Eastern Gray Squirrel

Sciurus carolinensis

Many things in nature are related and interconnected. These familiar squirrels live in eastern leafy forests and eat a lot of hickory nuts, acorns, walnuts, maple seeds, and beechnuts. One of the ways they store food for winter is to bury a nut here and there so deer and turkeys do not eat them all. Of course the squirrels cannot find every nut they bury. In this way, they actually plant the trees and build the forests that feed them.

Look For : A large tree squirrel, usually gray but sometimes brown or black, with a big bushy tail.

Length : Body 9-10" long, tail 8-9" long; 14-25 oz.

Habitat : Leafy forests with nut-bearing trees like oak, hickory, beech, and walnut.

Range : Southeastern Canada and south through eastern half of U.S.