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Why Do Squirrels Bark? Reading the Chatters, Screams and Kuks

A barking squirrel is an alarm call, and the sound tells you what kind of threat it found. Kuks, quaas, screams and the tail flick that goes with them.

By Zakaria 4 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
A grey squirrel facing head-down on a tree trunk holding food
Photo: Pexels, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay
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A barking squirrel has not taken offence. It is running an alarm broadcast — and it is telling the predator, as much as the other squirrels, that the ambush is blown.

The vocabulary

What each sound means
SoundWhat it isMeans
KukShort, sharp, repeated barkGeneral alarm. Something is wrong
QuaaLonger, drawn out, moaningThreat located and being watched
Quaa-moanExtended, plaintiveOften an aerial predator
Muk-mukSoft puffingCourtship, and kits to mother
ScreamLoud, grating shriekDistress, injury or a fight
Teeth chatterDry clickingAgitation, threat display
Tail flagExaggerated waveSeen you — usually a ground threat

Kuk and quaa often run together: a burst of sharp barks as the squirrel registers something, settling into the longer drawn-out call once it has found what it was and is watching it.

Why announce yourself to a predator

It sounds like the last thing a prey animal should do. It is not:

  • Ambush predators depend on surprise. A hawk or a cat that has been publicly identified has lost its advantage and usually moves on
  • Other squirrels benefit, including relatives — a genuine payoff for a signaller
  • It buys watching time. The caller is in a safe spot, up a trunk, facing the threat

This is why a squirrel will bark at you for ten or fifteen minutes from six feet above your head and show no intention of stopping. From its side, the strategy is working: you are being watched, you know it, and eventually you go away.

You are being classified, not insulted

People, cats and dogs all register as ground predators. The squirrel is not reacting to anything you did.

Move away from the tree and the calling usually stops within a minute or two.

The tail

The tail is not decoration during an alarm — it is the visual half of the same message.

  • Flagging — the big exaggerated wave — makes the squirrel conspicuous and says I can see you to a ground predator
  • Tail flicking is used more for terrestrial threats, vocal alarms more for aerial ones, which makes sense: a hawk overhead is not deterred by a waving tail, a cat is
  • Squirrels flag at each other too, in territorial disputes over food or a nest site
  • Away from alarms it also does balance, a parachute in a fall, a sunshade and a blanket

The scream

The one that stops people mid-step. A loud, grating shriek means something genuinely wrong:

  • A fight, usually between males in breeding season
  • Injury or capture — a squirrel in a cat’s mouth screams
  • A nest raided, with the mother responding
  • A trapped animal, in a chimney, attic or live trap

It is not a routine sound. Unlike barking, if you hear it you are hearing an actual emergency.

A whole woodland listening

Squirrel alarms are not a private channel. Birds and other mammals respond to them, and squirrels in turn eavesdrop on bird alarm calls — research has found grey squirrels relax their vigilance when they hear relaxed background bird chatter nearby.

It is why one squirrel barking often sets off the jays, the chipmunks and everything else at once, and why a wood going suddenly quiet means something too.

The squirrel to be wary of is the silent one

A barking squirrel is frightened and keeping its distance, which is exactly what you want.

A squirrel that walks straight up to you without a sound has almost always been hand-fed until it lost its wariness — and a habituated squirrel is the one that eventually bites a hand holding a peanut.

When the barking is about your house

Persistent alarm calling from the same tree, day after day, sometimes means something more specific than you:

  • A cat, hawk or owl using the area regularly
  • A snake near a nest
  • A nest in your roof, with a female objecting to activity below
  • Kits nearby, which makes a mother far more vocal than usual

If it started abruptly and has not stopped, look up and look around before assuming it is about you.

In late winter and midsummer there is a fourth possibility that is not alarm at all: the noisy chasing of the mating season. Squirrels are emphatically not monogamous, and the racket that goes with it is easy to mistake for a predator.

Common questions

Why do squirrels bark at you?

It is an alarm call, and it is aimed at everything within earshot rather than at you personally. A squirrel that has spotted a potential predator — and a person standing under its tree counts — broadcasts a repeated barking chatter that warns other squirrels and, just as importantly, tells the predator it has been seen. Predators rely on surprise, so announcing that the ambush is blown often makes them move on. The call usually continues until you leave, and a squirrel can keep it up for a remarkably long time.

What do the different squirrel sounds mean?

Researchers studying grey squirrels describe three main alarm vocalisations plus a tail signal. A kuk is a short sharp bark, the general alarm that something is wrong. A quaa is a longer drawn-out version, usually given once the threat has been located and is being watched. A muk-muk is a soft puffing sound used by males approaching a female and by kits calling their mother. The scream — a loud grating shriek — signals genuine distress or a fight, and is the one you rarely hear.

Why do squirrels shake or flick their tails?

The tail is part of the alarm, not a separate behaviour. Flicking it in an exaggerated wave makes the squirrel highly visible and communicates to a ground predator that it has been spotted, while also signalling threat level to other squirrels — studies have found tail flagging used more for terrestrial threats and vocal alarms more for aerial ones. Squirrels also flag tails at each other in territorial disputes, and use the tail for balance, as a sunshade and as a blanket, which is a lot of jobs for one appendage.

Are squirrels barking at me dangerous?

No. A barking squirrel is frightened, not aggressive, and the entire point of the call is to avoid a confrontation rather than start one. Squirrels do not attack people, and the very rare bites happen when someone hand-feeds or tries to handle one. The behaviour to be slightly more wary of is a squirrel that approaches you silently and without fear, which usually means it has been fed by people, since a habituated animal is the one that eventually bites a hand.

Why does a squirrel bark for so long?

Because the threat, from its point of view, has not gone anywhere. A squirrel will keep calling for as long as it can see a predator or a person, sometimes for ten or fifteen minutes, and neighbouring squirrels frequently join in and extend it. The call also does a second job: by advertising that it has seen the predator, the squirrel makes an ambush pointless, so the longer it keeps announcing, the more likely the threat simply leaves.

Do other animals listen to squirrel alarm calls?

Yes, and that is part of why the calls are worth the effort. Birds and other mammals respond to squirrel alarms, and squirrels in turn eavesdrop on bird alarm calls — research has shown grey squirrels relax their vigilance when they hear the relaxed chatter of birds nearby. A woodland alarm is effectively a shared signal system, which is why one squirrel barking often sets off jays, chipmunks and everything else within earshot.

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