Squirrel: How a Backyard Forager Shapes Our World

Squirrels are a common sight, seemingly everywhere in wild and urban nature. Their chattering antics in city parks delight us while their raids on our backyard gardens and bird feeders
never fail
to exasperate. But squirrels are more than amusing backyard entertainers, and few of us
know much about them or fully
appreciate their role in keeping the environment healthy. As stress on the natural world intensifies,
should we be paying more attention to the plight of squirrels?

In Squirrel, Nancy Castaldo shines new light on this
familiar backyard mammal, exploring their staggering diversity
(they're found on all continents but Antarctica) and the many surprising ways they shape our world, our communities, and our cultures. Each chapter explores an
aspect of
squirrels and their close and sometimes fraught association with humans: their importance to myriad ecosystems through sophisticated food-caching strategies; their introduction to
nineteenth-century urban parks as adorable ambassadors for nature; their complicated global status as both invasive and endangered; their role as celebrated cultural icons and social media memes; and
ultimately, why we must prevent
population declines and protect
their well-being
while we can.
Like other wildlife species, squirrels are
increasingly
stressed by climate change, and their speculative fate may foreshadow our own.
The
book includes a detailed bibliography, an exhaustive list of
squirrel species and their status, and tips for coexisting peaceably with squirrels in our
yards and neighborhoods.
Chapters are introduced by exquisitely drawn
historical illustrations.