Even Squirrels Need a Little Down Time

Although the family of mammals known as squirrels (Sciuridae) includes rodents ranging from the groundhog to eastern chipmunk to flying squirrels, there are three Pennsylvania species in this family that are generally regarded as “tree squirrels.” These are the red squirrel (Tamaisciurus hudsonicus), gray squirrel (Sciurus caroliniensis) and fox squirrel (Sciurus niger). The latter is pictured above.

Tree squirrels are the name sake of the family, as Sciurus is Greek for “shadow tail” or “shade tail” in reference to the frequent posture of a tree squirrel sitting with its tail arching over its back.

The fox squirrel is Pennsylvania's largest tree squirrel and, although the color of its pelage varies, the bright orange patches and hues pictured on today's subject is often the coloration seen. It is less common than the gray squirrel, which is found throughout the state, while the fox squirrel ranges largely in western and southern counties.

At one time Pennsylvania was nearly covered with forests and it was said that a squirrel could travel from one side of the state to the other without touching the ground. Today, Pennsylvania's forests cover approximately 58 percent of the state and is fragmented into many parcels, some of which are quite small. Maintaining viable areas of forestland habitat is a major conservation issue today.

Squirrels are very mobile and travel by walking, hopping, running, climbing, scampering along limbs and jumping tree to tree. They also will occasionally take a break, and some times when they do their repose is simply belly-down sprawled out on a limb or other surface.

Today's loitering fox squirrel was photographed in a Mt. Lebanon (Allegheny County) backyard by Lauren Brake, granddaughter of WPC's Constituency Database Administrator Maxine Ganter.

A good source of information about Pennsylvania mammals is: Guide to the Mammals of Pennsylvania (1987) by Joseph F. Merritt. University of Pittsburgh Press.

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