Giant squirrel nest built by people at Knight Nature Preserve
11/10/2012
Perrysburg resident Clare Wellstein, 4, adds sticks to a large nest in the backyard of the activity building during a squirrel-nest-making lesson at the WW Knight Nature Preserve in Perrysburg.
People often see squirrels scurrying up trees and across roads, but they rarely get to see them in their cozy little squirrel beds.
The Wood County Park District invited children and their families today to the W.W. Knight Nature Preserve in Perrysburg to make a giant squirrel nest.
Sometimes big clumps of leaves tucked into tree branches are mistaken for birds nests, but they are really built by the fuzzy-tailed rodent.
The proper term for the nest is a "drey," and it is often made of leaves and twigs. The interior of the nest is lined with fur, feathers, and other soft materials. The nests are built high enough in a tree to avoid predators but not too high to be destroyed by winds.
Squirrels do not hibernate, but they spend much of the winter in their nests to conserve body heat. They also will make a nest inside a tree cavity.