The most striking feature of squirrels is their large tails, which are always raised high in the air. Sometimes, their tails even appear to be larger than the squirrels themselves. So, what is the function of a squirrel's large tail?
In fact, this is closely related to the squirrel's lifestyle. The most commonly known squirrels are the tree squirrel family, which belong to the rodent order of the mammalian class. This family also includes giant squirrels, flower squirrels, and rock squirrels, among others. These species are also considered broadly defined squirrels, but they live on the ground and have slightly smaller tails than tree squirrels. Tree squirrels usually jump from one branch to another, and their large tails help them maintain balance during jumping and serve as a rudder for direction control. When falling, they even function like a parachute. In the hot summer, the tail can be used as a sunshade; in cold weather, this furry large tail can be used as a quilt to keep warm. In addition, tree squirrels can hang upside down from trees and perform various high-difficulty movements.
Moreover, when fighting, squirrels will swing their tails back and forth to confuse enemies. When necessary, the tail can also be used as a shield. Squirrels also like to wag their tails to greet each other. When facing common enemies, squirrels will coordinate their actions through "tail language". Studies have found that eastern tree squirrels can also use their tails to represent social status. Interestingly, unlike most animals that like to raise their tails high in the air, squirrels who own territories tend to lower their tails a bit, while those who are "poor farmers" and "vagabonds" raise their tails very high. Scientists jokingly speculate that since squirrels' tails are large, lowering them might be more energy-saving.
On the close relative of tree squirrels - California ground squirrels, scientists have also discovered another clever use of the tail - infrared deception. Rattlesnakes are the natural enemies of ground squirrels. To deal with snakes, ground squirrels have tried various methods. If they can fight back, they will grab and bite the snakes. If they can't, they will kick sand into the snakes' eyes. Some ground squirrel mothers even pick up snake skins, chew them up and eat them with their children to confuse the snake's scent. When these tactics don't work, the ground squirrel mothers will quickly wag their tails in front of the snakes to accelerate blood flow and increase infrared radiation by heating the tail, so that the infrared-sensing snakes will mistakenly believe that the other side is a large creature and retreat.