It can be fun watching a group of squirrels run around a tree or make their way up and down a tree trunk without stopping to take a break. Well, you will be surprised to learn that there are a variety of reasons why squirrels chase each other. When you take some time to study the behavior of these little creatures, listen to the sounds they make, and think about the current season of the year, you can determine the cause of the chase.

Why do squirrels chase each other?

One of the reasons squirrels chase each other has to do with the establishment of the territory. Different species of squirrels have areas of different sizes. One squirrel can create an area of ​​2 acres while another is 25 acres. It’s not about the size of the area, but the quality of the stuff in the area. Squirrels look for areas with a great source of food and plenty of places to take shelter when foxes, hawks, and other predators enter the vicinity.

In general, a male squirrel marks its territory with its urine. A lot of animals mark their territory with urine including deer, tigers, chipmunks, bears, and domesticated dogs to name a few. A squirrel can also use liquid from the scent glands around its mouth. A squirrel rubs its nose or face against trees, grass, or wherever it wants to mark the territory. They mark their territory to keep their food supply and shelter safe from other squirrels. All these small mammals have such an excellent sense of smell that they can detect the scent of another squirrel.

When you see two squirrels chasing each other, it may be because one male is invading the territory of the other male. Look closely and you’ll see that they may bite or scratch each other, too. This kind of fighting on the ground might seem very violent.

Squirrels may also make rattling noises when they are in a fight for an area to try to scare their opponent away. They can quickly move all the way around a tree trunk, jump from branch to branch and even sneak across large expanses of grass in this quest. Squirrels can fall from trees in the heat of this fight. However, they are usually not injured as a result of a fall.

In the end, a squirrel defending its territory will cause the other to move. Or it turns out that the squirrel that invaded the area is dominant and takes the area as its own. When it comes to these encounters, the strongest and most persistent squirrel wins.

Stalking during mating season

If you see two or more squirrels chasing each other between December and February or June and August, it probably has something to do with the mating season.

It is not uncommon for more than one male to seek a female who is ready to mate. Males chase each other in an attempt to establish dominance and drive other males out of the area. This type of chase can last for an hour or a few minutes depending on the strength of the males involved. The strongest male left after the chase is the male who is able to mate with the female.

A male squirrel may also chase a female during the mating process. The male may chase the female so closely that her nose rests directly on the female’s rear. He picks up her scent to make sure she is ready to mate. You may hear a male’s voice similar to muk-muk words. This is an imitation of the sound that squirrel babies make. It encourages the female to mate.

Strive to protect the food supply

If you see two squirrels on a chase, this may have something to do with the food supply. As you know, squirrels spend a lot of time collecting acorns, fruits and plants to store in their nests during the cold weather months. Foraging for food is a matter of life or death with many animals including squirrels. This pantry of food is a treasure that squirrels fiercely protect.

When there is a shortage of food in an area, this can lead to many such chase scenes as the squirrels are fighting to survive. If they do not have enough food stored away during the cold weather months, these animals will not be able to survive or feed their young.

When one squirrel gets too close to the other’s nest and its food supply, the owner of the nest takes off after the intruder to drive him away. Gnawing, biting and screaming are all behaviors exhibited when a squirrel protects its food supply.

Stalking as a form of play

You’ll be glad to know that not all squirrel chases have an aggressive tone. If you see many squirrels wandering in tree branches or on the ground, it could be a group of small squirrels. They are probably brothers and sisters from the same trash.

Squirrel babies are born in early spring and late summer. They won’t get out of the nest until they have a full coat of hair. Young squirrels look like miniature versions of adult squirrels. Young squirrels cannot live independently until they are 10 to 12 weeks old. Therefore, they learn how to find food for three months before they set out, build their own nest and start a family.

Young squirrels are chasing each other and may appear to be fighting. This is done out of fun and to help them develop speed so that they can survive like adult squirrels. If you see this group of squirrels approaching the same tree and you see a nest in that tree, it is likely that the juvenile squirrels from that nest are playing a game of chase.