Is this baby a grey or a foxer?

[jo_schmoe]

I saw my second grey squirrel ever in this state today on my way to the airport in Grand Forks( on the North Dakota Minnesota border). The reason I noticed him/her was his VERY white belly. Not 30 feet from where he was playing...4 fox squirrels were out playing too. Since I have only really seen foxers in my area...it felt like Christmas seeing the silver haired beauty. The size difference was quite amazing....and also the fact that they were all in the same general area. I didn't know that they got along. Very nice to see.

[jo_schmoe]

As I though about it, I realized color perception probably varies from person to person. So, instead of asserting what color I think it is, I will provide a histrogram when talking about colors. Ideally, I'd use a spectrometer, but I don't currently have a sample or a spectrometer. Belay my previous comment, and I'm sorry for disbelieving you joe_schmoe. I suppose deep down I'm just a skeptic.





The bottom represents a sample of the snow, and the top the fur from the belly.
(Histograms Produced by The Gimp)

No need for an apology Peter. Its a good lesson in how different they can be by region. Speaking of different...I was in Cabellas today shopping for a new ice house. My husband is a frequent shopper there for fishing gear but I myself have never been there. Every single wall had a different dead animal stuffed on display. I had to leave...I was getting sick seeing so many beautiful creatures displayed like trophies. On my way out...I looked up and one display was a grey wolf...with a squirrel in his mouth.
I had to look even closer as Im a glutton for punishment. Im assuming it was a fox squirrel because of the orangish tail....but the rest of the body was blonde with a darker area down its back and its face was more of a darker brown. And when I say blonde....it was almost yellow and it wasn't just the belly....there was no difference in belly color as opposed to the rest of the body. I've never seen anything like that. Any ideas on what kind of squirrel that could be?

[Scooterzmom]

We have some mixed ones here... I've seen only a few fox squirrels here, but I have seen many greys with very orange bellies. We also have a growing number of black ones... some with orange tails, and some with plain black tails.

Here are the 2 black babies I had last year (Romeo and Juliet) and who have been released. They were much smaller in size than the E. greys., I don't know why, and Romeo had more brown in him than Juliet did. She had no brown in her at all, she was so black that her hair reflected blue.


I have to admit... as babies, those 2 little black ones were really REALLY cute.



We ended up with 2 kids who showed up with striped tails. I had never seen that before in my life. Their mother (Stump, here below) has a very red-orange tail but her stomach is yellowish white and her face very pointy, so I think she's probably an E. Grey but maybe she's mixed with Fox... ???

[island rehabber]

Wow!! Just when I think I've seen it all, creamsicle striped tails!

Your Juliet is gorgeous. I have raised three like her (Maria Negrita, Nina, and Ninja). No other color on them at all -- absolutely blue-black. As pinkies they were black...that's how we came up with the term "blinkies" .

[mugzeezma]

I saw my second grey squirrel ever in this state today on my way to the airport in Grand Forks( on the North Dakota Minnesota border)....I didn't know that they got along. Very nice to see.

they don't really get along ...there can be brutal battles. A friend of mine witnessed the two species battling and one was killed.
There is an old wives tale that the males will try to castrate one another. Knowing how things are hung down there it's easy to see how that could happen accidentally.
For the most part they coexist fairly peaceably. Typically the more aggressive and smaller grays will chase of the foxers. I have yet to see that in my back yard where the Fox squirrels rule.
(and I have all grays)

[Anne]

What absolutely beautiful squirrels. I have really enjoyed all the different pictures and all the different colors our little friends present. How wonderful nature is to give us such variety.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

It is funny how the smaller the squirrel, the more they take over the area (particularly the feeders). Here we have all 3 though there are few places with foxers and greys both, usually there is one or the other. The funniest is the tiny little reds. Man do they have attitude. You can have 5 foxers all peacefully eating at a feeder together (they are so laid back, I love them ) and then ONE tiny little red comes running up barking like mad and all the foxers scramble like they are gonna get eaten by a hawk or something. And the little red takes over the whole feeder until he's done. I always laugh, it's like come on foxers you could just sit on the little red and squish him, no need to run!

[jo_schmoe]

they don't really get along ...there can be brutal battles. A friend of mine witnessed the two species battling and one was killed.
There is an old wives tale that the males will try to castrate one another. Knowing how things are hung down there it's easy to see how that could happen accidentally.
For the most part they coexist fairly peaceably. Typically the more aggressive and smaller grays will chase of the foxers. I have yet to see that in my back yard where the Fox squirrels rule.
(and I have all grays)

I have been told the same exact thing. That is why I was so surprised to see them so close to each other. My boss is a life long Fargo native...and there are grey and fox squirrels there. He has witnessed on more than one occasion a grey totally ambush a foxer and attack the genital area biting off his "member:, leaving him to bleed to death.

[Hannah]

No need for an apology Peter. Its a good lesson in how different they can be by region. Speaking of different...I was in Cabellas today shopping for a new ice house. My husband is a frequent shopper there for fishing gear but I myself have never been there. Every single wall had a different dead animal stuffed on display. I had to leave...I was getting sick seeing so many beautiful creatures displayed like trophies. On my way out...I looked up and one display was a grey wolf...with a squirrel in his mouth.
I had to look even closer as Im a glutton for punishment. Im assuming it was a fox squirrel because of the orangish tail....but the rest of the body was blonde with a darker area down its back and its face was more of a darker brown. And when I say blonde....it was almost yellow and it wasn't just the belly....there was no difference in belly color as opposed to the rest of the body. I've never seen anything like that. Any ideas on what kind of squirrel that could be?

I'm not really sure. Some fox squirrels in the southeast have dark colored heads, but usually they are closer to black, so I don't know.

The gray squirrel in your story wasn't very nice, and that's a bad way to die.

Scooterzmom, Stump's babies do have odd tails. Unique, though.

[Alcippe]

I'm not really sure. Some fox squirrels in the southeast have dark colored heads, but usually they are closer to black, so I don't know.

I posted a link to a picture of what the southeastern fox squirrels look like. Some are a bit darker, but the majority of the ones I see are pretty much like the one I posted earlier.

[Sarabi]

I wonder if thats a regional thing....maybe some cross breeding. A true foxer does NOT have white fur. Trust me....I spend half my days looking at the foxers we have here and never once have I seen any white on them.

Its a florida Thang!!!
Ours at least the Shermans have some white, this off the FWC web site:

The fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) weighs from one to three pounds, and exhibit color variations which range from a buff color to gray, and in some instances black. The under parts are usually lighter, and typical specimens have white noses and ears with black faces and feet. They are noted for their long, bushy tails.
The fox squirrel may be found throughout Florida in open woods, pine and cypress stands, and mangrove swamps, but they are protected from hunting throughout the state. Of the three subspecies found in Florida, two are listed as protected species. Sherman's Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger shermani, a species of special concern, is found in the open piney woods of central and Northeastern Florida. The Big Cypress Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger avicennia, a threatened species is found from the Everglades region, in Lee county, to the southern part of Dade county. Fox squirrels in the western panhandle belong to a less vulnerable, more widespread subspecies.
Fox squirrels are much less numerous than gray squirrels, but can sometimes be observed foraging for food in pastures or openingsadjacent to forested areas. They spend more time on the ground than intrees and often attempt to escape enemies by running rather than climbing.

Lived in Florida for almost all my life and saw my very first live one last year.

[jo_schmoe]

That is absolutely amazing. I LOVE learning about the different species.
The squirrel you described is almost just like the one I saw at Cabellas. This one did have a reddish tail though( could have been due to the taxidermist too)...but I bet its was some variation of an eastern fox squirrel.

[Scooterzmom]

Wow!! Just when I think I've seen it all, creamsicle striped tails!

Your Juliet is gorgeous. I have raised three like her (Maria Negrita, Nina, and Ninja). No other color on them at all -- absolutely blue-black. As pinkies they were black...that's how we came up with the term "blinkies" .

The weird thing is that even the body of TwinB was two colors, almost striped too. I had never seen that before and never have since.

Then there is this little guy who's picture I caught this last summer... more like a beige color but almost white. Not albino, as you'll see his eyes are normal.

[jo_schmoe]

Gorgeous squirrel!!!

[Rainy9]

Great thread! Beautiful pictures!
I'm interesting learning about all the different types and variations. It got me wondering about where exactly the fox squirrel lives (across the U.S.) and how densely they populate the different areas.

Came across a site showing a pic like the one Alcippe's link showed. I had no idea they varied sooo much! Really cool!

http://www.dcnr.state.al.us/watchabl...Rodents/fs.cfm

Does anyone have or know where I can find a pic of the U.S. showing population areas and amounts? Would love to see one...esspecialy because I'm a bit confused now about where exactly the fox sq. lives since most of you guys that have them seem to be farther north and I'm here in Texas and fox is the only kind I ever see.

[Busysqrl]

I'm in the West U.S. and I have both Eastern Grays and Eastern Fox squirrels in my yard in equal numbers. They get along just fine here, certainly as much as two fox squirrels who don't know each other would. The fights I see are mostly among the same species, 2 foxers or 2 grays rather than a foxer and a gray. They will chase each other away from the feeders, but usually nothing too serious. Obviously not saying it can't happen, I just haven't seen it in my 10 years of watching the squirrels in my backyard. I have about 25 regulars between grays and foxers and I live in a suburban neighborhood. I agree, the baby in this thread looks gray to me, ear size, nose shape and color of it's feet, all gray features. Here's a picture from my yard. Not the most crystal clear picture, but it's a foxer and gray sharing a feeder.

[crazy4squirrels]

I live in Florida also and I have very large Foxers that are very golden yellow with black masks and white bellies and a couple I've seen have a little white spot at the end of their nose. I see them frequently. There is a "family" of them that run around between my property and my parents property. They move so differently than the greys.

[Busysqrl]

Sounds like the beautiful Sherman's Fox Squirrels you have there. They are gorgeous things!!!

[crazy4squirrels]

Oh, I didn't know they had a specific name, Thank You

[jo_schmoe]

I'm in the West U.S. and I have both Eastern Grays and Eastern Fox squirrels in my yard in equal numbers. They get along just fine here, certainly as much as two fox squirrels who don't know each other would. The fights I see are mostly among the same species, 2 foxers or 2 grays rather than a foxer and a gray. They will chase each other away from the feeders, but usually nothing too serious. Obviously not saying it can't happen, I just haven't seen it in my 10 years of watching the squirrels in my backyard. I have about 25 regulars between grays and foxers and I live in a suburban neighborhood. I agree, the baby in this thread looks gray to me, ear size, nose shape and color of it's feet, all gray features. Here's a picture from my yard. Not the most crystal clear picture, but it's a foxer and gray sharing a feeder.

That is a beautiful sight!! Peace and harmony in the squirrel world!!