Red Squirrel
Red Squirrel
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
(Sciuridae)
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
S5
Agency Status
USFWS:
No Status
USFS:
none
BLM:
none
General Description
The information for this species is not complete. We hope to have it available soon.
Migration
Non-migratory.
Habitat
Most common in Montane (Yellow Pine and Douglas Fir) and subalpine (subalpine fir--Englemann Spruce) forests in W. MT. Also occurs in drier, more open Yellow Pine forests of Eastern Montana. (Hoffmann 1968).
Food Habits
Conifer cone crops, including serotinous cones. Opportun- istic. Uses terminal buds, seeds, sap, berries, bark of a variety of plants. Also uses fungi. Occasionally carnivorous (Flyger 1982).
Ecology
Active, aggressive toward conspecifics in defense of terri- tory. Very vocal. Caches cones. Sometimes dries and stores mushrooms. Annual fluctuations in density are large. Correlated with size of seed and cone crops (Jones 1983).
Reproductive Characteristics
One litter/year in N. ranges. Breeds Feb-Sep in some ranges. 35 day gestation. Young probably born Mar-May in MT. Breed when 10-12 mo's old. Altricial young. Reprod. parameters vary with climate and food supply. (Jones 1983, Flyger 1982).
Citations & Sources
- Flyger, V. and J. E. Gates. 1982. Pine squirrels. Pp. 230-238 in: Chapman, J. A. and G. A. Feldhamer (eds). Wild mammals of North America. John Hopkins Univ. Press. 1147 pp.
- Foresman, K.R. 2001. The wild mammals of Montana. Special Publication No. 12. American Society of Mammalogists
- Hoffmann, R. S. and D. L. Pattie. 1968. A guide to Montana mammals: identification, habitat, distribution and abundance. Univ. Montana Printing Serv. 133 pp.
- Jones, J. K. Jr., D. M. Armstrong, R. S. Hoffmann and C. Jones. 1983. Mammals of the northern Great Plains. Univ. Neb. Press, Linclon. 379 pp.
- NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. 2002. Version 1.6 . Arlington, Virginia, USA: NatureServe. Available: http://www.natureserve.org/explorer. (Accessed: March 20, 2003 ).
- Thompson, L. S. 1982. Distribution of Montana amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. Montana Audubon Council. 24 pp.
