Eastern Gray Squirrels
are the most frequently seen mammal
in our area. They are members of the Rodent family, and
spend most of their lives in trees.
Eastern Gray Squirrels
can grow 17 to 20 inches long. They have grayish-brown fur,
except for their bellies, which have pale fur. The tail
often has silvery-tipped hairs at the end.
This animal does have a
black phase, which means some of them are nearly all black;
but these are not as common.
Eastern Gray Squirrels
usually live in forests,
but they are also seen in yards, gardens, and city parks.
Basically, they live anywhere there are large,
deciduous
trees (trees whose leaves die in the Fall).
These squirrels live in
trees year-round, either in cavities
or nests they build out of leaves. Cavities are often old
woodpecker holes. Nests are usually high up in tree
crotches. Nests are hard to see in the Summer, because they
are made with green leaves, and are hidden by foliage
(leaves on the trees). They are easy to see in the Winter,
when the nest leaves have turned brown and tree leaves fall
to the ground.
The trees most commonly
used by Eastern Gray Squirrels to live in are White Oak,
American Beech, American Elm, Red Maple, and Sweetgum,
though they will use others also.
Squirrels mate in the
Winter, and you can often see males chasing females up,
down, and around trees. Once mated, both the male and female
build the nest.
Eastern Gray Squirrels
have two litters
each year. The first is in the Spring, the second in late
Summer. Two or three young are in each litter. The second
litter spends the winter with their mother.
Eastern Gray Squirrels
usually live to be about five years old. They survive with
their good sense of vision, smell, and hearing. They also
have incredible balance. They rarely fall from trees and
hurt themselves. They can run headfirst down a tree trunk.
Eastern Gray Squirrels are also excellent
swimmers.
This squirrel's greatest
tool may be its tail. It uses it for balance, shade from the
sun, as an umbrella, a blanket, and as a rudder when
swimming.
Eastern Gray Squirrels
are very active, especially in the morning and evening
(crepuscular
times). During these times they are constantly moving.
Usually, they are looking for food.
The diet of Eastern Gray
Squirrels includes: acorns,
hickory nuts, walnuts, beechnuts, maple (buds,
bark,
and samaras),
Yellow Poplar blossoms, American Hornbeam seeds, apples,
fungi,
Black Cherry, Flowering Dogwood, grapes, sedges,
grasses,
American Holly, insects (adults
and larvae),
baby birds, bird eggs, and amphibians.
Sometimes they even eat each other!
Rod Planck
Copyright, Hoss
Firooznia
Eastern Gray Squirrels
will also visit birdfeeders, dig up flower bulbs, and steal
garden vegetables.
Squirrels will often bury
their food at a new spot, near the surface of the ground. In
Winter, when food is scarce, they will use their sense of
smell to relocate their "secret" food. They don't always
find all of their stashed food, so they help "plant" new
trees and plants, letting them grow in new
places.
The most important
predators
of Eastern Gray Squirrels are hawks, owls, Red Fox,
Raccoons, and snakes.
Sometimes you will see a
nearly bald squirrel. This means it is suffering from mange,
an illness caused by mites.
From time to time,
Eastern Gray Squirrels have short battles with Pileated
Woodpeckers over tree cavities. Usually the squirrels
win.
Eastern Gray Squirrels have a
love/hate relationship with people. They are the second-most fed and
watched animals, after birds. They also help control plant
populations by eating many seeds and fruits, and insect populations
as well.
Eastern Gray Squirrels annoy
people by taking over birdfeeders, nesting in attics, ruining garden
vegetables such as cucumbers, eggplants, and pumpkins, and by
"transplanting" flower bulbs to new locations. Many people wonder how
a flower pops up in the middle of a lawn or some other strange place.
It was probably moved by a squirrel.
