Welcome to the Southern Fox Squirrel Project

Saving the Southern Fox Squirrels through education and relocation

Fox Squirrel Hurricane Alert in Florida. If you find an injured or orphaned Sherman’s Fox Squirrel after the hurricane we have transport and licensed rehabbers on standby. They will be rehabilitated and released in protected habitat away from the coasts – Call us at 540-750-5088

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The Southern Fox Squirrel is the largest species of squirrel in North America. It is a majestic animal sporting many color variations. The Southern Fox Squirrel Project is dedicated to preserving this increasingly rare and beautiful animal. Our role is intake, logistics and matching up orphaned fox squirrels with licensed release rehabilitators set up for release in protected preserves. 

Endangered Southern Fox Squirrels

Sadly longer listed as a species of concern or threatened, unsustainable land developers have prevented them from being kept on the protected list by lobbying in Florida where over development has wiped out nearly all Southern Fox Squirrel Habitat in the central part of the state. In fact Sherman’s Fox squirrels (a subspecies) were listed as a “species of concern” in FL and deliberately delisted. Despite skewed FL DNR “DNA tests” & counts populations are not on the increase; they are on the DECLINE by greedy over development. Our only goal is to get these increasingly rare animals relocated to protected proper habitat when rehabilitators receive orphans. MANY protected-by-covenant landowners have stepped up and offered prime habitat safe from logging, development and properly fire managed. It is up to the rehabilitators in the southern coastal plain to contact us and we will arrange in-state release in one of these protected areas by a licensed rehabilitator in that area. This will protect future generations of the species. 

Please help with our project: Fundraiser by Janet Raines : Helping Wildlife & Rehabilitators in Need (gofundme.com)

Example: The wonderful Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge in Orlando had many confirmed sightings of Southern Fox Squirrels on the road leading up to the facility. They are no longer seen due to development. Some developers find it easier to pay a fine than save the animals, in addition to Gopher tortoises an entire population of Sherman’s Fox Squirrels were destroyed on Clapp Duda Rd: PulteGroup, Inc. Announces Two New Communities Slated for Clapp Simms Duda Road, Orlando, Florida – Florida YIMBY

Rehabilitators, do not release on private property that is not covenant protected, is surrounded by private land with unknown development potential, or habitat assessed for species viability. If you do you are part of the problem, not the solution. 

We can help with protected habitat release 540-750-5088

Types of Southern Fox Squirrels

 

 

 

The Southern Fox Squirrel comes in many color variations

The Southern Fox Squirrel, formerly classified as the Sherman’s Fox Squirrel in Florida, is a sub-species that is being pushed out of it’s habitat due to extremely irresponsible development throughout it’s native range. The Squirrel Forum runs a conservation project to match suitable protected habitat with squirrels being relocated due to development. While there is no formal relocation project similar to the Prairie Dog programs in the west, as rehabbers receive orphaned / injured Southern Fox Squirrels in FL, GA, & SC release will be arranged in a suitable managed preserve nearby (within found state boundaries). Example: Several abandoned Southern Fox babies are found in a pocket colony on a golf course isolated from proper habitat. Experienced licensed rehabbers would be able to do a soft release in a protected preserve that has proper fire managed Longleaf Pine & Oak Trees with clear understory. One such potential preserve is the White Oak Plantation in Yulee.

Florida is already under extreme stress due to climate change so release in North Florida protected habitat is paramount for the species!

Fox squirrels may be technically surviving in your current release area but are better served as a diminishing species of concern to be released in protected habitat. The Southern Fox Squirrel Project is working on lobbying the State of Florida to put them into protected status, not to stop development but to force developers to relocate species on land being developed. 

NOTE: Wildlife Rehabbers, If you have a Southern Fox Squirrel in need of soft release location contact The Squirrel Forum at 540-750-5088 and we will put you in touch with one of many protected habitat partners and experiences local rehabbers that can handle the soft release. We also transport!

• Wetland Preserve – Putnam County, FL
• White Oak Plantation – Yulee, FL (pending)
• Little Rain Lake Preserve – Putnam County, FL
• Longleaf Pine Preserve – Volusia County, FL

Golf courses may help Southern Fox squirrels survive (article). While this may be true in theory, without fresh stock the gene pool can be depleted and that pocket will eventually die off. Golf courses in Florida have our number and if orphaned babies come in they are properly rehabbed and released in protected habitat. So in effect golf courses (for now) can, as a repository, supply individuals to bolster the species in proper habitat areas that will never be developed or logged. 

https://archive.lib.msu.edu/tic/flgre/article/1996win64.pdf

This supplier will make custom Fox Squirrel nest boxes and The Squirrel Forum can supply him with the proper dimensions: Squirrel Nesting Boxes (company.site)

Please support partners like The OtterSpace Wildlife Sanctuary (formerly ARK) with your donations so they can help Southern Fox Squirrels reach proper habitat release areas (click icon):

Our Non-Releasable SC Black Caped Southern Fox Squirrel (Educational)

SC wildlife biologist explains the species and conservation efforts

 

Videos illustrating the Southern Fox Squirrel (Formerly Sherman’s Fox Squirrel)

The keys to a Lexus automobile are lodged in a pine tree on the 11th fairway of the East Lake Woodlands Country Club. They were put there not by a frustrated golfer, but by a Sherman’s fox squirrel.

The squirrel had learned to rummage through temporarily unoccupied golf carts looking for food. Unsuccessful this time, it picked up the keys. The golfer noticed and yelled at the squirrel. It fled high into a tree before dropping the keys.

“They’re still up there,” said Carl Bronson, the facility’s superintendent.

It hasn’t happened again, he said, because golfers have been told not to feed the large squirrels.

If you’ve never seen a fox squirrel, it’s not surprising. Although they once roamed throughout Pinellas County, they are no longer common. They have been protected statewide since 1979 as a “species of special concern.” (now delisted to give clear-cut developers the green light)

Aside from golf courses, there aren’t too many places left in Pinellas for them to live.

Sherman’s fox squirrels are twice as big as the common gray squirrels found in many oak trees. Their loping gait is slower, and most have a black mask similar to a raccoon’s.

Many golf course superintendents in the area report small populations of fox squirrels. The keys thief was one of six or eight that live on the East Lake links.

Another 15 to 20 live at Countryside Country Club. Superintendent Dale Reesh said his squirrels, too, have learned that golfers mean food.

“They’re kind of like pets,” he said, adding that they seem to prefer crackers and candy bars.

Craig Huegel, manager of the Brooker Creek Preserve in north Pinellas, is not surprised that the squirrels are found on golf courses. The courses “mimic the open savannah they need,” he said.

Fox squirrels thrive in grassy, open pine forests, needing up to 30 acres per individual. Such habitat once covered half of Pinellas County. Now it is almost all developed.

Fox squirrels do not do well in suburbia. Their sparse distribution means they must travel long distances to find mates, making them especially vulnerable to becoming road kill. And they produce only about two offspring a year.

Domestic pets also threaten them. Fox squirrels spend a lot of time on the ground, so they are easily harassed by dogs or cats. If they are not killed on the spot, they are at least prevented from feeding.

“One of the benefits of golf courses is that there are typically no dogs,” said Dr. Steve Humphrey. He is the interim dean of the College of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Florida. One of his projects involves studying fox squirrels on golf courses.

Humphrey said the squirrels also benefit from the use of some non-native landscape plants. Those plants often supply fruit when natural food supplies are seasonally low.

In natural environments, a fox squirrel’s diet includes acorns, pine seeds, mushrooms, wild grapes and insects. On golf courses, their menus may also include palm dates, figs, loquats or even citrus fruit.

J. Arlin Grant, a vice president at the Innisbrook Hilton Resort in Tarpon Springs, has planted some pecan trees just for the squirrels. Innisbrook has between 50 and 60 of the creatures living on the 1,000-acre property.

“They come up and get in the golf carts,” Grant said.

No golfer has ever complained. “We’re proud to have them here,” Grant said.

It is hard to tell how long fox squirrels can survive in north Pinellas. The golf courses are not big enough to support large populations, and if inbreeding occurs in the small groups of squirrels, the gene pool will be weakened.

The golf courses “are providing habitat, but how long it will last, I don’t know,” said Humphrey. “They are generally isolated from one another. It is an island habitat. The squirrels may not persist.”

Threatened Squirrels Can Call Golf Course Home, UF Researcher Says

GAINESVILLE — A threatened species of wildlife has turned to a decidedly civilized habitat in its quest for survival, says a University of Florida researcher.

Now wildlife ecologist Rebecca Ditgen is trying to determine how to make southwest Florida golf courses even more hospitable for Big Cypress fox squirrels.

“Our goal is to learn which courses have fox squirrel populations and what habitat features on those courses encourage the squirrels to live there,” said Ditgen.

With their own forested habitat vanishing as southwest Florida urbanizes, the fox squirrels, like many people, have turned to homes with a golf course view.

Very little is known about the Big Cypress fox squirrel, said Stephen Humphrey, acting dean of the College of Natural Resources and Environment.

“In the wild they are very shy, difficult to see, difficult to find and almost impossible to study. In fact we’ve tried to study them in the wild and failed,” Humphrey said. “But we found they’re abundant on golf courses on the urban fringe of the coast of southwest Florida.”

Ditgen said fox squirrels appear from field observations to be declining in the wild, but it is unclear why. In the city, however, the reason is plain to see.

“Development is happening so rapidly here and the prime land for development, the upland pines, is also their prime habitat,” Ditgen said. “They disappear shortly after intense development because they just don’t do well with cars and cats and dogs.”

Why the squirrels turned to golf courses for safe haven is a question Ditgen hopes to answer.

While her research requires her to spend enough time on the course to make avid golfers jealous, she says she is most likely to be found in the rough, scouring the trees and underbrush for squirrels fitted with radio collars.

As she visits 60 courses in Lee and Collier counties, she records data on the squirrel numbers and landscape design. By tracking 30 squirrels with radio collars on two courses, she can see how they are using their adopted habitat.

“Fox squirrels are native to pine forests with open understories and spend a lot of time on the ground, so golf courses with open pine and cypress stands are good habitat for them. They seem to do well there and can move around easily,” Ditgen said. “They do particularly well on courses with large stands of native palms and pines.”

The Big Cypress fox squirrels have been on the threatened species list for 20 years. They differ from a common gray squirrel because they are larger and their fur can be black, blond or red.

“They’re a very graceful squirrel, they leap and move around a lot and people find them beautiful to watch,” Ditgen said. “Certainly the native Floridians I talk to and the people who’ve been here a long time take real pride in having fox squirrels around. They like them a lot.”

In a four-year research project funded by the Nongame Bureau of the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, Ditgen will come up with management recommendations golf course superintendents can use to improve habitat for fox squirrels.

Ditgen has already learned that the squirrels have large home ranges, often more than 100 acres, and that young adults often travel more than a mile in search of an adult home range. She also is studying their feeding and nesting habits.

Part of her research also includes a comparison of highly developed courses to those in more natural environments with no adjacent homes. In one area of Naples, she has found 50 to 70 squirrels sharing three 18-hole courses lush with cypress, pines, figs and maples — all prime habitat.

With national golfing organizations and some wildlife groups encouraging golf courses to design in a fashion that is friendly to regional wildlife, many course superintendents are eager to hear Ditgen’s recommendations.

Already, she said, she would recommend that courses plant more native vegetation to provide more year-round food sources for the squirrels. The exotic plants many courses use sometimes are more showy but frequently do not provide the best food for the animals.

Many golfers, curious about the remarkably bad golfer whose cart seems to stay in the rough, are pleased when they find out Ditgen is a researcher and interested in learning more about sharing their green space with the squirrels.

“The idea of looking at how wildlife can use golf courses has arrived,” Ditgen said.

FOX SQUIRREL’S FATE IN HANDS OF STATE

All credit to: Lisanne Lenner Orlando Sentinal Article 9/12/1989

The Fox Squirrel condominiums are in Kissimmee and Fox Squirrel Lane is in Longwood, but it’s hard to find the real thing scampering around Central Florida.

The Sherman’s fox squirrel, most at home amid the longleaf pines that once dominated Florida’s landscape, is being pushed off the planet by houses, citrus groves and shopping centers. The hardiest of these creatures find refuge from development in suburban back yards and around golf courses. The rest die.

About three times bigger than the common gray squirrel, the Sherman’s fox squirrel is so colorful that normally objective biologists describe it as “magnificent” and “beautiful.” It is one of several dozen dwindling animal species in Florida whose survival depends on the preservation of uplands – prime development land.

The Sherman’s fox squirrel is the only state “species of special concern” that hunters may kill. The Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission recently began a two-year study of the critter and is being pressured by some conservationists to end the hunting. There is also pressure to classify the squirrel as threatened or endangered on the state’s list and threatened on a federal list, making it easier to buy and protect fox squirrel habitat.

The squirrels live only in Florida and south Georgia. No one knows how many live in their range east of the Suwannee River and north of Lake Okeechobee, but there aren’t many – only about one for every 40 acres by one estimate.

When their numbers were greater, the squirrels helped ensure survival of the longleaf pine forests, which once covered much of the state. By digging and eating truffles – the fungus that grows on tree roots and helps trees absorb nutrients – the squirrels scattered beneficial truffle spores throughout the forests.

But this subtle link in the chain of life has been snapped by the powerful forces of agriculture, forestry and development, which in the past 50 years have wiped out 90 percent of Florida’s longleaf forests.

“It’s a reasonable assumption that the population of those squirrels has also declined by 90 percent,” said Steve Humphrey, an ecologist with the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville. “It’s sort of bizarre because if you talk to old-timers . . . they say they never thought they’d see the day when fox squirrels become threatened.”

Although the Sherman’s fox squirrel isn’t classified as a threatened species, some biologists and ecologists think that classification is inevitable and others think the extra protection deserved and long overdue.

“There is a feeling among some people, both within the state game commission and outside of it, that it is inconsistent for us to have a species of special concern that is hunted,” said Don Wooding, the game commission’s endangered species coordinator.

Although habitat destruction – not hunting – is the main reason for the squirrel’s plight, allowing hunters to kill up to two squirrels a day during the four-month season doesn’t boost the dwindling population.

“They should have been put on the threatened species list long ago,” said Jim Layne, a senior research biologist with the Archbold Biological Station in Lake Placid.

The state wants more information before telling hunters that the Sherman’s fox squirrel is off limits or deciding whether the animal is indeed threatened. The federal government considers it and its South Florida cousin, the mangrove fox squirrel, candidates for the threatened or endangered lists but is waiting to see what the state learns from its study.

“They both appear to be in fairly bad shape but until they state biologists get out there and look, it’s hard to tell,” said Mike Bentzien, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Jacksonville.

Southern Fox Squirrel Facts (South Carolina DNR)

Description

Fox squirrels are closely related to gray squirrels and are considered to be the most variably colored tree squirrels in the world. In South Carolina, fox squirrels occur and are characterized as the gray, black , or brown color phase based on their predominate body color. The gray color phase is by far the most common in South Carolina, accounting for 67% of all sightings in the 2022 Fox Squirrel Sighting Survey conducted by the SCDNR Small Game Program. Sightings of black fox squirrels accounted for 31% of all sightings, with only 2% of all sightings reported as brown. A black facial “mask” and white patches on the nose, paws, and ear tips are common in all three color phases. This facial mask and the significantly larger body size of the fox squirrel distinguish the fox squirrel from the more common and widely-distributed gray squirrel.

Average Size
Fox squirrels are approximately twice the size of gray squirrels. They range in length from 20-26 inches (including tail) with an adult weight range from about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds.

Life Expectancy
Fox squirrels that survive to become adults live an average of 3 to 4 years. Individual animals have been known to live as long as 12 years.

Preferred Habitat
In South Carolina, fox squirrels are strongly associated with mature pine forests and mature pine-hardwood forests. Fox squirrels prefer woodland habitats with an open herbaceous understory and patchy shrub cover. Prescribed fire in pine woodlands benefits fox squirrels by creating and maintaining this condition. Where present, forest stands dominated by live oak can be a seasonally important habitat type. Small agricultural fields and wildlife food plots are often utilized when located within the normal home range of fox squirrels. Parks and golf courses may also support substantial numbers of fox squirrels in certain locations across the state.

Range

Fox squirrel populations in South Carolina are scattered throughout the Coastal Plain, occur less often in the Piedmont, and are rare to absent in the Blue Ridge. Distribution and range expansion are limited by availability of suitable habitat.

Food Habits

• Fox squirrels are opportunistic feeders known to consume a variety of food items.
• Diet will vary somewhat depending on season and local food item availability.
• Common food items for fox squirrels include pine seed, acorns, hickory nuts, cultivated and native seeds, fleshy fruits, flower buds, tubers, roots, and fungi.
• Bird eggs and insects are occasionally consumed by fox squirrels.

Reproduction

Peak Breeding Activity
While fox squirrels may exhibit two peaks of breeding – late winter and late summer, the majority of breeding in fox squirrels likely takes place in December and January. Gestation period is about 44 days, with most young born during February and March. Normal litters in South Carolina consist of two or three young.

Miscellaneous

• Fox squirrels are occasionally observed at bird feeders if those feeders are near areas of occupied fox squirrel habitat.
• Some of the better areas to observe fox squirrels in South Carolina include the Webb Wildlife Center in Hampton County, Donnelley Wildlife Management Area in Colleton County, and Cheraw State Park in Chesterfield County.
• The fox squirrels large body size and black coloration may be adaptations to living in a fire-maintained longleaf pine ecosystem. The large body size of fox squirrels allows them to handle and manipulate longleaf pine cones; black coloration provides camouflage in a fire-blackened landscape.

Publications and Literature

SCDNR Fox Squirrel Sighting Surveys

Hunting Information

Fox squirrels are considered a game animal in South Carolina and may be hunted along with gray squirrels. Squirrel season annually in South Carolina opens on October 1 and closes on March 1. Fox squirrels have trophy value to many squirrel hunters and are prized as taxidermy mounts. Due to the lower reproductive potential of fox squirrels as compared to gray squirrels, fox squirrel populations can be severely depressed by heavy hunting pressure.

Hunters are advised that fox squirrel hunting is not allowed on many properties in the Wildlife Management Area (WMA) program and are advised to consult the current version of the SCDNR Rules and Regulations for information on specific properties.

Florida Sherman’s Fox Squirrel Biological Status Review (Click F&W Logo)

Fox Squirrel sub-species distribution map

(S. n. Shermani no longer a sub-species)

Southern Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger niger (A South Carolina Study)

Contributors: David Guynn, John Edwards, Susan Guynn and Judy Barnes

DESCRIPTION Taxonomy and Basic Description Fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) were first described by Linnaeus (1758); ten recognized subspecies exist throughout the United States. These arboreal mammals range in length from 450 to 698 mm (17 to 27.5 inches) and weigh 0.5 to 1.2 kg (17.6 to 42.3 ounces). Coloration varies greatly, both locally and regionally; this variation has resulted in subdivision into numerous subspecies (Hall 1981). Fox squirrel subspecies can be divided into two distinctive but intergrading coloration groups (Weigl et al. 1989). Six subspecies (S. n. vulpinus, S. n. cinereus, S. n. niger, S. n. shermani, S. n. avicennia and S. n. bachmani) have silver, gray, agouti (grizzled) and/or melanistic (black) pelage with tan, gold or reddish undersides. In this coloration group, animals have black head markings, white or gray noses, and white ears and feet. The other coloration group contains four subspecies (S. n. vulpinus, S. n. subauratus, S. n. ludovicianus, and S. n. limitis) that are characterized by a distinctly reddish, orange, or tan agouti (grizzled) pelage, a grizzled or black nose, and no white markings on the head or feet. Melanism is common in the southern portions of the range (Lowery 1974; Kiltie 1989; Roe 1994). However, Turner and Laerm (1993) concluded that pelage characteristics are too varied and subjective to permit consistent determination or subspecies in the southeastern portions of the range. The fox squirrel is readily distinguished from the smaller gray squirrel (S. carolinensis) by its larger size and presence of only a single pair of premolars in the upper and lower jaws. Status The eastern fox squirrel has state rank of S4, apparently secure, in South Carolina and a global rank of G5, secure (NatureServe 2004). However, it is listed as vulnerable in North Carolina, as vulnerable/apparently secure in Alabama, as apparently secure in Arkansas, South Carolina, and Virginia, and as secure in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. The Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel (S. n. cinereus) is federally listed as endangered (US Department of Interior 2003). The fox squirrel is considered a game animal and its harvest seasons are regulated in all states in the southeast (Edwards et al. 2003). Concerns for the conservation status of the southern fox squirrel are due to the lack of information on the distribution, abundance and ecology of the species. Photo by Phillip Jones

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND SIZE The southern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger niger) is the only fox squirrel native to South Carolina (Edwards et al. 2003). Populations are scattered across the South Carolina Coastal Plain, occur less often in the piedmont (Wood and Davis 1981; Harrigal 1993) and are rare to absent in the Blue Ridge (Harrigal 1993). In Georgia the species is most common in the coastal plain and piedmont and rare to absent in the Blue Ridge (Hilliard 1979; Turner 1988; Turner and Laerm 1993). Fox squirrels in North Carolina are restricted to the southeastern coastal plain south of the Pamlico River (Weigl 1987); although historical records indicate its former occurrence in the piedmont and Blue Ridge (Lee et al. 1982), the fox squirrel is now rare to absent (Weigl 1987). Fox squirrel populations east of the Appalachians and along the eastern Gulf Coast have been declining dramatically over the past 100 years (Doutt et al. 1977; Webster et al. 1985; Loeb and Lennartz 1989; Weigl et al. 1989; Humphrey and Jodice 1992, Loeb and Moncrief 1993; Conner et al. 1999). Density estimates in the southeast range from 0.1 to 75 per square km (0.2 to 185 per square acre) (Moore 1957; Hilliard 1979; Humphrey et al. 1985; Weigl et al. 1989; Tappe 1991; Tappe et al.1993; Lee 1999). HABITAT AND NATURAL COMMUNITY REQUIREMENTS Southeastern fox squirrels select more pine-dominated habitats compared to the deciduous habitats selected by the midwestern subspecies (Weigl et al. 1989). In southern Florida, they occur in cypress swamps, tropical hardwood forests, live oak (Q. virginiana) forests and mangrove forests (Humphrey and Jodice 1992). Throughout the lower coastal plain, fox squirrels occur in fire-maintained longleaf pine (P. palustris) turkey oak (Q. laevis) sand hills, pine flatwoods and associated bottomland habitat (Moore 1957; Williams and Humphrey 1979; Kantola 1992; Wooding 1997; Conner et al. 1999). The preferred habitat of fox squirrels in the sandhills and piedmont of the Carolinas, Georgia and elsewhere is mixed stands of longleaf, loblolly (P. taeda) and shortleaf pine (P. echinata), hardwoods and bottomlands (Taylor 1973; Hilliard 1979; Dueser et al. 1988; Edwards et al. 1989; Loeb and Lennartz 1989; Weigl et al. 1989; Loeb and Moncrief 1993). Throughout its range, parks, golf courses and residential areas may support substantial fox squirrel populations (Jodice and Humphrey 1992). Fox squirrels use tree cavities and leaf nests both as refugia and for rearing young. Leaf nests occur in a variety of tree species including both hardwoods and pines. Fox squirrels use cavities in a variety of tree species. Cavity use is greatest during winter and spring (Nixon and Hansen 1987; Edwards et al. 1989; Edwards and Guynn 1995). Hilliard (1979) and Weigl et al. (1989) suggested that the absence of suitable cavity trees might be a critical factor in litter survival and subsequent recruitment of fox squirrels in Georgia and North Carolina. However, others have found no evidence that an absence of cavities was limiting fox squirrels in Florida or Georgia (Kantola 1986; Edwards and Guynn 1995).

Throughout their range, fox squirrels produce two litters per year; breeding is concentrated in late winter/early spring and, to a lesser extent, in summer (Moore 1957; Hoffman and Kirkpatrick 1959; Harnishfeger et al. 1978; Weigl et al. 1989; Larson 1990). Reproductive success is highly variable and dependent on demographic and environmental factors such as availability and timing of food sources, availability of cavities and weather (Nixon and McClain 1969). The diet of the fox squirrel is diverse and varies seasonally and by region (Flyger and Gates 1982). Nuts, seeds, buds and flowers of pines (Pinus spp.), oaks (Quercus spp.), hickories (Carya spp.), beech (Fagus grandifolia), walnut (Juglans spp.) and other available hardwood species like dogwood (Cornus spp.) and maple (Acer spp.) are major components of the squirrel’s diet. Soft mast, such as grape (Vitis spp.), persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) and cherry (Prunus spp.), various fruits, fungi, and insects are also eaten. CHALLENGES The widespread loss of preferred habitat, including mature, open pine-oak forests and associated bottomland and swamps is detrimental to fox squirrels throughout the southeast. Practices that have contributed to habitat loss include large-scale monocultural replacement of longleaf pine by loblolly pine, shortened stand rotation, loss of hardwoods and fire suppression (Weigl 1987; Loeb and Lennartz 1989; Weigl et al. 1989; Dueser and Handley 1991; Humphrey and Jodice 1992; Kantola 1992). Habitat improvement practices for fox squirrels generally target forest structure and tree species composition. Changes in forest structure affect overstory and understory densities and tree cavity availability. Tree species composition markedly affects mast production. Specific management practices vary among regions. The primary factor in maintaining fox squirrel populations in forest stands after harvest is sustaining adequate levels of winter-storable tree seeds (Nixon et al. 1975). Chamberlain et al. (1999) and Yarrow and Yarrow (1999) provide management guidelines specific to Mississippi and Alabama, respectively. Streamside management zones offer an option for providing high-quality habitat and travel corridors for fox squirrels in areas affected by even-aged forest management. Studies in the southeast suggest that forest management practices that reduce dense understory vegetation and promote retention of mature mast-producing hardwood will benefit fox squirrels. Such practices include use of prescribed fire, mowing and retention of hardwood stringers in pine-dominated habitats (Kantola 1986; Edwards et al. 1989; Lee 1999; Chamberlain et al. 1999; Conner et al. 1999). Fox squirrels also benefit from promotion and retention of cavity trees. Although cavity trees benefit both fox and gray squirrels, cavities are a more important habitat component for gray squirrels (Sanderson et al. 1980; Flyger and Gates 1982; Edwards and Guynn 1995). The fox squirrel is a popular small game animal. Hunting mortality is considered compensatory to some extent, and is generally not thought of as a major factor controlling squirrel populations (Conner 2001). However, intensively hunted populations may be particularly vulnerable to overharvest depending on their level of isolation and potential for recolonization from nearby

refuges or other lightly hunted areas (Allen 1943; Nixon et al. 1974; Herkert et al. 1992). In South Carolina, no distinction is made between hunting regulations for fox and gray squirrels on private lands, which contain the bulk of suitable fox squirrel habitats. Tappe and Guynn (1998) suggested that it might be more appropriate to manage southern fox squirrels differently than the gray squirrel because the former requires large home ranges and has a low reproductive rate. Hunting fox squirrels is prohibited on many wildlife management areas in South Carolina. CONSERVATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS Fox squirrels have been protected from hunting mortality on 22 of 36 (61 percent) Wildlife Management Areas within South Carolina. Additionally, a sighting survey to determine fox squirrel distribution in South Carolina was performed in 1989 and became a biennial event beginning in 1994. County distribution of fox squirrels appears to be stable. The data are not appropriate for estimating abundance as the number of personnel and sighting effort vary greatly between survey periods. A restoration project on St. Phillips and Hall Islands, South Carolina suggests translocation of fox squirrels may be a useful tool in restoring and augmenting fox squirrel populations throughout the southeast (Senecal 2001). Fifty-two fox squirrels were released on the islands in 1999 and 2000. Annual survival of translocated fox squirrels was similar to reported rates in native populations and reproduction was documented. CONSERVATION RECOMMENDATIONS • Consider southern fox squirrel habitat requirements when managing for red-cockaded woodpeckers (Picoides borealis) as these two species often occur sympatrically. • Consider southern fox squirrel habitat when restoring longleaf pine/wiregrass ecosystems. • Encourage landowners and developers to consider southern fox squirrels when planning and constructing developed areas such as golf courses, parks and residential communities. • Encourage maintenance of mature (greater than 50 years) loblolly and longleaf pine stands that have open canopies and sparse midstories. When possible, encourage landowners to create mature stands on their properties. • Use prescribed burning to maintain sparse midstories in pine and mixed pine/hardwood stands on SCDNR properties. Encourage other landowners to also use prescribed burning to provide habitat for southern fox squirrels. • Consider establishing separate hunting regulations for gray and fox squirrels, especially regarding bag limits on SCDNR owned wildlife management areas (WMAs). • Develop a restoration program to enhance fox squirrel populations in the piedmont. • Document the distribution and population status of southern fox squirrels in South Carolina, particularly in the piedmont. • Conduct studies of dispersal patterns, feeding habits, translocation success, hunting mortality and population dynamics for southern fox squirrels. • Conduct landscape-scale research studies to determine the effects of anthropogenic-induced habitat fragmentation and loss. • Establish a survey protocol to periodically monitor southern fox squirrel population trends on WMAs and large SCDNR land holdings.

• Estimate harvest of fox squirrels on game harvest surveys. • Continue the biennial fox squirrel sighting survey. MEASUREMENTS OF SUCCESS The ongoing biennial survey has shown population fluctuations from year to year. At this point, there are not enough data to determine if this is a cyclical pattern of a stable population. Over time, biologists hope that the population in South Carolina can be stabilized or increased. As research and management needs are identified, projects will be initiated to address those needs.LITERATURE CITED Allen, D.L. 1943. Michigan fox squirrel management. Michigan Department of Conservation, Game Division Publication 100. Lansing, Michigan. 404 pp. Chamberlain, M.J., J.M. Ross and B.D. Leopold. 1999. Influence of forest management and microhabitat conditions on abundance of southern fox and gray squirrels. Proceedings Annual Conference Southeastern Association Fish and Wildlife Agencies. 53:402-414. Conner, L.M., J.L. Landers and W.K. Michener. 1999. Fox squirrel and gray squirrel associations within minimally disturbed longleaf pine forests. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. 53:364-374. Conner, L.M. 2001. Survival and cause-specific mortality of adult fox squirrels in southwestern Georgia. Journal of Wildlife Management. 65:200-204. Doutt, J.K., C.A. Heppenstall and J.E. Guilday. 1977. Mammals of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Game Commission. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 281 pp. Dueser, R.D., J.L. Dooley, Jr. and G.J. Taylor. 1988. Habitat structure, forest composition and landscape dimensions as components of habitat suitability for the Delmarva fox squirrel. Pp. 414-421. In: Management of amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals in North America, R.C. Szaro, K.E. Severson, and D.R. Patton, editors. Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RM-166. 539 pp. Dueser, R.D. and C.O. Handley, Jr. 1991. Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger cinereus Linnaeus. Pp. 587-589. In: Virginia’s endangered species, K. Terwilliger, editor. McDonald and Woodland. Blacksburg, Virginia. 672 pp. Edwards, J.W., D.C. Guynn, Jr. and M.R. Lennartz. 1989. Habitat use by southern fox squirrel in coastal South Carolina. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. 43:337-345. Edwards, J.W. and D.C. Guynn, Jr. 1995. Nest characteristics of sympatric populations of fox and gray squirrels. Journal of Wildlife Management. 59:103-110.

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