Photo by William H. Julian/USFWS

USFWS photo Though similar looking, Delmarva fox squirrels can be distinguished from your typical gray squirrels. The Delmarva is a larger and heavier, silver to whitish-gray slate tree squirrel with an unusually full, fluffy tail and white belly. They are also slower, shyer, warier and quieter than gray squirrels. When moving from tree to tree Delmarvas usually descend down the first tree to the ground then climb up the second rather than leaping from tree to tree. If you want to know more, here is a link to the Delmarva fox squirrel page on the US Fish & Wildlife Service's Endangered Species site. Peregine Falcon   Bald Eagle   Home

Endangered Delmarva Fox Squirrel: Native of the Chesapeake Watershed   Maybe you've never seen a Delmarva fox squirrel but this native of the watershed deserves special attention. The Delmarva fox squirrel was listed as federally endangered in 1967. The remaining populations persist naturally in portions of 5 counties on the eastern shore of Maryland: Kent, Queen Annes, Talbot and Dorchester counties. This remnant represents less than 10% of its apparent historical range. Delmarva fox squirrels were once found throughout the Delmarva peninsula, southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. Translocations, moving some Delmarva fox squirrels from known sites and releasing them at other sites with suitable habitat, have occurred in several other counties on the eastern Shore of Maryland and three other counties in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Delmarva fox squirrels prefer mature forest of both hardwood and pine trees with a minimum amount of understory and ground cover. Delmarvas feed heavily on mast (nuts) primarily oak, hickory, sweetgum, walnut and loblolly pine. In the summer and early fall Delmarvas feed on mature green pine cones. Over the course of winter they may switch, if possible, from pine and oaks in early winter to maples and oaks in late winter. During spring they feed on tree buds and flowers and will also eat fungi, insects, fruit and seeds. Delmarvas prefer making their dens in the hollows of trees but will also make nests of leaves and twigs in the crotch of trees, in tangle of vines on a trunk or at the end of large branches. Mating occurs in late winter and early spring. Gestation is about 44 days with most young born in February, March and April. Litters average 1-6 young, with the female raising them by herself. Why are Delmarva fox squirrrels endangered? Current causes for their decline include loss and fragmentation of their habitat due to timber harvesting and converting forested land into farms, housing developments, roads and commercial property. This loss of habitat has reduced the population primarily to protected preserves such as National Wildlife Refuges and state management areas. Predators include red and gray foxes, weasel, minks, eagles and raptors. Nestlings and young may be taken by raccoons, opossums and rat snakes. Unleashed dogs and cats may also prey upon Delmarvas. Accidental mortality can be attributed to Delmarva fox squirrels being hit by automobiles or shot by hunters mistaking them for gray squirrels. What is being done to help restore them? To help the Delmarva fox squirrel a recovery plan was developed in 1979. Revised in 1983 and 1993, the goal of the recovery plan is to delist the Delmarva fox squirrel by increasing its population and protecting its habitat. Efforts to recover the Delmarva fox squirrels will help protect not only the squirrel, but other species that depend on the native forests of the Delmarva Peninsula. In order to do this, biologists require up to date information about the squirrels and their habitat needs. To help biologists determine Delmarva fox squirrel population trends, seven sites were established for long term monitoring of Delmarva fox squirrels. Information collected includes abundance, population structure (by age and sex), reproductive activity, growth rates, and movements. Stability or expansion of these populations over a five-year period is one of the principal criteria for Delmarva fox squirrel recovery. Five-year monitoring data from these sites is currently being analyzed. The sites include: Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge; Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge; Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (two separate tracts); Maryland's Wye Island Natural Resource Management Area and LeCompte Wildlife Management Area; and a private property site. Using geographic information system (GIS), biologists will be able to identify suitable habitat on a landscape level and monitor land use near Delmarva fox squirrel populations. With this information, biologists will use this information to develop a strategy for protecting Delmarva fox squirrel habitat . A two-year study was conducted to determine the relationship between population status and habitat management of Delmarva fox squirrels on one of the National Wildlife Refuges. Researchers looked at forest stand characteristics, squirrel abundance, effects of timber harvesting, and variation in Delmarva fox squirrel home range size between habitat types. Another current study is investigating the impact of forest harvests on the density, productivity, survival and dispersal of Delmarva fox squirrels. The findings from these and future studies will be used to maintain an economically viable timber industry while providing suitable forest habitat for the Delmarva fox squirrel.. To find out more about Delmarva fox squirrels and possibly even see one, visit one of the following: Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Sussex County, Delaware; Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge in Kent County, Maryland; Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County, Maryland; and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Accomac County, Virginia. Top