Adorable Female Grey Squirrel Eating Nuts

There are more than 200 different species of squirrels through the world, living just about everywhere -- except Australia, Antarctica and Greenland. You may have seen them in an urban park, in the forest, or even at high elevations. They're mainly herbivores, but they enjoy a diverse diet -- particularly nuts.

Like the various habitats squirrels live in, they have a diverse diet, which varies according to location, season and availability. These rodents primarily eat fruit and tree seeds, but they also snack on flowers, bark, lichens, insects and fungi.

Depending on the type of squirrel, a bird's nest can provide nourishment, either in the form of eggs or hatchlings. Many species of squirrel cache their food finds, burying it close to the ground's surface, where they'll sniff it out months later.

Of course, squirrels are known for eating nuts. As with their regular diet, the kinds of nuts squirrels eat depend on what they can get hold of.

Acorns are popular if there are oak trees nearby to provide nuts. Walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, hickory nuts, almonds and hazelnuts will make them happy, if they can get their hands on them. Though they're not a nut, if squirrels come across peanuts, they'll happily eat these legumes.

Squirrels are absolutely fanatical about nuts. Nuts about nuts, if you will! If you live near a nut tree, chances are good that you can quickly spot a busy squirrel, bustling around in the branches, with a nut or two–or more–that it will store for later.

If you’re hoping to eat those nuts yourself, you may resent the squirrel’s busy, greedy habits. In this case, you may need to install something to deter the squirrel from hoarding your nut harvest, such as a metal sheet wrapped around the tree trunk that will keep the squirrel from being able to climb it.

On the flip side, the squirrel’s activity can be good for the tree species, as squirrels help spread seeds far and wide, helping to ensure the chances of certain tree species’ growth and survival. Nuts may be one of squirrels most naturally desired foods.

Squirrels will eat nuts and will also stash them away in caches for eating later on. As far as one of their favorite foods go, what do squirrels eat? Squirrels enthusiastically collect and eat pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, acorns, cashews, chestnuts, hickory nuts, pine nuts out of pine cones, and macadamia nuts. Nuts are an optimal source of fat and protein for all types of squirrels.