Do Squirrels Eat Other Squirrels? | the Truth Will Give You Shock
Squirrels, an adorable and interesting creatures we love to see around us. We see them running for nuts, biting vegetables, or taking nuts from humans in urban areas. Finding foods in the wild is absolutely different for any living thing in this world.
So what are the easy-to-get foods when Mother Nature becomes tough? Do squirrels eat other squirrels? Do they opt for cannibalism when food is insufficient or in any different situation?
Squirrels usually love vegetables, nuts, acorns, berries, etc. to eat. But they are capable of eating other squirrels and they do eat other squirrels if the circumstance makes them do so. Here I meant special circumstances.
We will be discussing the topic along with some relevant questions in this article. I am sure you will find it interesting.
🐿️ Read More: Do Squirrels Eat Mealworms? | Surprising Facts
Do Squirrels Kill Each Other?
Male squirrels attack each other. They do this to show off their dominance. But, they do not kill each other usually. They chase each other.
This is quite common for squirrels to chase each other for different reasons. It could be for being playful or guarding their resources or mating.
They fight with each other. But none of these happens in a too aggressive way. They do not catch and kill their own kind, in general.
Young squirrels chase each other while playing. From collecting foods to building nests squirrels need to run and have lots of energy.
🐿️ Additional Info: Will a Pellet Gun Kill a Squirrel?
Chasing from a young age helps them to make them capable for future days.
They collect and store food for cold winter days. It is expected to guard that food with the highest sincerity. Also, they chase away other eligible males in the mating season.
So, it is clear that they do not kill each other.
Squirrels chasing each other and playing:
Killing in Special Situation
Now, it might come to your mind that if they injure each other while chasing or fighting which leads to death or not.
NO. As I mentioned a few times that squirrels are not aggressive in these activities. They are energetic and fast, but not hostile. So far this type of injury or death is not found.
But before jumping to this conclusion, I would discuss ‘sexually selected ‘infanticide’. So, what is this Sexually Selected Infanticide (SSI)? Some species follow this practice.
SSI happens when the male mating partner is removed and a young male comes for the replacement.
The offspring fathered by the previous partner is killed by the new mating partner. This killing helps the female to prepare for new breeding.
It increases the chance of the male partner to father his own pups.
Additional read: Can Squirrels Die from Falling? | Know The Real Facts
Do Squirrels Eat Other Squirrels Babies?
Other than humans, mating and breeding are crucial practices for most wild animals. In the previous section, I discussed how and in which situation male squirrels opt to kill the offspring of their rivals.
They do it to breed with their female partners. But, they do not eat other squirrels’ babies. The issue here is to breed, not having food.
In mast years, they have plenty of foods in the wild usually. This is merely about dominance and confirmation of breeding.
Now, in some urgent situations, some male squirrels kill their own pups too. That is also for breeding. This helps the female to prepare for the next breeding and littering.
So far, it is not seen to eat its own offspring by the father squirrel.
But living in wild areas can be way tougher sometimes than we think. Weather sometimes gives them hard time getting food and necessary nutrition. So occasionally, the mother squirrel gets stressed and she eats its own pups. But they do not go after other squirrels’ babies.
Frequently Asked Questions
→Do Grey Squirrels Eat Other Squirrels?
Well, grey squirrels and ground squirrels can go that far to survive starvation. But do not consider it a regular practice. They are fond of commonly acorns, seeds, buds, nuts, fungi, leaves, and barks. They love to eat them as mixtures. They are happy with peanuts and sunflowers.
They occasionally eat other squirrels when nature becomes cruel and forces them to do that. If they find no other options at all to get any food for days, then eat of their own kinds.
Conclusion
So, what is the final verdict about do squirrels eat other squirrels? It is actually correlative.
Like, in general, squirrels do not eat other squirrels, even don’t kill each other. But you know, life faces some unavoidable situations that are extremely cruel. Sometimes, managing food becomes the toughest task.
In this situation, squirrels eat their own babies for starving and surviving. Let me see again, you know, the world is cruel, the living one is so on.
