Eastern gray squirrel

회색다람쥐

The eastern gray squirrel is a tree-climbing rodent of eastern North American forests, with a big bushy tail used for balance. It buries acorns and nuts all over the place, and the forgotten ones grow into new trees.

See it on the 3D globe →

At a glance

Class: Mammals
Lives in: Deciduous forests of the eastern United States
Diet: Eats both plants and meat (omnivore)
Weight: about 0.5 kg
Length: about 0.47 m
Top speed: about 32 km/h
Lifespan: up to about 20 years
Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN LC)
Habitat: forests, towns & cities

Quick answers

Where does the Eastern gray squirrel live?

It lives in forests, towns & cities. On the globe you can find it near Deciduous forests of the eastern United States.

How big is the Eastern gray squirrel?

It grows to about 0.47 m and 0.5 kg.

What does the Eastern gray squirrel eat?

Its diet: eats both plants and meat (omnivore).

How fast is the Eastern gray squirrel?

It can reach about 32 km/h.

How long does the Eastern gray squirrel live?

It can live up to about 20 years.

Is the Eastern gray squirrel endangered?

It is listed as Least Concern (IUCN LC).

The eastern gray squirrel is a tree-climbing rodent that lives in the forests of eastern North America. It has a big bushy tail, which it uses for balance when it runs along branches, and it is one of the animals people most often see in city parks in the United States and Canada.

Its home range runs from southern Canada down to Florida and east Texas. People have also brought it to other places, such as Britain, Ireland, Italy and South Africa, where it has become a problem for native squirrels. At home it plays a useful role: forgotten buried nuts grow into new trees.

Where it lives and what it eats

The eastern gray squirrel is native to the eastern and midwestern United States and the southern parts of the central Canadian provinces. It likes forests with plenty of nut trees, but it copes well with towns and parks, too.

It is an omnivore that eats acorns and other nuts above all. When food is plentiful it buries nuts in the ground or tucks them in tree crevices, then digs them up when food is short.

A traveller that causes trouble

In Britain, grey squirrels have largely pushed out the native red squirrel, and in Ireland they compete with it. Because of this, the European Union lists the species as an invasive alien species, and it cannot be imported or sold there.

An attempt to bring it to Australia failed, and it had disappeared there by 1973. Its story shows how an animal that is harmless at home can upset nature in a new place.

Fun facts

It buries thousands of nuts each autumn and forgets many of them, which helps new trees grow.
A single squirrel can make thousands of food stores, and the nuts it forgets often sprout into trees.
Scientists call it the most important natural forest regenerator in eastern North America.
Fossils show that this squirrel already lived in North America during the Ice Age.