When it comes to identifying tree squirrels, size does
matter. This is another photo I took of
the Eastern Fox Squirrel yesterday. In
this photo he is stretched out along the top of the chain-link fence. I later
measured the squares in the fence and they are three inches across. Counting the
squares of the squirrel’s length I can safely say he is over seven links long,
so 3x7=21 inches. This narrows down the choices. The closest squirrel in color is the
Douglas Squirrel which is definitely smaller. Squirrels are measured from head
to tip of tail. Douglas Squirrels range from
11-14 inches. Eastern Fox Squirrels
measure from 18-28 inches, making them the largest tree squirrel in North
America.
I hereby dub the Sir James of Sherlock Holmes-shire! Excellent deducing!
ReplyDeleteThis weather gives me lots of time for research!
DeleteThe Eastern Fox Squirrel is one handsome dude. Your posting encouraged me to do some reading about squirrels found in Oregon. It seems that many out-of-region species have found their way here from other geographical areas. Some seem to out compete our natives. Lee
ReplyDeleteThank you for the update! We were very stressed about this.
ReplyDeleteInteresting - now I want to figure out what my squirrels are. It's kinda the way I used to look at birds - if it has wings and flies it's some kind of bird. Now I want to know what kind!
ReplyDelete