The word squirrel, first attested in 1327, comes from the Anglo-Norman esquirel which is from the Old French escurel, the reflex of a Latin word sciurus, referring to the long bushy tail which many of its members have.[from wikipedia]

In most squirrel species, the hind limbs are longer than the fore limbs, while all species have either four or five toes on each foot.[from wikipedia]

Squirrels live in almost every habitat, from tropical rainforest to semiarid desert, avoiding only the high polar regions and the driest of deserts. [from wikipedia]

Because squirrels cannot digest cellulose, they must rely on foods rich in protein, carbohydrates, and fats. In temperate regions, early spring is the hardest time of year for squirrels because the nuts they buried are beginning to sprout (and thus are no longer available to eat), while many of the usual food sources are not yet available. During these times, squirrels rely heavily on tree buds.[from wikipedia]

Squirrels have been reported to be "successfully trained" in Chongqing, China to sniff out illicit drugs and in 2023, a team of six Eurasian red squirrels had become part of a sub-unit within the Chongqing city police dog brigade.[from wikipedia]