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Eastern Gray Squirrel ( Winslow
Gray Squirrel )
The Eastern Gray Squirrel
(Sciurus carolinensis) is a tree
squirrel that is native to the eastern to
midwestern
United States and the eastern provinces of
Canada. The carolinensis name refers to
the Carolinas, where they were first recorded by zoologists, and are still
extremely common.
The Eastern Gray has also been
introduced into a variety of locations on the west coast of
North America, including
San Francisco and the Peninsula area of
San Mateo and
Santa Clara counties south of the city. At the turn of the
20th century it was introduced into
South Africa and
England, spreading across the latter and leading to a reduction in the
population of the native
Red Squirrel in most parts of England and
Wales. It is known in Britain simply as the Grey Squirrel. It has
also been introduced to
Italy, and the
European Union is concerned that the grey squirrel will displace the Red
Squirrel from parts of the European continent, as well. The Gray Squirrel is
classed in the UK as a
pest.
Although the matter is
controversial and complex, the main factor in the displacement of Red Squirrels
by Grey Squirrels is thought to be competition for resources, leading to a
decrease in
fitness of the Red Squirrels on all measures. Eastern Grey squirrels tend to
be larger and stronger than Red Squirrels and have been shown to have a greater
ability to put on
fat before the winter. The Eastern Gray Squirrel is common throughout most
of its natural range and wherever it has been introduced. It readily becomes
tolerant of humans and learns to take food left or offered by picnickers.
As its name suggests, the Eastern
Gray Squirrel's fur is predominantly grey, but it can have a reddish tinge. Its
belly is white. They have a large bushy tail. Particularly in urban situations
where predation risk is reduced, both
albino and
melanistic (black) forms of the Eastern Gray Squirrel are quite often found.
At the northern limits of its range in the Canadian provinces of
Ontario and
Quebec, the melanistic form tends to be more common than the grey form.
Melanistic (black) Eastern Gray Squirrel in
Princeton, NJ.
Like many members of the family
Sciuridae, the Eastern Gray Squirrel is a
scatter-hoarder, that is, it hoards food in numerous small caches, for
recovery later. Some of these caches (especially those made near the site of a
sudden abundance of food) are retrieved within hours or days, for re-burial in a
more secure site. Others are not retrieved until months later. It has been
estimated that each squirrel makes several thousand caches each season. The
squirrels have very accurate
spatial memory for the locations of these caches, and use distant and nearby
landmarks to retrieve them.
Olfaction is used only once the squirrel is within close range (a few
centimetres at most) of the cache site.
These squirrels build a type of
nest, known as a
drey, in the forks of trees. These consist mainly of dry leaves and twigs.
Sometimes they will also attempt to build a nest in the
attic or exterior walls of houses, often to the great annoyance and
frustration of the homeowner. They also invade
bird feeders for
millet and
sunflower
seeds, but
safflower is often used instead, as they seem to have no taste for it.
Predators include
hawks,
mustelids,
skunks,
raccoons,
snakes and
owls. On occasion, this squirrel may lose part of its tail while escaping a
predator.
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