Outline drawing of a black and white squirrel for children. How to draw a squirrel: step-by-step diagrams

Squirrels are not shy animals; they are not afraid of even the noise of a big city. Pictures for children with a squirrel give the opportunity to observe it in the wild or jumping from branch to branch in a public garden or city park. The photo shows how saffron milk caps carry cones and nuts into the hollow, storing them for the winter, or feast on rowan berries.

The child will be happy to guess the cartoon squirrels, watch how they are drawn, and try to draw the animal with a pencil using one of the step-by-step master classes. He will quickly and easily learn a nursery rhyme by watching an interesting cartoon.

Pictures and photos of squirrels for children. Interesting Facts

Squirrels are funny rodents with fluffy tails and tufts on their ears. They can be found on all continents except Australia and Antarctica.

The size of the animal varies, but usually does not exceed 30 cm. The fluffy tail of a squirrel, the length of which is equal to 2/3 of the length of the rodent’s body, is clearly visible in pictures for children on a white background. A long time ago they thought that it was just a decoration or even a sun umbrella. In fact, squirrels use their tail as a rudder when they jump through the trees. Even if a rodent falls from a height of several tens of meters, it will not break - the tail will act as a parachute.

An interesting fact that children probably don’t know: a squirrel’s teeth grow throughout its life. To keep them from being too long, the saffron milk cap constantly gnaws on something, grinding them down. In the photo you can see the sharp claws of the animal. They appear in rodents from birth.

Cool and funny photos. Squirrel on a tree, in the forest, with nuts, on a branch

Tailed animals are natural poison dart climbers. Thanks to their tenacious claws and movable joints, they move perfectly along tree trunks and branches. The funny squirrels in the pictures literally “hang” upside down, looking for food.

Seeing a squirrel in the park, a child will not mind feeding it nuts. But with the tailed fish’s diet, not everything is so simple! Cones, seeds and nuts are not all she prefers. The squirrel is omnivorous. It can even eat insects and small animals. But the peanuts, which kids often offer her, contain protein that a rodent’s stomach cannot digest. Therefore, if children want the squirrel to eat from their hands, as in the photo, it is better to offer it walnuts or sunflower seeds.

In addition to its love of nuts, the squirrel is famous for its ability to jump. She easily jumps from one branch to another over a distance of 5 m in length and 10 m downward.

The rodent also moves on the ground by jumping. The length of the “squirrel step” is 1 m.

If you ask a child what color a squirrel’s coat is, he will answer that it is red. This is true for most species, but not all. For example, Carpathian and Manchurian squirrels have a dark brown or black coat, while gray squirrels have gray or ash-blue coats.

Squirrel with squirrels, family. Squirrel in a hollow

Mother squirrels give birth to cubs 2-3 times a year. They are completely blind and helpless. Babies begin to develop hair only two weeks after birth, and only a month later. The squirrel spends 2-3 months with the squirrels, then, having matured, they begin to live their own lives.

Children know well that a squirrel's house is a hollow in a tree in the forest. They also build oval nests directly on a branch and do not disdain birdhouses.

Cute rodents are also quite smart. They have developed communication. Families of squirrels act as accomplices, looking for and stealing food, each individual having its own role.

Drawn squirrels, pencil drawings of squirrels for children

A painted squirrel with nuts or mushrooms evokes affection. In images she can often be seen as a housewife in an apron, stocking up for the winter. And how skillfully this animal is drawn with a pencil!

Squirrel tracks. Squirrel in winter, preparing supplies for the winter

In winter the squirrel does not sleep. If the frosts are too severe, the rodent can doze off in the hollow for several days.

There are legends about the thriftiness of squirrels. Children know that, in preparation for winter, she drags nuts, cones, berries and mushrooms into the hollow and hides them nearby. In the picture, a squirrel drags an acorn into a hollow. It’s interesting that a rodent can have a lot of hiding places, but over the winter he eats only a third of the goodies stored in them. And not because I’m not hungry, but because I’m forgetful. The squirrel simply doesn’t remember where or what she hid.

In the forest and in the reserve, during cold weather, animals prefer to move along the treetops, away from hungry predators. Therefore, squirrel tracks in the snow can more often be seen in a city park, where there are fewer dangers and more people want to feed them from their hands.

Pictures of cartoon squirrels. Game: guess the cartoon from the picture

Children love the funny squirrel from the cartoon “Ice Age.” What other cartoon squirrels do they know? In the photo with the guys’ answers, I’m waiting for my favorite characters.

How to draw a squirrel with a pencil for children and beginners

There are pictures and instructions on how to draw a squirrel for children of different ages. One shows a step-by-step image of a rodent for beginners, where everything is shown easily and schematically. On the other, the animal is more complex, funny, as if from a cartoon. A student can try to draw drawings of a squirrel with a pencil, in which it looks like it’s alive.

Pictures and videos for kindergarten and primary school children

In natural history classes for kindergarten and junior schoolchildren, I talk in detail about the squirrel, as an animal that lives next to humans, and they show thematic photos and pictures. The animal has also become the hero of children's rhymes and nursery rhymes; there are interesting educational and entertaining videos about it.

Children's short rhymes

Authors of nursery rhymes pay attention to both the appearance and habits of squirrels. They describe in detail her fluffy red coat and tell the children about how the little animal collects mushrooms, nuts and berries to survive the winter.

Video for children

The well-known nursery rhyme for kindergarten children, “A squirrel is sitting on a cart,” is taught to children in order to develop their memory, imagination and speech. And if you supplement it with finger exercises, you get a good workout for fine motor skills.

A good cartoon about squirrels, “Forest Travelers,” will tell you that the life of saffron milk caps in the forest is not at all carefree. But if you stick together, all difficulties can be overcome.

The squirrel is a very cute animal and many children love to draw squirrels. Draw a squirrel You can take a photo or even watch a squirrel in the park. But still, it is better to draw a squirrel step by step, using some lesson called “How to draw a squirrel step by step,” since it is a very graceful animal and without experience it is very difficult to convey this feature. Of course, if you draw a fluffy tail and characteristic ears with tassels on the head of a squirrel, it will already be clear that it is a squirrel. But we want to draw a “real” squirrel, exactly the same one that runs in the park. Therefore, let's try to draw a squirrel first with a pencil, and then we will “revive” the picture of the squirrel, color the drawing with colored pencils, draw a tree branch on which it sits, and of course, a bump in the squirrel’s paws.

1. First steps of drawing a squirrel

The first stage of drawing a squirrel is not at all difficult. But, nevertheless, you need to accurately draw the oval of the squirrel’s body and the circle for the head. The height of the oval will be equal to two circles and must necessarily have a slope. The more accurately you make the primary contours, the more accurate the squirrel drawing will be in the future.

2. Approximate outlines of a squirrel’s legs

At this stage you need to draw the paws. To make it easier to maintain proportions in the drawing, use markings using small circles. You will then have an idea of ​​how thick the squirrel’s paws should be and see where to start drawing them. The squirrel's front legs are small, and the back legs are long, the same as those of a cat or rabbit. If you have drawn all the contour lines accurately, let's continue draw a squirrel at the next stage.

3. Draw the contours of the squirrel’s ears, tail and muzzle

You may find this step difficult at first. But take a closer look, it’s not at all difficult to draw the outline of the tail, add the whites of the ears on the head and slightly correct the outline of the muzzle. Well, when you draw a circle for the squirrel’s eye, the squirrel will seem to come to life.

4. How to draw a squirrel. Detailing the drawing

Use an eraser to remove the now extra contour lines, being careful not to erase the working outline. Look how quickly and easily you drew a squirrel. You just need to add a few small details and the squirrel drawing will be almost ready. Start detailing the drawing with the squirrel's eye, add claws on the paws, draw a nose.

5. Draw the squirrel skin and fluffy tail

At this stage you need to make the squirrel "fluffy". It is better to draw a fluffy tail using similar thin and long strokes, as in my drawing. In the same way, you can draw the fluffy skin of a squirrel, only with short strokes. Well, now the drawing of the squirrel is definitely complete and you can pick up colored pencils.

6. How to draw a squirrel. The final stage

I think you yourself know what color a squirrel is, but it’s still better to first look at a real photograph of a squirrel in order to accurately convey its color. You can shade the squirrel's drawing with simple soft pencils, much like in my drawing. If you decide to color the drawing with paints, then it is advisable to know how to work with them. Be sure to draw a squirrel with a bump in its front legs, sitting on a tree branch. Add the surrounding landscape, but not too brightly, in light colors, so that squirrel drawing remained in the foreground.

If you decide to draw a cat with colored pencils or color it with paints, you can use the coloring from this drawing, which I made on a graphics tablet.

It’s not easy to draw a kitten, just like a squirrel. The main reason for this is that these animals cannot remain motionless for a long time. And even if you see a squirrel in the park and it comes up to you for food, it will not “pose” for your drawing.

The squirrel is not at all like a rabbit. But if you take a closer look, they have a lot in common. Drawn pictures of rabbits jumping merrily only at first glance seem simple to draw. In any drawing of an animal, you need to accurately maintain the proportions and convey its character and grace.

If you are going draw a squirrel on the grass picking mushrooms or apples, draw a hedgehog nearby. This will bring the overall drawing to life. Let's try to do this together, and perhaps this lesson will seem very easy for you.

Since learning to draw a squirrel and a hamster will most likely have small children with me, I made this lesson as simple as possible. I hope you will be able to draw a hamster with a pencil step by step the first time without making mistakes.

After walking through the autumn forest, your child wanted to draw a squirrel, but you have no idea where to start? Then this small master class is just for you!

To get started, take the following tools:

• simple pencil (non-greasy);
• eraser;
• felt-tip pens or colored pencils (you can use watercolor or gouache);
• sheet of white paper.

To start drawing, decide on the subject of the drawing. Squirrel in a tree? Is the squirrel collecting supplies for the winter or just running through the autumn forest? If the plot is clear, then it’s time to get to work.

How to draw a squirrel with a mushroom

Let's imagine that the squirrel decided to go to visit his friend the hedgehog and take gifts with him. Autumn is the season of mushrooms, so let's draw a squirrel with a mushroom in his hand. By following this simple diagram, your child will quickly learn to draw this wonderful animal. Use your imagination, draw clouds, the sun, birds and the hedgehog himself.

How to draw a squirrel sitting on a tree

Let's imagine that we saw a squirrel on a branch. It’s not difficult to draw this animal, the main thing is to follow the following diagram. Pay attention not only to the squirrel, but also to its habitat. Let the child draw a forest or park with a lot of trees, because the squirrel loves to travel.

How to draw a squirrel about to jump from a branch

The squirrel can't sit still. This agile and agile animal moves very quickly. Imagine that a squirrel from a tree saw a nut on the ground and urgently needs to run after it. Let your child try to draw a squirrel jumping from a branch using this simple diagram.

How to draw a squirrel from the cartoon “Ice Age”

Many children loved this funny squirrel from Ice Age. To draw it, your child will need your help, because this is an unusual animal.

Start with the head, then move on to drawing the body. At the very end draw the tail and acorn.

How to draw any squirrel

To draw a squirrel, you need to represent it in the form of geometric shapes. The head and paws are circles, and the body and tail are triangles. Below you will see a universal diagram according to which you can draw any squirrel.

Experiment with your child. Through a drawing of a squirrel, you can easily learn the letters B-E-L-K and A. Use your imagination, come up with funny stories to involve your baby in the process.

How to draw a squirrel?

One of the activities that interests almost all children is drawing. Over the years, this hobby gives way to other more important matters. And in vain! By drawing, we relax, recharging with creative energy.

Drawing is not only an interesting activity, but also useful. Follow our clear instructions and you will have a beautiful drawing that you can proudly show to your friends.

In this article we will look at several options on how to draw a squirrel. If you want to draw a fluffy and nimble rodent with your child, then pay attention to the simplest schematic drawings. For beginning artists, below are various patterns and step-by-step lessons.

How to draw a squirrel step by step with a pencil for children and beginners?

After a walk in the park or watching a cartoon in which one of the characters is a squirrel, your child may ask you to help him draw this animal. Don't be so quick to say no. Try to draw a real forest squirrel with him, and perhaps you too will end up with something “masterpiece”.

You can pick up a beautiful photo of a squirrel and try to draw it yourself with a simple pencil. But if you do not have enough experience, then it is better to take the advice of professional artists who give detailed instructions on how to draw an animal in their step-by-step lessons.

It is difficult to convey the features of such a graceful animal without painting other drawings. This material is for everyone who decided to draw a “real” squirrel with a pencil and “revive” it with paints.

Squirrels are very graceful animals

To draw a fluffy squirrel, we arm ourselves with a soft pencil (it can be 4H, 2B or 6B) and a sheet of paper. It is more convenient for both children and adults to draw using geometric shapes for primary contours.

By fitting the details into a circle or square, it is easier to give it the desired shape in the future. Don't ignore this advice. Even experienced artists use this method.

We remember that you do not need to press on the pencil in the first stages of drawing. Otherwise, the whole drawing will not look neat later.

Step 1:

• Let's draw the main auxiliary lines. Let's draw two circles. The squirrel's body is a large oval. It can be depicted as a large egg, which occupies 1/3 of the sheet, with the side narrowed upward. We draw it with an inclination to the right side.
• Draw a circle near the top of this oval (the size of the large oval should be equal to three small circles). This will be the squirrel's head.
• The accuracy of the primary contours determines how accurate the resulting image of the squirrel will be. Therefore, in the first stages it is worth trying to repeat everything exactly as in the presented sketch.

Step 2:

• Let's outline the approximate contours of the squirrel's paws.
• It will be much easier to maintain proportions in the drawing if you use markings of small circles. This technique will allow you to determine where to start drawing the squirrel’s legs and how thick they should be.
• The squirrel's front legs are short. Let's draw them using two circles: the small one is the “squirrel brush”, the large one is the squirrel’s elbow. Let's draw a small arc above the small circle, thus depicting the second front leg.
• The squirrel's hind legs are long, like those of a rabbit or cat. Let's draw the squirrel's knees in a small circle. You should get something like this:

Step 3:

• At this stage we will draw the outlines of the ears, muzzle and bushy tail. This step just seems difficult. In fact, it is enough just to repeat all the lines exactly, as in the figure, maintaining the desired proportions.
• We outline the outline of the tail. Let's draw long ears on the squirrel's head. Let's correct the outline of the head drawn earlier a little, showing the outline of the muzzle and cheeks.
• Let us draw a circle where the squirrel's eye will be located. As you can see, the animal is becoming more and more like a real squirrel.

Step 4:

• Now we will draw the small details of the drawing and clarify its contours. Please note: the squirrel's tail is divided into two halves by a curved line. This will help visually add volume to it.
• Let's draw the toes on the front and hind legs, shape the muzzle and draw the eye - a slightly pointed circle at the bottom.
• We erase all the auxiliary lines and erroneous strokes, but try not to touch the working path with the eraser. Look how quickly we completed the squirrel drawing! There's still quite a bit left. Don’t stop halfway: the squirrel has not yet “overgrown” with hair and it does not have small button eyes.

Step 5:

• Let's draw the squirrel's nose and clarify the shape of the eye. Let's start drawing the squirrel's skin and long fluffy hair on its tail. To make the tail fluffy, draw long and thin strokes, as in the picture.
• Go over the squirrel's body and head with a pencil. Draw the fur on the ears and shade the darker areas with short lines.
• At the final stage, you can take colored pencils and paint over the drawing in orange. Paint dark areas brown.

The previous drawing will be more enjoyable for adults to draw. For children, the following method of drawing a squirrel is suitable:

Let's draw the following design: an elongated ellipse, from which the squirrel's body will later be formed, we will attach a circle to it - the head, add a tail and sketch out the legs. Here's what should be on your piece of paper:

Let's draw squirrel contours in our design: make the head more elongated, add ears with tassels, fingers, and draw a muzzle.

Let's draw the fluffy tail: it should look voluminous. We use a curved line to denote the squirrel's tummy. Let's draw a cute fungus in the paws. If desired, you can depict both a nut and a berry in the squirrel’s paws.

Let's delete the auxiliary lines. Let's add a smiling squirrel mouth and a big eye. Using short strokes we outline the fur on the belly.

The squirrel drawing is almost ready. We will color it with an orange pencil or felt-tip pen. We will decorate the mushroom with two colors: dark brown for the cap and light brown for the stem.

To make the squirrel look more realistic, let’s draw several light areas: on the cheeks, on the legs and on the tail.

Video: how to draw a squirrel step by step?

How to draw a squirrel on a tree?

To draw a squirrel on a tree, you need to decide how exactly the animal will be depicted: sitting on a tree or preparing to jump to another tree.

Drawing of a funny squirrel, reminiscent of a character from one of the cartoons, is performed in several stages according to the same scheme:

• three circles are drawn, which will then become the body, chest and head of the animal
• the circles are connected, and then the eyes, nose, paws, and tail of the squirrel are drawn in
• after we draw the squirrel, we “seat” it on a branch and decorate it

In this picture a squirrel is depicted preparing to jump. It is better to draw the branch under the squirrel at an angle.

You can draw a squirrel on a tree in another way. To do this we need two simple pencils: hard and soft. We will use the hard one to draw the initial contours, and the soft one will be useful for clarifying and detailing the drawing.

• Draw with a hard pencil. Using a rectangle, mark the place on the sheet (in the upper third) where we will place the squirrel. If this is not done, the drawing may “move out” or may not fit into the sheet at all.
• Let's draw a circle and draw a diagonal in it. Now let's draw the squirrel's head around the circle. Look at the picture to see how to do this.

• Draw the eye diagonally. The ears are two cones. Let's draw the muzzle. As you can see, it's not difficult at all.
• Draw a curved line from the head down. This will be the squirrel's back. Let's draw an elongated oval at the bottom. This will be the squirrel thigh. Add a front leg and draw the belly line. Now you can mark the second hind leg with a short line. Let's draw the fingers.

• Let's sit the squirrel on a branch. These are two parallel uneven lines that are drawn at a slight angle. Let's add a large fluffy tail, a peeking part of the front paw and a nut. We got the base for the squirrel done.

• Using short dashed lines we paint over the protruding front and hind legs, the nut, add shadows on the ears, and shade the underbelly. We paint over the eye, not forgetting that we need to leave a round white highlight.

• Change the pencil to a soft one. We begin to draw protruding fur on the back, lower abdomen, tail, and thigh using short lines. Add fur to the squirrel's forehead. Here it is very important not to overdo it, and to accurately repeat the direction of the fur and the length as in the picture.

• With your index finger, we begin to smear the drawn lines, without affecting the area of ​​the eyes, nose and main contours. Again, draw the fur along the edges, pressing more on the pencil.

• Shade the area near the ears. Now we take an eraser and begin to “draw” with it, as we used to draw short dashed lines with a pencil in the direction of hair growth: between the ears, on the nose, near the eyes, on the cheek, on the elbow, at the top of the thigh, on the tummy and tail. Slightly blur the boundaries of the resulting lines.

And here is a version of a very cheerful squirrel on a tree:

How to easily draw a squirrel by cells?

Children love to draw in the squares. Such an exciting activity is very useful: the child will not only pass the time in silence, but will also improve hand coordination and concentration.

Graphic dictations, which is what cell drawings are called, develop logical thinking.

To draw a squirrel by cells, you just need to find a drawing you like and make a calculation based on the cells of the animal figure.

But if your child decides to transfer a drawing of a squirrel from a postcard or photograph onto paper, then the following diagram will help him:

• You need to move from the bottom of the picture, gradually moving higher and higher along the rows of cells. You first need to draw the legs on which the squirrel sits, then “complete” the body, large tail and head of the squirrel using cells.
• The squirrel's eye is one cell in the center of the head.
• You can depict a squirrel sitting on a tree or stump.

How to draw a squirrel from the fairy tale about Tsar Saltan?

To draw a squirrel from the fairy tale about Tsar Saltan, we will need to create a real illustration with an episode in which the squirrel sits in a crystal house and gnaws nuts with golden shells.

• Let's start drawing a house for the squirrel. Use a ruler to make sure the walls are even. Of course, you can draw a house like in a Soviet cartoon. But we draw with children, so we’ll simplify the “squirrel’s” home a little.
• Let's draw a rectangle, place a triangle on it, and draw 2 more rectangles on the sides. Let's separate the columns and draw the entrance. You can draw a staircase, but for us it’s just a downhill slide.
• At the top of the house we will draw a squirrel. Let's decorate the house: add various carved elements.

Draw a rectangle and a triangle on it

Let's add columns and descent

Squirrels (Sciurus) are a genus of small mammals from the order of rodents and the extensive family of squirrels. The animals are known for their luxurious, fluffy tail and the interesting feature of hiding significant reserves of nuts for the winter.

The first squirrels appeared on earth about 100 thousand years ago, and today their genus includes 29 species, most of which live in North and South America. All types of squirrels share a typical appearance and characteristic habits, and the differences lie mainly in the color of the fur and areas of distribution. Only one representative of the genus lives on the territory of Russia - the common squirrel, which is also called Veksha.

Animals from other genera, such as the chipmunk, palm, giant or baby squirrel, are also called squirrels, although they do not belong to the genus Sciurus.

What do squirrels look like?

Squirrels are quite fragile and graceful creatures with an elongated body, about 30 cm long and weighing from 250 to 400 g. The size of their elegant tail is 2/3 of the body length, and the characteristic “comb” is formed by long, up to 6 cm, hairs, growing on the sides of the tail. The animals' front legs are much shorter than their hind legs and end in long, tenacious fingers with sharp claws.

The squirrels' head is small and round, and their muzzle is short and sharp. The animals' eyes are large, with black irises, and at the tips of the ears, elongated hair is collected in characteristic tufts that form tassels.

In winter, squirrels' coats are soft and fluffy, while summer fur is rough, short and sparse. Even within one species, the color of squirrels is extremely variable: winter fur is distinguished by dull gray, brownish and black tones; in summer, squirrels are more brightly colored with a predominance of red and dark brown colors. Sometimes there are absolutely black specimens and vice versa, squirrels are albino, and there are variegated and spotted specimens. Molting occurs 2 times a year, only the tail sheds only once per season.

Habitat and lifestyle

Squirrels are distributed throughout almost the entire territory of Europe, on both American continents and in Asian countries located in the temperate climate zone.

Typical habitats for squirrels are coniferous, deciduous and mixed forests, as well as city parks, where the animals are provided with their main source of food - tree seeds and nuts. Squirrels spend most of their lives in trees, and are most active at dusk and dawn. During the breeding season and in the warm season they can be seen on the ground, where the animals move in characteristic leaps up to 1 m long.

Squirrels living in deciduous forests make shelters in tree hollows, where they drag dry leaves, grass and lichens, and the inhabitants of coniferous forests build nests from dry twigs right in the forks of branches. Squirrels often use birdhouses as shelter, and the males do not engage in construction, but inhabit empty bird nests. One squirrel can have up to 15 nests at the same time, which the animal periodically changes. In winter, squirrels leave their shelters only in case of severe hunger, and in severe frosts and prolonged bad weather they remain in the nest, falling into half-asleep.

In drought or lean years, squirrels migrate in search of food over a distance of up to 300 km, during which many animals die from hunger and predators.

Nutritional Features

The basis of the squirrel diet is conifer seeds, acorns and hazelnuts. Secondly, berries and mushrooms are consumed, with preference given to the deer truffle, as well as rhizomes, shoots, leaves and buds of plants. During the mating season, animal food appears in the diet of squirrels: various insects and their larvae, as well as eggs and chicks. In winter, the squirrel eats about 35 g of food per day, during the breeding season - about 80 g.

The lower jaw of the squirrel is forked and connected by an elastic muscle, thanks to which the animals easily crack nuts, spreading their strong incisors to the side and inserting them into the hole in the shell like a wedge.

In a very interesting way, squirrels store food for the winter: they hang mushrooms on branches, and bury acorns, cones and nuts or hide them in hollows, but almost immediately forget about their supplies and stumble upon them by accident in winter.

Squirrels living within the city consider humans as a source of food, so they easily get used to hand feeding.

Reproduction

Throughout the range, the squirrels' rut occurs from January to the end of summer; females of northern populations bear offspring 1-2 times a year, residents of the south - 3 times. During the mating season, the female is accompanied by up to 6 males, who run after each other, purr loudly and knock their paws on tree branches.

The female mates with the winner, and then begins building a brood nest. The squirrel bears offspring for 35 - 38 days, and usually from 3 to 10 squirrels are born, weighing about 8 g. After 2 weeks, the cubs become covered with hair, and open their eyes only after a month. Milk feeding lasts up to 50 days, at the age of 2 - 2.5 months the squirrels leave the nest, and at 9 - 12 months they become sexually mature.

In the wild, rare squirrels live up to 4 years, and the mortality rate of young animals reaches 85%. The animals are hunted by owls, hawks, martens and foxes; in the off-season, many squirrels die from various infections, and in winter from hunger. However, in most of the range, squirrels are quite numerous and the state of their population does not cause concern. In captivity, with good care, squirrels live about 12 years.