Profile Big Cypress Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger avicenna Fox Squirrels are found through- Fox Squirrels may mate any time of out most of Florida except in the Keys. year, but they typically have two breed- Three subspecies of Fox Squirrels ing seasons. Males collect in the home live in Florida: the Big Cypress Fox range of a female when she begins es- Squirrel is found from the trus. Dominance hierarchies form Caloosahatchee River in Lee County among the males to determine mating south and then east to the southern part privilege. Mating chases involve one of Dade County; Sherman's Fox Squir- female and a number of males, with the rel is found in the rest of the peninsula; successful male guarding the female to and the Carolina Fox Squirrel is found prevent others from mating with her. tail. Scent-marking is another form of in the panhandle and northwards. Both sexes remain reproductively intraspecies communication. Contrary to two common names active throughout their lives. Males When threatened or alarmed, they sometimes given – Mangrove Fox Squir- reach sexual maturity in 10-11 months make a barking call or chatter while rap- rel and Everglades Fox Squirrel – the and females in about eight months. Fe- idly waving the tail from side to side. Big Cypress Fox Squirrel is not com- males can produce two litters in a year, The Gray Squirrel shows similar behav- mon in either mangroves or Everglades. although one is the norm. ior, but its call is of higher pitch. They are most common in open Fox Squirrels nest in cypress, cab- Fox Squirrels are generalist feeders; pinelands, live oak forests, and stands bage palms, and pines, and they typi- diet depends on the area in which they of bigger bald cypress. cally use three different types of nests: are found. They forage on the ground Fox Squirrels have large overlap- winter dreys, summer dreys, and dens. and in trees, eating pine and cypress ping home ranges and are non-territo- Dreys are round conspicuous twig seeds, cabbage palm fruit, berries, and rial. Ranges vary from 8-32 acres de- and leaf nests generally built in the up- figs. Nuts are opened by a levering tech- pending on habitat conditions. Males per third of the canopy and are seldom nique of the lowering incisors. have larger home ranges than females. in isolated trees. They are waterproof They will also eat the inner bark of They spend more time on the ground and made of an outer layer of interwo- trees as well as flowers, fruits, seeds, and than Gray Squirrels and are slower mov- ven twigs with a softer inner lining of buds from a variety of trees including ing, so they require habitats with an open moss, bark, leaves, fur, feathers, lichen maple and oak. Fungi are also consumed understory. or other similar material. Summer dreys when readily available in summer. Ani- Fox Squirrels weigh from one to are less elaborate than winter dreys and mal food items include bones, bird eggs, three pounds and color variations range may be no more than twig and leaf sau- nestlings, gall insects, moths, beetles, from a buff to gray to an orange-brown, cer shaped platforms. frogs, and even dead fish. and in some instances black. The under Tree dens are another nest. These are Feeding territories are marked with parts are usually lighter, and the noses holes or cavities in the main trunks of scents from glands on the sides of the are typically white with black trees which are also lined with soft ma- mouth that are rubbed against trees. faces. They have long, bushy tails and terial. Squirrels often use dens in winter Fox squirrels are scatterhoarders strong hind legs which allow them to months and dreys in summer months. (they cache seeds in a scattered fashion). leap easily from tree to tree. After a month and a half gestation Nuts and seeds are carried in their jaws They are highly adapted for climb- period, young are born, weaned in two and buried in various locations within ing trees and fatal falls are rare. The tails months, and independent in three the home ranges. Olfaction and memory are used for balance when running and months. Males do not help raise the are used in locating their caches, but only leaping between trees, and are held over young. a portion of the nuts they bury are found, the back when resting. Juvenile males are more likely to so they plant many species of nut and Fox Squirrels have a wide field of leave the natal area and disperse than are seed producing trees and shrubs. vision and very good eyesight even in juvenile females. Dispersal usually oc- Fox Squirrels live from four to seven dim light. They also have well devel- curs during the fall and is a high cause years of age on average in natural con- oped senses of smell and hearing. As of mortality among males, which results ditions. Owls, hawks, foxes, the coyote, with other rodent species, the incisors in a slightly female biased sex ratio. and the bobcat are major predators. continuously grow to compensate for the Squirrels threaten one another by an Big Cypress Fox Squirrels are a enormous amount of wear that comes upright stance with their tail over their threatened species and Sherman’s Fox from a herbivorous diet. back, followed by a quick flick of the Squirrel is a species of special concern.