The Squirrels of Southampton

Campus characters with surprising talents

They race across paths, scale trees in seconds and always seem to know when snacks are nearby. Meet some of campus’ cheekiest residents and discover the surprising habits hidden behind those familiar bushy tails.

You've probably seen them sprinting across a path, disappearing up a tree, or turning up the moment someone unwraps food outdoors.

Squirrels are among campus' cheekiest residents. Quick, curious and always on the move, they spend their days searching for snacks, planning ahead and investigating anything that catches their attention. Sound familiar?

While students navigate lectures, deadlines and flat life, Southampton's squirrels are following busy schedules of their own. Let's take a closer look at these furry campus characters and some of the surprising habits that make them so successful.

🐿️ Masters of Meal Prep

Grey squirrels hide nuts and seeds in different locations, retrieving them mainly through their sense of smell and possibly with the help of a mental map. Not every stash is rediscovered, and the forgotten seeds can help new plants grow.

While most students have spent ten minutes searching for a missing room key, campus squirrels appear to have their snack-storage systems surprisingly well organised. They’re essentially meal prepping, only with more digging and significantly fewer reusable containers.

🐿️ Taking the Shortcut

Watch a squirrel for a few moments and you’ll quickly see that paths are optional. While students follow pavements and crossings, squirrels race across lawns, scramble up tree trunks and use branches to continue their journey above everyone’s heads.

The squirrel that was frozen in the middle of your path a second ago can somehow reach the top of the nearest tree before you’ve even decided which way to step around it. It’s the wildlife equivalent of discovering a shortcut to your lecture that nobody else seems to know about.

🐿️ A Tail with a Purpose

A squirrel’s tail may look wonderfully dramatic as it races across a lawn, but it isn’t there just for show. It plays an important role in helping the squirrel move confidently through its environment.

Think of it as a piece of useful equipment that also happens to complete the outfit. If students had something similar to steady them on the morning walk to a 09:00 lecture, campus might look very different.

🐿️ Fully Booked Schedules

Squirrels have plenty to fit into their day. There’s food to find, supplies to hide, trees to climb and activity on the ground to investigate. Grey squirrels also build rounded nests from twigs and leaves, usually high in trees, although they may use tree cavities too.

If squirrels used Outlook calendars, theirs would probably look much like a student timetable during assessment season: completely full, slightly chaotic and with very little space left for lunch.

🐿️ Expert Snack Detectors

Grey squirrels mainly eat seeds and plant material, including buds, shoots and flowers. They may also eat fungi and insects, and they’re known for helping themselves to food from garden bird feeders.

This may explain why the squirrel that ignored you completely five minutes ago is suddenly watching closely when you sit down to eat. It isn’t being friendly, and it hasn’t come to discuss your assignment. It has simply noticed the possibility of lunch.

Admire squirrels from a comfortable distance and avoid trying to touch them. Like other wild animals, squirrels may scratch or bite if they feel frightened or threatened. 

💙 Student Scenario

You’re walking back to halls when a squirrel darts across the path ahead of you and disappears up a tree. A few seconds later, it’s sitting on a branch, staring down as if you were the one behaving strangely.

It’s a small, everyday encounter, but pausing to watch can make a familiar journey feel more interesting. Once you start noticing the squirrels around campus, you may be surprised by how much they’re doing while everyone else hurries past.

💚 Try This Today

Next time you spot a squirrel, stop for a moment and watch from a respectful distance.

Is it searching the ground, burying something, racing through the trees or keeping a close eye on someone’s lunch? You don’t need to approach or feed it. Simply notice what it’s doing before continuing with your day.

💛 Did You Know?

The grey squirrels we see around Southampton aren't native to the UK. Our native red squirrel is now much rarer, with important populations still surviving in areas including northern England and Scotland.

Much closer to Southampton, the Isle of Wight is an important stronghold for red squirrels. The island remains free of the grey squirrel, and its red squirrel population is currently estimated at around 3,550 to 4,000. 

So if you're heading across the Solent, keep an eye on the trees. You might spot a very different squirrel from the ones you see around halls. 🐿️

Final Thoughts

Squirrels are such a familiar part of campus life that it’s easy to overlook them. But the next time one races across your path, freezes in place or appears suspiciously close to your lunch, take a moment to watch.

Campus’ cheekiest residents may be following routines of their own, but some of their habits might feel unexpectedly familiar.

🌿 Explore more Nature Around Halls

Enjoyed meeting Southampton’s cheekiest residents? Discover more of the wildlife and green spaces sharing your surroundings:

🐦 Look Up! The Birds Living Around Halls Meet some of the feathered neighbours you might spot on your everyday journeys.

🦉 Owls After Dark Discover the silent hunters you may never see but might hear.

🦊 Foxes After Dark: Our Urban Neighbours Meet the mysterious night-time residents sharing our city.

🌳 Trees on Campus: Look Up Slow down and discover the nature growing around you.

🐝🦋 The Pollinators Around Campus Meet the small creatures doing some surprisingly important work.

🌿 Nature Around Halls: It’s All Around You Discover how the wildlife, trees and green spaces around halls are all connected.

🌿 Nature Around Halls

There's more to campus life than lectures, libraries and late-night snacks. Nature Around Halls series explores the wildlife and green spaces sharing your surroundings, with little discoveries that might make you see familiar places differently.