Nutty Ways to Celebrate Squirrel Appreciation Day This Year

SQUIRRELS! Whether you love them or loathe them, National Squirrel Appreciation Day, January 21st,  is a great time to take a few moments and learn about these nutty animals. If you count flying squirrels we have 10 tree species  in North America. We are constantly uncovering complexities around their survival tactics and social behavior. Squirrels are fascinating animals to watch and have been documented adopting orphaned young and stealing food. And let’s face it—squirrels are pretty difficult to outwit.

Humans actually introduced them to most of our major city parks in the 1850s and ’60s and feeding squirrels was common as a means to encourage kindness to all animals. People thought that by adding them to our parks in cities, we could bring pleasure to the people who couldn’t leave the city and enjoy nature.

So for this Squirrel Appreciation Day, we’re hoping to showcase the critters we essentially chose to keep us company in urban settings. So let’s celebrate their acrobatic ability, their role in connecting people to nature and how they can amuse us even when they frustrate us as neighbors.

Squirrels Make Great Characters 

With The Nut Job in theaters, squirrel lovers have a unique opportunity to see squirrels as the stars (and not just some extra in the nearby park). The movie is fun for kids and NWF is an educational partner – What does that mean? Means you get a free poster you can download and that we’ll be giving away tickets to those who want to win them in honor of Squirrel Appreciation Day!

Play Squirrelly Games

• Download Squirrel vs. Birdfeeder for your iPhone. It’s a free and fun game where you are the squirrel trying to get to a bird feeder.
• Are you nuts for words? We have a Nutty Word Find that will hopefully amuse you.
• Play Squirrel Seek and use your imagination!
• Enter our caption contest (hint: it’s a squirrel this month!)

Give Squirrels A Home

• Participate in our Trees for Wildlife program (either donate or apply for trees to plant)
• Garden for wildlife: Learn more how to certify your yard, school or business and create a space for a number of wild species (including squirrels!)

Tell Us Your Squirrel Story

Whether you take notes of  squirrel behavior or you just like giggling about situations like this squirrel, we’d love to hear your squirrel story! Tell us if you’re celebrating Squirrel Appreciation Day or what strange experiences you’ve had with the animals. Feel free to share with us using the #squirrelday hashtag or visit our Facebook page and we’ll add your photos to our Scuridae album!

BONUS! Additional Squirrelly Links for Celebrating:

• 5 Ways to Go Nuts on Squirrel Appreciation Day
• Celebrate Squirrel Appreciation Day on January 21st
• Activities to do on Squirrel Appreciation Day
• 7 Ways to Celebrate Squirrel Appreciation Day