In the wild, every animal has to fend for itself, even the cutest and smallest of animals. Animals compete for food, water and shelter. In urban areas, humans sometimes take squirrels as pets and feed these tiny animals on a regular basis. But what happens in the wild when there is no food available for squirrels to eat? Will these animals resort to eating each other? This article explores the question of ‘do squirrels eat other squirrels’

Squirrels don’t usually eat other squirrels, but in certain circumstances, this can happen. This type of cannibalism can happen when male squirrels kill and eat a litter of pups, this is called sexually selective infanticide. The adult male kills the pups so he can breed with the mother. A mother squirrel can also kill and eat her young if stressed.

Do squirrels eat other squirrels?

A squirrel’s diet varies, these animals aren’t exclusively vegetarians, they eat meat too, in fact, it is not unusual for a squirrel to eat meat. In addition to the regular types of meat that squirrels eat, which include lizards, mice, birds, snakes and insects, squirrels may also sometimes eat other squirrels, but this is uncommon 

One instance where a squirrel would eat another is if a male squirrel eats the carcasses of a litter of baby squirrels. Squirrel females can mate with many males, when this happens, she will give birth to two or more litters of pups with different fathers. If a squirrel has fathered a litter of pups, and wants to father another set with the female, he will kill off a set of pups that do not belong to him, in some cases, he will proceed to eat the carcasses of the pups. Once the pups are killed, the female will stop lactating and can mate with him again. The male does not always eat the carcasses after he has killed them, but this sometimes happens. If the male squirrel does not eat the carcasses they will simply be left to decay or be eaten by predators. 

A new squirrel mom may also kill and eat her own pups. Because life in the wild can be hard, and food is not always plentiful animals can become stressed. If a female gives birth to a litter of pups, and is stressed soon after, she may kill and eat the pups. She may also do this if her body is lacking in essential nutrients such as calcium or protein. This is also what happens to other rodents such as mice, hamsters and so forth 

There has also been the occasional sighting of squirrels eating roadkill squirrel on the highway. Because healthy food, and food in general, can be difficult to find in urban areas, this type of cannibalism can happen. The feeding site can also attract other squirrels. These squirrels will likely also get run over, this will likely attract more squirrels and so on and so forth. 

Will squirrels kill other squirrels?

Apart from the aforementioned situations where a squirrel will eat another, a squirrel will likely not kill another squirrel. If two squirrels are fighting over something, the scuffle will only result in injuries. Squirrels fight over mates and territories. In the case of mates, a male squirrel will fight with a rival squirrel to assess which is the more superior and dominant animal. In the case of fighting over territory, an intruder squirrel will be attacked by the squirrel inhabitants of that territory. In both these cases, the squirrels will nip and scratch at each other until one backs down, but the fight will not result in a death 

What animals kill squirrels?

While squirrels don’t usually have to worry about being attacked by a fellow squirrel, they do have to worry about being preyed upon by other animals. Squirrels are pretty low on the food chain and there are a lot of predators that may try to kill and eat them, these include:

• Owls

• Sparrow hawks

• Red and black kites

• Falcons

• Red foxes

• Domestic cats

• Domestic dogs

• Badgers

• Weasels 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, yes squirrels do eat other squirrels, this behaviour can happen if a male squirrel wants an opportunity to father another litter, he creates this opportunity for himself by killing off and eating the litter of another male squirrel. Squirrel cannibalism also happens when a mother squirrel is stressed or is low on essential minerals after birth. Other than this, squirrels don’t kill each other, they only fight.  Squirrels have other natural predators to worry about namely owls, sparrow hawks, red and black kites, falcons, red foxes, domestic cats, domestic dogs, badgers and weasels

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other squirrel related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Squirrel barking at me, why this happens, Pet squirrel getting aggressive, why and what to do, Do squirrels fight?, Do squirrels eat their dead?