Why is a squirrel called a gnawing animal?

                  Have you noticed the long thin teeth of squirrels and mice? In their representations in comics and cartoons, their incisors are portrayed as their distinctive feature. Remember the squirrel of the movie, Ice World!

                  Squirrels and mice belong to the family of rodents. Rodents are the largest family of mammals. They are also known as ‘gnawing animals’ because of their large incisor teeth and the way they eat. The two long pairs of incisors are used like chisels to gnaw on hard food items like nuts and wood. These incisors grow continuously since they are worn down by gnawing.

                  There are three major types of rodents. They are squirrels, mice and porcupines. Squirrel-like rodents such as the squirrel and gopher have bushy long tails and large eyes. They live in trees or underground in tunnels. Mouse-like rodents include the mouse, the rat and the hamster. Rats and mice often live near humans, sometimes in their buildings, so they can live off human food and garbage. Porcupines differ from other mammals because they have long, sharp quills on their backs for protection. The smallest rodent is the northern pygmy mouse, which is only 2.5 centimetres long, while the biggest is the capybara of South and Central America, which measures up to 1.2 metres in length.

Picture credit: google