Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Conifer-Loving Pine Squirrel

By: Tom Berg

Pine squirrels are interesting little mammals. They are not extremely common in some areas of their range, due mainly to the presence of the larger and more aggressive gray squirrel. But they can be found throughout the Great Lakes states, the Appalachian Mountains and much of Canada. They are particularly common in areas with pine trees. As their name implies, these frisky little squirrels love pine trees.

Pine squirrels, also called American red squirrels, are relatively small in size. They are larger than chipmunks but smaller than gray squirrels. They have a bushy tail like other squirrels, and their fur is a lovely reddish color. Their belly is white and they have a thin black line on their side between the white belly fur and the reddish-brown back fur. In the winter, their coat becomes a duller brown.

Their favorite food is pine nuts, which they can easily extract from pine cones. They feed on pine cones that have fallen to the ground, but they also gather pine cones that are still attached to the tree. Conifers with resident pine squirrels often have large piles of discarded pine cone petals (scales) at their base. The squirrels also eat a variety of other nuts, seeds, berries, bird eggs and even mushrooms.

Female pine squirrels are like other squirrels in the fact that they are sexually receptive (in heat) for only one day. After mating and finding a suitable nest, the females give birth a few weeks later to three or four tiny squirrels. The babies are hairless and only weigh about 10 grams. They grow quickly, though, and leave the nest at the ripe old age of five or six weeks old.

Outside of the nest, pine squirrels are usually very wary, and for good reason. Many predators like to eat them! Foxes, weasels, hawks, owls and feral cats all take a toll on the population. Gray squirrels won’t usually kill the smaller pine squirrels, but they will drive them out of the area if they get a chance. So if you see a pine squirrel in your yard this spring, be nice to it!

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