Going Squirrely (nature notes)

 

When I was a child, I spent most weekends exploring the forest and fields around my father’s home.  It always puzzled me that I didn’t see many animals.  Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I traversed those woods accompanied by a pack of coonhounds.  Things have not changed that much.  Now, I travel with two Rottweilers and a German shepherd.  The animals (and most people) still avoid us so my wildlife watching tends to involve looking for signs, instead.

 Today, I was looking at tracks in the snow.  The set above on the left is from a grey squirrel and the one on the right is from an eastern cottontail rabbit.  How do I know?  The tracks are remarkable similar but it’s quite simple to tell the difference.  First, a squirrel’s front feet are primarily placed side by side, while a rabbit’s tend to overlap.  Second, squirrels do not often venture into a field or a rabbit into the forest.  The eastern cottontail is the only rabbit native to southwestern PA.

 How do I know that it was a grey squirrel? While it’s tempting to let you believe that I am that good, the truth is that Ethel tracked, flushed, and chased the squirrel in question into an oak tree.  But, speaking of squirrels, do you know how many squirrel species are native to PA?  Seven.  Can you name them?

The first few are fairly easy: the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), and the fox squirrel (Sciurus niger).  The next two are nocturnal and I have heard far more of them than I’ve ever seen: while the northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus ) is found only in the northern part of our state, the southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans)is quite common.

The next two are a little less known, though both are extremely prevalent in both urban and rural areas.  They are the ground squirrels: the chipmunk (Tamias striatus) and the groundhog (Marmota monax).  Yes, the groundhog is a squirrel.  While I’m at it, I might as well tell you how it got its other name, the woodchuck.  It has nothing to do with throwing firewood off the truck, it stems from the Algonquin name wuchak.