Eastern Gray Squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis
38.5834, -90.4068
Field Notes
Description:
Length:
Average: 473 mm
Range: 383-525 mm
Weight:
Average: 520 g
Range: 338-750 g
Successful as they are, Eastern Gray Squirrels live only 11-12 months on average, but some individuals have survived more than ten years in the wild.
Habitat:
It prefers to den inside trees, but will construct large nests of leaves in the canopy if tree cavities are not available. Home ranges are rarely more than one or two hectares in size.
Notes:
An average of two to three blind, hairless young make up a litter. Litters are produced once or twice a year, in February and March and again in July through September. The young are weaned at eight or nine weeks, when their previously protective mother abandons them. In September, yearlings and some adults strike out to establish their own home ranges in a process called the "fall reshuffle."
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