American author and lecturer Dale Carnegie was onto something when he noted, “I deal with the obvious. I present, reiterate and glorify the obvious because the obvious is what people need to be told.”

This time of year, the obvious is the squirrel. It is the one type of wildlife that we can see every day.

Squirrels are ubiquitous throughout the world, occurring on every continent except Antarctica and Australia. And they are in great company, too, since squirrels are rodents (“a rat with a cuter outfit,” according to Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City). With over 2,000 members, rodents are the largest group of mammals, comprising about 40 per cent of all living mammals. Nice!

Best of all, squirrels are fun. Their antics amuse, confuse and delight us, and there is something foreveryone. Well, almost everyone. There are those who decry the way squirrels have adapted so successfully to our urban environment (ask the owner of any bird feeder), and there are also those who are sciurophotic, or fearful o fsquirrels. The term sciurophobe comes from the squirrel family’s scientific name, Sciuridae. Aristotle bestowed this name upon them, which roughly translates to “shadow-tailed,” describing this animal’s use of its tail to shade its body.

The squirrel’s bushy tail, which is equal in length to its body, is not only used as an umbrella. It is also vital for balance, employed as a rudder when these agile animals leap from tree to tree, and is engaged for communication, cushion and warmth.

Perhaps the most interesting characteristic of the squirrel’s tail is its ability to slough off its sheath and even some of its tail vertebrae in order to escape an enemy. That is why some squirrels appear to have shorter tails or even looktail-less. Pity the squirrel that has lost its rudder.

Only one species of squirrel, the gray squirrel, is found on the Vineyard. Gray squirrels are not alwaysgray. They can be black or evenwhite. Black gray squirrels tend to be found to the north of us, while the white ones are found to thesouth. The white variety can be either albino (look for the red eyes) or leucistic (lacking color) with blackeyes. Keep your eye s out to notice these squirrels of another color.

Trees, especially oak trees, are vital for a squirrel’s life cycle. It is high up in trees in the crotch of two branches that squirrels make their nests, calleddreys. These dreys are made of twigs and leaves and are lined with soft fur, feathers, or other materials for insulation and comfort. Squirrels can also make dens in a tree cavity.

Dreys are especially visible in these winter months when trees are mostly bare, but they are not the only squirrel signs. In the snow, look for their tracks — five toes on the front paws and four on the back paws in a U-shape. These tracks can be far apart, since squirrels can leap up to six feet in one bound and can reach speeds of almost 10 miles per hour! Their fortuitous feet also allow them to walk down a tree facefirst. This is accomplished with the assistance of backward-pointing claws on their hind feet.

Squirrels have been hunted historically for food. Early versions of The Joy of Cooking even had recipes for this wildgame. It was noted that squirrel meat can be substituted forchicken. But don’t eat them in excess, as the American Heart Association reports that squirrel meat is high in cholesterol.

The smart money is on the squirrel. Though they have a brain the size of a walnut, they are alert, inquisitive, playful and quick, and have been undeniably successful in their bid to populate almost every corner of the world.

Suzan Bellincampi is director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown.