Articles tagged as Squirrels | Smithsonian Magazine

Five gray tree squirrels in Wisconsin were found with their tails hopelessly knotted together, requiring some help from a wildlife rehab

September 18, 2018

Fear not: Though it was recently found that red squirrels can harbor the leprosy bacteria, there hasn't been a single confirmed case of the disease in the UK in 200 years.

New Research

Are Viking Squirrels to Blame for Infecting England with Leprosy?

It’s possible, say researchers who found that medieval strains of the disease may have come to Great Britain in the rodents’ fur and meat

October 26, 2017

Adorable Ground Squirrels Playing in Sweltering Heat

Ground squirrels in the Kalahari have devised a remarkable method to guarantee portable shade: they use their tails as umbrellas

March 9, 2017

North American gray squirrels are decimating native red squirrels in the British Isles, leading to a new plan to reduce the population of invasive mammals

February 27, 2017

New Research

Leprosy Threatens U.K. Red Squirrel Populations

Researchers have launched a new study to try to save the furry rodents

May 10, 2016

New Research

Mysterious “Vampire Squirrel” Finally Caught on Camera

The newly discovered squirrel has the fluffiest tail of any animal, may also disembowel deer

September 16, 2015

Variegated squirrels, like the one pictured above in Costa Rica, may carry a virus that causes encephalitis in humans.

New Research

A Squirrel Virus May Have Killed Three Squirrel Breeders in Germany

A mysterious set of deaths seem to be linked to the rodents

July 13, 2015