They are not territorial about their nests.

The female builds a nest of sticks for raising her young, and the squirrels often sleep in nests in tree cavities. Western Gray Squirrels usually produce only one litter per year. This behavior is called scatter-hoarding. Like Eastern Gray Squirrels, they bury acorns in the fall, presumably finding them later by scent. They also forage on the ground, eating fungi, pine nuts, acorns, bark, and some vegetation. These squirrels prefer oak and conifer forests, traveling the arboreal pathways made by interconnecting tree canopies and feeding on pine cones. The Western Gray Squirrel has a silvery-gray back, a pure-white belly, and a beautiful long, bushy, blackish-gray tail edged with white. However, they are comparatively frequently hit by automobiles-perhaps because they lack experience of human behavior. Most active in the early morning and late afternoon.Īlthough Western Gray Squirrels are diurnal, they are secretive by nature and stay away from humans as much as possible. May remain in nest during severe weather. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concernĬomments: Active throughout the year.

In Washington they are considered threatened at the state level, in Oregon they are considered a state sensitive species.

griseus griseus was proposed for listing as an endangered species. In late 2002 the Washington subspecies, S. Western grey squirrels are a United States species of concern, but are not currently listed as threatened or endangered under the U.S. The western gray squirrel ( Sciurus griseus) is an arboreal rodent found along the western coast of the United States and Canada.

Gray squirrel