In the old forests of conifers, from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east, the unusual small and almost invisible animal lives. Connoisseurs of nature say that we should wait until dusk begins to descend on the trees, until the cry of every bird dies away, the rustling leaves, until the forest life completely dies so that the keen eye of a man can go in search of the mysterious inhabitant of the forest, flying squirrel – Pteromys volans.

In Europe it is the only species of flying squirrels. It is scarce. It can be found in Finland, Estonia and Latvia. In Belarus and Lithuania it is extinct.

This little squirrel with small head and strikingly expressed black eyes and tail is truly night animal. From its hole in the tree appears approximately an hour after sunset. Small, a big-eyed appearance slowly leaves the shelter and goes out into the dark night, because its life is just beginning.

The majority of these squirrels reside in the old forests of the northern taiga belt in Estonia and Finland. This is the only mainland vertebrate that can fly, because it has skin growths that are located laterally on the body which are covering the front and rear limbs at the joints. When they spread squirrel turns to sail almost square in shape so it can fly up to 80 meters. Tail is responsible for the direction and stopping.

But this squirrel is very difficult to follow, while almost silently flies over from one tree to another. This takes a lot of patience and luck. This little critter also settles in hollow tree trunks along busy roads, and often in rural backyards.

ID CARD:

Name - Siberian flying squirrel
Length: body 12 to 25 cm, tail 9 to 14 cm
Weight: 130 to 150 grams
Appearance: fur is gray on the back and the belly is white, flat tail. Large, dark and protruding eyes are immediately noticeable.
Diet: During the summer it is feeding on leaves, seeds, buds, berries, sometimes bird eggs, in winter eats twigs.
Mating: there are two breeding seasons during the year - at the end of March and in April. Gestation lasts about five weeks.
Way of life: it is a shy, nocturnal animal, loner. It lives about 5 years.

Status: Endangered species.

Look How Insanely Cute Siberian Flying Squirrels Are