Click on Thumbnail to enlarge pictures On August 29, employees at Starhill Country Club, found a baby fox squirrel
with a bloody nose, fallen from its nest. They hurriedly gathered it up and brought the injured baby to OWLS. She weighed in at 174 grams, eyes not open, lethargic and bleeding. With her injuries treated and after several tube feedings,
she finally started to nurse
on her own, much improved. This indeed was our first fox squirrel baby admitted at OWLS. A Gray Squirrel baby usually weighs, on average, 70 grams when its eyes open. This baby was more than twice that size.
Although the Gray and Fox squirrel have
much in common, such as, food items and tree dwellers, 
their size difference sets them apart, as well as, coloration. The Fox Squirrel is the largest of the North American tree squirrels, typically 26 inches in total length and weighing up to 3 pounds, compared to the Gray squirrel length at 21 inches and weighing 1 pound. Coloration is highly variable in fox squirrels. In the Carolinas, they tend to be pale gray, usually with some black on the head and feet, as well as the nose, tip of ears, and the underside area white. The tail of the fox squirrel is long, bushy, and colored similarly to the upper body. Their habitat occurs primarily in mature Longleaf pine-oak forests and along the edges of adjacent swamps. It spends much of its time on the ground (being not as agile as gray squirrels) and prefers forests with relatively open under stories. Because it often dens in hollow trunks, the presence of mature trees seems to be important to its survival.
Although the fox squirrel feeds on a variety of nuts, fruit and seeds, it seems to prefer pine seeds,
buds and berries of many plants are included in the diet, as are fungi and insects. Breeding occurs in midwinter, and a litter of 2 to 4 are born in February or March after a gestation period of 45 days. Older females occasionally produce a second litter in July or August. The young are born blind and hairless. Eyes open after 5 weeks and young squirrels are weaned after 9 weeks. They may remain with the mother for another month before becoming independent.
A primary cause of the decline in fox squirrel numbers appears to be loss of habitat. These animals are closely associated with the mature open pine forest of the south and the open hardwood forests of the north. The Delmarva fox squirrel, a race found on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, has been placed in a management program to assist its survival. There is increasing concern for the Carolina fox squirrel, as well. If you have not seen a fox squirrel in the wild, take a moment the next time you golf at Star Hill Country Club and check out the scampering squirrels to see if you might be lucky enough to see one before they disappear. If indeed you do catch a glimpse, consider yourself fortunate.
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