Canis lupus hominis

Posted in West Virginia, wildlife | Tagged gray squirrel | 2 Comments

2 Responses

1. on November 11, 2012 at 7:12 am chervilmeadow

   You cannot be refering to the eastern grey, imported from America into England as a novelty around the 1850’s and now common almost everywhere – because these guys spend a lot of their time on the ground where they busy them selves hiding nuts or else digging them up.

   Our only other squirrel in Europe is the red squirrel, of course. They evolved mainly to live in the tops of scots pines eating seeds from the cones. They are much smaller than the greys and lighter in weight, so the reds tend to come second in any confrontations. Also, unfortunately, reds tend to succumb to squirrel pox which the greys carry but are able to resist since they are evolved to survive it. These two species belong to the same genus but have never been known to mate. In Britain the red is having to be helped to survive – on offshore islands and in the few forests where the greys have not reached and where efforts are being made to keep them out.

   I’d like to say that the reds are safe on the eurasian mainland, but a few small populations of eastern greys exist there albeit not yet reported to be spreading.

   Here in the chiltern woodlands of southern England this grey American ‘illegal immigrant’ is a species every walker can guarantee to see on a daily basis all year round. Life would be dull without them. Pity about the pretty and dainty little reds though.

   
   
2. on November 11, 2012 at 7:27 am chervilmeadow

   PS: I forgot to mention, there are so many eastern greys being splattered on the roads that this is a useful factor in providing roadkill to help the reintroduced eagle sized red kite to increase and prosper here in England. These raptors are able to lift the grey, white and red carcase right up and into a handy tree to eat in safety.

   
   

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