flat surface. The black and red squirrels, and the common grey, can jump very far, and run up the bark of the trees very fast, but not so fast as the flying squirrel." ”

“ J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' p. 78:
"The flying squirrel, another of the opossum species of the marsupial order, is a beautiful little creature, and disposed over the whole of the interior of New South Wales: its fur is of a finer texture than that of the opossum."
1855. W. Blandowski, `Transactions of Philosophical Society of Victoria,' vol. i. p. 70:
"The common flying squirrel (Petaurus sciureus) is very plentiful in the large gum trees near the banks of a creek or river, and appears to entertain a peculiar aversion to the high lands." ”

“ If they lean toward the setting sun, Flying Squirrel won. If they have fallen down, neither was right and neither won." [Pg 129]
Lightning Bow and Flying Squirrel went into the wood and set up their sticks. Then they began to throw balls with willow wands, and soon they were happy again.
The sun had risen and set many times. The Berry Moon had passed. It was the Thunder Moon, when White Fawn said to Lightning Bow and Flying Squirrel, "Today you may go into the wood and see if your sticks are still standing."
Hand in hand, the two little Indian boys ran into the wood. ”

“ I am making my life wretched with two little striped squirrels. The squirrels here are nearly white, with four black stripes down their backs, and striped tails. I have got two young ones, meaning to tame them, but they are evidently deficient in intellect—perfect ninnies, so unlike my dear flying squirrel at Simla. They are quite tame one minute and then run half over the house with all the servants after them, and it is too hot for those tricks. ”

“ FLYING-SQUIRREL.
One of the small species of the group.
Squirrels are found in nearly every temperate part of the globe, from Norway to Japan, and in very great numbers {147}in India and the tropics. Everywhere they are favourites; and though they do some mischief in highly cultivated countries, they are among the most harmless of creatures. Most of them live on wild nuts and the kernels of fruit; they suck eggs occasionally, and in Canada will come to the traps in extreme cold and eat the meat with which they are baited. ”

“ THE flying squirrels are of the size of a large rat, and of a whitish grey colour. They are called flying, on account of their passing from one tree to another by the help of a peculiar skin, which stretches out like a wing, when they take these small flights. ”

“ The little flying-squirrels, the dearest little creatures for pets, are natives of the Rocky Mountains, but are found in all parts of the United [Pg 90] States. They are very lazy, and sleep nearly all day, coming out at twilight for a merry frolic, leaping, flying, or scampering at pleasure among the tree-tops. They generally make their nest in some hollow trunk, where it is very difficult to find them. ”

“ I have several times made pets of the young flying squirrels, and they are the prettiest, most friendly and entertaining little things imaginable, as tame as kittens and as harmless. They are nocturnal in their habits, sleeping all day in their woolly nests and scampering about all night, full of mischief and merry play. ”

“ My claws just grazed the under side of the oak bough. I fell back, and next moment had plunged with a splash into the swirling waters of the swollen torrent.
The fall carried me far below the muddy surface, [212] but next moment I rose, gasping for breath, and struck out vehemently. I know that it is popularly supposed that a squirrel cannot swim, but that when he wishes to cross a river he launches himself upon a piece of floating bark, and using his tail as a sail, ferries himself across. ”

“ Yet three days inside it had been more than sufficient for the squirrel. He was cold, hungry, and cramped in every limb. To quicken the blood within him, he flung himself at lightning speed from bough to bough, from tree to tree, up and down the branches, in and out the maze of dripping foliage, until his every hair was tipped with a raindrop, and he was almost weary. Then he paused a moment for breath and shook himself, dog-fashion.
The mole’s uneasy, crimson-pointed muzzle came from a hole right on the water’s edge. He was feeling for the water. ”

“ Should he not succeed in discovering the desired object in the fields, he enters the forest and perches on some detached tree, tall enough to enable him to see to a great distance around. His posture is now erect, he remains still and silent, moving only his head, as on all other occasions, to enable his keen eye to note the occurrences which may take place in his vicinity. The lively Squirrel is seen gaily leaping from one branch to another, or busily employed in searching for the fallen nuts on the ground. ”

“ Every one who has visited the forests of Canada and northeastern United States knows the vivacious, rollicking, and frequently impudent red squirrel. This entertaining little beast, known also as the pine squirrel and chickaree, has little of that woodland shyness so characteristic of most forest animals. It often searches out the human visitor to its haunts and from a low branch or tree trunk sputters, barks, and scolds the intruder, working itself into a frenzy of excitement. ”

“ He sails through them a few yards above the ground, and suddenly alights on the low branch of a tree, or the top of a dead stump, from which he silently watches, in an erect posture, for the appearance of squirrels, upon which he pounces directly and kills them in an instant, afterwards devouring them on the ground. If accidentally discovered, he essays to remove the squirrel, but finding this difficult, he drags it partly through the air and partly along the ground, to some short distance, until he conceives himself out of sight of the intruder, when he again commences feeding. ”