grey tree squirrels

[Chloe]

All of the beautiful grey tree squirrels seem to have disappeared from my local are of Grass Valley, Nevada County, California. we did have heavy smoke for some time due to wild fires. but they were still here, then about 3 months ago, they disappeared. i was wondering if they could have gotten a viral infection from the pollutions. there is plenty of food here. any idea? no dead ones either, tho we do have local animals that could have taken the ones that died. has this happened in any of your areas??

[BamaHam]

A couple of summers ago we had a serious drought here in Alabama and they all moved away. I didn’t see a squirrel for almost an entire winter. Not even at my bird feeders. That was the last time I saw my Chloe. Later that late spring they started to show up at the feeders. Still not as populous as before so hopefully when I release my babies we can populate around here again. If there is not enough food they will migrate and leave. Sometimes they come back. Next week will make it 2 years since I saw Chloe. I’m sure something happened to her due to the circumstances. She would visited daily for 5 years and she wouldn’t have stayed away this long. It’s possible that they migrated to another area where food was abundant and away from smoke and fires. Some will return with time, hopefully soon.

[Diggie's Friend]

All of the beautiful grey tree squirrels seem to have disappeared from my local are of Grass Valley, Nevada County, California. we did have heavy smoke for some time due to wild fires. but they were still here, then about 3 months ago, they disappeared. i was wondering if they could have gotten a viral infection from the pollutions. there is plenty of food here. any idea? no dead ones either, tho we do have local animals that could have taken the ones that died. has this happened in any of your areas??

The chief causes of loss of W. Gray squirrel population in California are forest fires, and fragmentation of habitat; forest fires can cause both. Here in the Southern region there regularly are fires in the San Bernadino mountain region (Big bear, and Arrowhead). Having visited Big Bear one year we saw a number of Western gray squirrels around Big Bear lake. A few years later visiting Arrowhead after a fire had gone through we saw not a one. We stopped to ask a resident of a neighboring town badly damaged by the fire, if they had seen any of the squirrels; they said they hadn't. If the area they have moved onto is separated from your area by burnout, that could prevent them from returning anytime soon. Smoke can cause them to vacate the area, it also cause respiratory problem that can lead to reduction of numbers.

[Diggie's Friend]

All of the beautiful grey tree squirrels seem to have disappeared from my local are of Grass Valley, Nevada County, California. we did have heavy smoke for some time due to wild fires. but they were still here, then about 3 months ago, they disappeared. i was wondering if they could have gotten a viral infection from the pollutions. there is plenty of food here. any idea? no dead ones either, tho we do have local animals that could have taken the ones that died. has this happened in any of your areas??

The chief causes of loss of W. Gray squirrel population in California are loss and fragmentation of habitat, forest fires can cause both. Here in the Southern region there regularly are fires in the San Bernadino mountain region (Big bear, and Arrowhead). Having visited Big Bear one year we saw a number of Western gray squirrels around Big Bear lake. A few years later on a visit to Lake Arrowhead sometime after a fire had gone through, we saw not a one. We stopped to ask a resident of a neighboring town badly damaged by the fire, if they had seen any Gray squirrels; they said they hadn't since before the fire.

If the area they have moved onto is separated from your area by burnout, that could prevent them from returning anytime soon. Smoke can cause them to vacate the area; it also cause respiratory issues that can lead to a reduction in these populations.