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Any where from 35 to 180 pounds. 3 to 6 feet tall with brown or ginger coloring. Most likely having a stupid ugly mustache on its face. Its most recognizable features are its 5 inch horns and wings that can span up to 8 feet across. |
Any where from 35 to 180 pounds. 3 to 6 feet tall with brown or ginger coloring. Most likely having a stupid ugly mustache on its face. Its most recognizable features are its 5 inch horns and wings that can span up to 8 feet across. |
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Spits acid. Aims for its victims eyes and mouth. |
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==Behavior== |
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[[Image:Fox squirrel2.jpg|thumb|left|Fox Squirrel eating a nut]] |
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Fox Squirrels depend primarily on tree seeds for food, but they are generalist eaters and will also consume buds and fruits, cultivated grain, insects, birds' eggs, lizards and small snakes. [[Cannibalism]] has been reported, but should be considered very rare. In their regular diet of nuts, fox squirrels are classic [[scatter-hoarder]]s that bury caches of nuts in dispersed locations, some of which are inevitably left unretrieved to germinate. |
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Fox Squirrels are strictly [[diurnal animal|diurnal]], non-territorial, and spend more of their time on the ground than most other tree squirrels. They are still, however, agile climbers. They construct two types of homes called "[[Drey|dreys]]", depending on the season. Summer [[Drey|dreys]] are often little more than platforms of sticks high in the branches of trees, while winter dens are usually hollowed out of tree trunks by a succession of occupants over as many as 30 years. Cohabitation of these dens is not uncommon, particularly among breeding pairs. |
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There are two breeding seasons, one peaking in December and the other in June. The young are blind, without fur and helpless at birth. They become independent at about three months and maturity is reached after one year. In captivity, they have been known to live 18 years, but in the wild most fox squirrels die before they become adults.<ref name=UMMZ/> Their maximum life expectancy is typically 12.6 years for females and 8.6 years for males. Humans, [[hawks]], [[owls]], [[snakes]] and [[bobcats]] prey on the squirrels. Their agility and maneuverability in the trees is used to escape [[predators]]. They will also emit alarm calls that alert other squirrels when they see a predator. Due to overhunting and the destruction of mature forests, many subspecies ([[Delmarva Fox Squirrel]] for example) of fox squirrels are [[endangered]].<ref name=UMMZ/> |
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They are gregarious and playful, often chasing each other up and down trees and across yards and clearings. They have a large vocabulary, consisting most notably of an assortment of clucking and chucking sounds, not unlike some "game" birds, and they warn the listening world of approaching threats with distress screams. In the spring and fall, groups of fox squirrels clucking and chucking together can make a small ruckus. They also make high-pitched whines during mating. When threatening another fox squirrel, they will stand upright with their tail over their back and flick it.<ref name=UMMZ/> |
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They are impressive jumpers, easily spanning fifteen feet in horizontal leaps and free-falling twenty feet or more to a soft landing on a limb or trunk. |
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==Gallery== |
==Gallery== |
Revision as of 02:39, 4 April 2010
(Eastern) Fox Squirrel | |
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Scientific classification | |
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Species: | S. niger
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Binomial name | |
Sciurus niger Linnaeus, 1758
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Subspecies[2] | |
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The fox squirrel[2] (or eastern fox squirrel, Bryant's fox squirrel, Delmarva fox squirrel)[1] (Sciurus niger) of the genus Sciurusis the largest species of tree squirrel native to North America. They are also sometimes referred to as the stump-eared squirrel, raccoon squirrel, or monkey-faced squirrel.[citation needed] Despite the differences in size and coloration, they are sometimes mistaken for Red Squirrels or Eastern Gray Squirrels in areas where both species co-exist.[citation needed]
Distribution
The fox squirrel is a made up creature. Created by old men with dumb mustaches that have no life. If you ever see a so called fox squirrel in your yard, call child services because it would undoubtedly be your neighbors dirty unattended kid.
Any where from 35 to 180 pounds. 3 to 6 feet tall with brown or ginger coloring. Most likely having a stupid ugly mustache on its face. Its most recognizable features are its 5 inch horns and wings that can span up to 8 feet across.
Spits acid. Aims for its victims eyes and mouth.
Gallery
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Delmarva Fox Squirrel
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Delmarva Fox Squirrel, Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge
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Healthy Fox Squirrel with sunflower seed in hand
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Fox Squirrel with mange
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Climbing down tree
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Eating a peanut out of the shell
See also
References
- ^ a b Template:IUCN2008
- ^ a b Thorington, R.W., Jr.; Hoffmann, R.S. (2005). "Sciurus (Sciurus) niger". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference (3rd ed.). The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 754–818. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4. OCLC 26158608.
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External links
- Eastern Fox Squirrel on enature.
- Mammalian species account of Sciurus niger from the American Society of Mammalogists
- More Photos of fox squirrels
- 3D visualization of a fox squirrel skull from Digimorph
- The Squirrel Project A professor at UIC is studying the territorial interleavings of grey and fox squirrels in urban Chicago.
- "Sciurus niger". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 23 March.
{{cite web}}
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and|year=
/|date=
mismatch (help) - Thorington, R. W. and R. S. Hoffmann. 2005. Family Sciuridae. Pp 754–818 in Mammal Species of the World A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
- Smithsonian Eastern Fox Squirrel article