Eurasian red squirrel

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Eurasian red squirrel

The creature leaping in today's image is the European red squirrel. They can be found in boreal and coniferous forests in Europe and Siberia, where they live in trees like Scots pine, Norway spruce and Siberian pine. Their long bushy tail helps them to balance while they scamper through the treetops, and it may even help to keep them warm when they're asleep. With their strong hind legs, they can leap the long distances between trees. Their diet primarily consists of seeds from trees—those obtained by stripping conifer cones—as well as fungi, nuts, berries, vegetables and more.