Gray Squirrel
| Class: Mammalia:
Mammals |
Diet: Seeds, nuts |
| Order:
Rodentia: Rodents |
| Size: body:23
- 30 cm (9 - 11 3/4 in), tail: 21 - 23 cm (8 1/4 - 9 in) |
| Family: Sciuridae:
Squirrels |
Conservation Status:
Non-threatened |
| Scientific Name:
Sciurus carolinensis |
Habitat: hardwood
forest |
| Range:
S.E. Canada, E. U.S.A.; introduced in Britain and South Africa |
 The
gray squirrel's natural home is the oak, hickory and walnut forests of
eastern North America, where its numbers are controlled by owls, foxes
and bobcats. It feeds on seeds and nuts -- an adult squirrel takes about
80 g (2 3/4 oz) of shelled nuts each day -- and on eggs, young birds and
insects. Occasionally gray squirrels strip the bark from young trees
to gain access to the nutritious sap beneath. Two litters are produced
each year, in early spring and summer. There are up to 7 young in a litter,
but usually only 3 or 4 survive. Males are excluded from the nest and take
no part in rearing the young. In the south of England, the introduced gray
squirrel is ousting the native red squirrel.
  
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