Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Gray Squirrel

Gray SquirrelI think I have found something very strange. Today's post features the Gray Squirrel. I took these pictures while I was hiking at my latest discovered nature preserve. They're from almost a month ago now, and they were almost left behind forever, but there is an important reason for presenting them to you now.

After doing some research on Black Squirrels, I discovered many interesting things. There are supposedly four types of squirrels in Michigan, where I live. There are Fox Squirrels, Red Squirrels, Flying Squirrels, and Gray Squirrels. Did you notice I didn't list Black Squirrels?

I've read that black squirrels are really gray squirrels, but with extra melanistic pigment in their fur. After doing a lot of research on the subject, I now believe this is true. But this isn't the mystery I'm here to discuss today. There is another...

Gray SquirrelI've known for quite awhile that there are actually two types of gray squirrel. There is the Eastern Gray Squirrel and the Western Gray Squirrel. The eastern version is the kind related to the black squirrel. They are a medium sized squirrel, the same size as the black ones. They are the kind that live here in Michigan. That's where the mystery comes in.

The squirrel in my pictures was just about the biggest squirrel I've ever seen. It was about as big as a very large fox squirrel, which are larger than most. Western gray squirrels are also the largest of all of these tree squirrels I have mentioned. The size seems to match very well.

A notable characteristic of the western version is that they have bigger ears than their eastern counterpart. Take a look at the ears on the squirrel in the first picture. Do they look a little large to you? Yeah, me too. Another characteristic of the western grays is their tails. Their tails are notable for the prominent light gray fringe around the edges. The first two pictures show this very well.

Gray SquirrelWestern Gray Squirrels are listed as a threatened species. They are also not supposed to exist anywhere east of the western United States as far as I know. Maybe I'm mistaken about this squirrel in my picture. I guess I must be, but it fits too well for me to completely dismiss the idea.

Maybe somebody brought it here. I don't know of any other way it could have gotten here. I'd like to add that the Eastern Grays share much of the same coloring as this one. They also have a similar tail fringe, but the fringe and the tail are neither one as prominent as that of the Western Grays.

Whatever the answer to all of this becomes, it's still a mystery to me. If any of you think you might have the answer, please let me know. This is very strange.


One last thing. This is unrelated to the story above. I brought these old pictures back for another reason also. I didn't want to talk quite yet about something disturbing that I recently saw. I feel I have to tell the story, but it will be on a subject that is horrific in nature. I don't even want to tell it, but I think it is necessary. I will post a warning at the top when the time comes.

16 comments:

  1. That is a BIG squirrel... Still looking on how to transfer my picture a squirrel I took last week..not sure what type we have in Malaysia

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  2. Luckily I need not to sit in any exam for all these names. The time had past but knowing all these is now a pleasure instead of pressure.

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  3. I wonder if there is interbreeding at the fringes of the range? Diane Tucker, Estate Naturalist

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  4. My guess is that this is just one well-fed individual at the edge of the probability curve. But I certainly could be wrong, of course.

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  5. I would say that this is just a really fat squirrel. Here in Southeast Ohio, I find that the squirrels that are smart enough to get into our bird feeders often bulk up quite a bit. I have a squirrel in my neighborhood that has no tail. I does not seem to be an injury, but a defect and he seems to be doing fine!! I'll try to get a snapshot to post soon.

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  6. Love the tail on that not-so-little guy.

    I've only seen a Western Gray Squirrel once in Yosemite, but from my recollection, they are much lighter gray than the squirrel pictured. From my reading, they are extremely shy and spend the vast majority of their time in the trees, unlike Fox Squirrels, which spend quite a lot of time foraging on the ground.

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  7. Kruel - Good luck on transferring the picture. Cellphones are the one technology that I don't know much about. I've seen pictures of a few different kinds of squirrels from Malaysia. Some look similar to ours, and some are very different. I hope you get your picture done, I'm looking forward to it.
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    Rainfield - Yeah, it is a pleasure now that we don't have to remember, we get to remember. I've learned a lot about these squirrels because of these pictures.
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    Diane - There could be interbreeding. When I saw this gray there were also every other kind right there, except the flying squirrels.
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    Sharkbytes - I tend to agree with you, but this squirrel wasn't only fat, it was big. Bigger than a fox squirrel. I'm still very confused about it.
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    Ohio Hiker - I would agree about it just being fat, but the eastern grays are several inches smaller than this one. This squirrel looked bigger than a fox squirrel. It was so big, I wasn't sure what it was at first. I'll watch for your snapshot.
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    Rene - That tail is why I posted the second picture. It's a striking feature.

    I'm glad you've seen a real Western Gray. The color difference helps a lot with this mystery. Also, this one behaved more like a fox squirrel, but it was clearly a gray. If not for the size, I'd say mystery solved. Maybe it's a mutant.

    I do tend to agree with everybody that I think it can't be a western gray. They just don't live around here.

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  8. He is a large one isn't he? They are smaller and a lighter gray color out here. Great shots.

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  9. Poetic Shutterbug - Yeah, this squirrel was so big that I didn't think it was a squirrel when I first saw it. The biggest I've ever seen.

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  10. The squirrel looks normal to me. I have lots of them here where I live in Upstate NY. I have big fat ones. Because they all get fed well.Ha! Some squirrels have darker faces. Some have bigger ears and some have huge bushy tails, while others are thin. I've been photographing the squirrels I see for 12 years now. Love your blog!! I'll be back!!

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  11. Oh Oh. I have a feeling the dragon made it to your territory and that the post that you hinted about involves him....I will be waiting to see!!

    The Retirement Chronicles

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  12. This is quite interesting to see so many species of squirrels. I hardly see one in Australia. I guess that you got plenty to photograph over there

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  13. Dang! I don't much even look at squirrels except when they are digging holes under my horse arena and I start going agro on them. And those are ground squirrels! Nice sleuthing work here Ratty! Well done.

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  14. Ginnymo - Thanks for the good information, it sounds like you know your gray squirrels. That helps a lot in solving this little mystery. I'm even surer now that this is an ordinary Eastern Gray. Still, this was the largest squirrel I've ever seen.
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    The Retired One - The post I hinted at involves something similar to a dragon. I wish it were only about a dragon. It's fun to joke about dragons and squirrels, but real life slammed into me this time. It's a post I'm not looking forward to writing.
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    Roentarre - I didn't realize there were so many until only recently. I only knew one kind most of my life. I guess we never know what we'll find until we look. :)
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    Julia - I never used to look at then much either. That was until I saw a black squirrel for the first time. Then I began taking these nature pictures, and a whole new world opened up.

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  15. Nice squirrely picts there, thanks. I've been stalking 'our' grey friends while I've been at the apartment, apparently they are a little timmid, but tend to get closer if you leave your nuts out.

    Back in England it's really hard to find a native red squirrel, the grey kind have pretty much wiped out the red's who live in very few places and in much much less numbers.

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  16. Jason - I've been reading about the loss of England's red squirrels while doing my research. I don't think there are that many reds here either. It's a shame because I think I like the little red squirrels the most.

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