Foxy Tails: Florida’s Fox Squirrels are in Danger
By Ginny Mink If you are from Florida, or have lived here any length of time, you are certainly well acquainted with the plethora of squirrels. I have lived in Florida the majority of my 40 years, and in the Plant City area for approximately 24 of them. Yet, only recently have I been exposed to the anomaly that is the fox squirrel. I recall driving out to Donna Smith’s house in Lakeland for an interview and seeing this very large tailed entity darting around the front pasture/field. “What is running around in your yard?” was probably the first question I asked when I met her. Answer: fox squirrels. Well, as you know, I write about endangered and threatened Florida animals every month so imagine my surprise when my research revealed the fact that the fox squirrel is on Florida’s protected list as a species of concern. Maybe we only know about them because of corn mazes that bolster the name, but I suppose it’s high time we get a little better educated on these fluffy bundles of intrigue. Currently there are two species of special concern in Florida, the Sherman’s fox squirrel and the Big Cypress fox squirrel. One species is in worse shape that the other, but because I was so fascinated by them upon my first introduction I felt it would be best to keep you abreast of the situation on both counts. Maybe we can do something to aid in their protection and rehabilitation. So what’s the difference? I’m sure you are wondering (since I am too). First though, let’s understand the similarities. Fox squirrels are known for their exorbitantly bushy tails and their super strong hind legs which allow them to leap very far (and sit up like Meerkats in a field). They are pretty small, only weighing between one and three pounds. They both have white noses and ears while their faces are black. One interesting difference between fox squirrels and the grey squirrels that chew on your roof, is that they have less teeth. A fox squirrel has 20 teeth while a grey squirrel has 22. Maybe that’s why they can do so much damage, those two extra teeth! That said, the Sherman’s fox squirrel, Sciurus niger shermani, likes central and Northeastern Florida’s open piney woods, turkey oak, flatwoods and sand hills. However, the Big Cypress fox squirrel, Sciurus niger avicennia, is found from the southern part of Dade County to the Everglades region located in Lee County. They prefer cypress swamp forests, oak woodlands, mangrove swamps, pine forests, and coastal broadleaf evergreen hammocks. Their diets are slightly different though they will both eat longleaf pine seeds. The Big Cypress fox squirrel also enjoys: pond apple fruit, pond cypress seed cones, bromeliad buds and leaves, cabbage palm fruit, Eastern lubber grasshoppers, purple thistle flowers and berries, and a number of other fruiting vegetation. The Sherman’s fox squirrel sticks mostly to the pine seeds and turkey oak acorns but they have been known to consume: fruit, buds and fungi, too. Now that we know where they live and what they eat, the real question I suppose is, “What’s the problem?” I wish I could say that it was 28
INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
April 2016
something unique to these super cute mammals but instead, it’s the sad truth that we humans have a propensity to want to occupy every possible inch of land. We plow down infinite numbers of wilderness habitats without any regard for the flora and fauna that call those areas home. Such has been the case with the fox squirrels. Estimates say that the decimation of habitat has left the Sherman’s fox squirrel with somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of its native habitat. We have logged it and converted it to pasture lands. We’ve added residences and commercial establishments. And in some instances we have failed to utilize proper burning techniques in longleaf pinelands. These misused burns are preventing the seeds from reproducing properly on the ground. Additionally, these squirrels are a little on the slow side and are readily hit by cars where roads and highways have invaded their turf. On the other hand, the Big Cypress fox squirrel has a rather interesting history of destruction. Between the 1950s and early 1970s (up until 1972) the Big Cypress fox squirrel was on the hunting menu. There are still those engaged in poaching these threatened cuties. However, like the Sherman’s fox squirrel, the biggest threat to their continued existence rests in the hands of developers. From May 2007 to April of 2011, biologists who specialize in the Big Cypress fox squirrels conducted a study to examine range and habitat of 20 of these creatures. The study was equally distributed among males and females within the Big Cypress National Preserve.⁴ If you are interested in what they ascertained via their radio-telemetry endeavors, you can find a link to the published piece in the resources section below. Obviously we are limited in our abilities to help these creatures but as GI Joe says, “Knowing is half the battle.” Now that we know they are in need, we can pay attention to areas in which they live, we can help plant trees that will provide them homes and food. Maybe we could stop being so greedy with the land we’ve been given as stewards and realize that it’s their land too. Resources: ¹ http://myfwc.com/media/2211899/Shermans-Fox-Squirrel.pdf ²https://www.nps.gov/bicy/learn/nature/big-cypress-fox-squirrel.htm ³http://myfwc.com/media/2738253/Big-Cypress-Fox-Squirrel-Species-Action-Plan-Final-Draft.pdf https://www.nps.gov/bicy/learn/nature/upload/Kellam-et-al2013-Big-Cypress-Fox-Squirrel-Home-Range-and-Habitat-Usein-Cypress-Dome-Swamp-and-Pine-Forest-Mosaic-Habitats_-REVISED-March-2014.pdf Photo Credits: Picture of Sherman’s fox squirrel- FWC photo by Patrick Delaneyhttps://flic.kr/p/e9wFgu Picture of Big Cypress fox squirrel- Vincent P. Lucas- https://flic. kr/p/8uA1u2 WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM