Gray Squirrels Preparing for Winter

by Kevin Strauss

As the weather cools, our largest northwoods squirrel, the gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), prepares for winter. Now is a time when squirrels are gathering (and storing) food for the winter. Unlike their smaller cousins the red squirrels, who cache large numbers of evergreen cones in hollow logs or burrows for the winter, gray squirrels hide their seed foods like acorns or maple seeds individually by burying them in the ground. While people once believed that these squirrels remembered where they buried each seed, researchers now think that squirrels can only remember the general area where they have buried some seeds. Once they are in the area, they then use their astounding sense of smell to locate a seed. Squirrels seem able to locate a tasty seed even under 12 inches of snowfall.

This habit isn’t only a benefit to the squirrel, who can be sure of a plentiful winter food supply, it is also good for the trees. Some squirrels don’t survive the winter, and uneaten acorns often sprout into new seedlings. Our native northern red oak (also known as “scrub oak”) acorns seems to sprout much more easily when they are buried underground by these rodent foresters.

Their genus name Sciurus is Greek for “shade-tail” meaning that this is one of the few creatures who can literally sit in the shade of its tail. Gray squirrels have tails as long as their 8”-10” bodies. But the gray squirrel uses its tail for balance when climbing on branches and twigs and as a furry blanket on cold winter nights. They also use their tails as a parachute to slow their descent when leaping (or falling) from a tree. I have heard stories of squirrels leaping safely twenty feet to the ground. That would be like a human jumping from a 12-story building and landing unhurt on the ground.

Gray squirrels often build several leafy nests in the forks of trees or in hollow logs. That way they can change nests if one gets damaged or a predator, like a fisher or gray fox, takes up residence in that tree.
Many people think that red squirrels are more aggressive than grays and will chase them out of their territory. While reds are far noisier than grays and more territorial, chasing off gray squirrels (and larger animals) who wander too close to to a red squirrels food cache or nest, a hungry gray squirrel can be just as aggressive in chasing a red squirrel out of a prime feeding area, or a gray squirrel nesting area.
Stories of red squirrels castrating or driving out rival grays seem to be just that, stories. While red squirrels stick to coniferous forests and grays prefer deciduous woods, in mixed forest areas, like the southern edge of Superior National Forest, both species seem to coexist well.

So the next time you are out for a walk, look around for our scurrying Sciurus neighbors.

The Ely Timberjay