Page 56 - Mammal (DK Eyewitness)
P. 56
At home in a nest
N occur THE GRAY IN ITS DREY
throughout the animal world. We A winter walk through woodland in Europe,
with trees bared of foliage, may reveal
are familiar with birds’ nests, and soccer-ball-size bundles of sticks wedged
some of the busiest and most elab- into the forks of trees. These are dreys, the
homes of gray squirrels. Some will be old
orate builders are insects such as and deserted, and others will be flimsier
summer dreys, not used in winter. But a few
termites. Mammals, too, have a dreys will each hold an occupant like this
fair share of species that make one which, in winter, is not hibernating but
probably sleeping. Squirrels are active
visible nests in the open, as well (mainly at midday) throughout the winter
as many species that nest in and can only survive a few days without
food. They stay in the winter drey at night
burrows (p. 56). They include and in very bad weather. The drey is a
Harvest mouse nest built squirrels in Europe, pack rats in tangle of twigs and sticks, some with leaves
still attached, and is lined with bark, grass,
on cereal stalks. North America, karoo rats in Africa, and other bits and scraps gathered by the
and bandicoots in Australia. One of the most owner. This drey is about 1.5 ft (45 cm) in
diameter, with an internal chamber 1 ft
extraordinary mammalian nest-makers is the stick- (30 cm) across. Baby squirrels are born in
nest rat, a rabbit-size native of Australia. This very rare special nursery dreys in spring.
rodent makes a strong, interwoven pile of branches, Things that a drey might be made of
twigs, and even stones, 3 ft (1 m) high and 6 ft (2 m)
Sheeps’ wool
across. It lives in the rocky southern lands, where
digging is difficult, and the nest probably gives
protection against predators. Sadly, this rat has died out
on the mainland, and only an island colony remains off
the south coast. It seems it was never common, and
both aborigines and Europeans hunted it.
Feathers Dried grass
With straw held in its mouth,
gerbil runs back to nest site
Seed heads
Ferns
Twigs
SHREDDING THE BEDDING Straw
In the wild the gerbil, a small, desert-dwelling rodent, digs burrows away Dead
from the heat and dryness, and lines them with shredded plant matter. In leaves
captivity, the results of digging behavior may be prevented by the cage.
Nuts
But the animal can still make the lining if material is supplied.
Fresh leaves Bark
DAY TWO WHAT’S IN A DREY?
DAY ONE A night of shredding Gray squirrels tend to take any suitable ingredients for their
The raw straw that with the teeth produces dreys. In towns, where human litter is more common, they
was supplied to two a partly made nest. DAY THREE have been known to use plastic bags, drinking straws, and
gerbils before they woke More shredding, and the nest newspaper in the drey.
up in the evening. fluffs out and takes shape.
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