Eastern Gray Squirrel

Habitat: The grey squirrel is mainly found in deciduous and mixed forests and city parks. It lives in hedges and trees, where it builds several nests. The grey squirrel also sometimes builds nests in the walls of houses in cities.

Appearance: These squirrels, which are native to North America and were originally imported as pets, now live in the wild in Great Britain and northern Italy, among other places. There, they have already displaced the red squirrel in many places and cause a lot of damage to forests by stripping bark. As far as we know, there are no free-living populations of grey squirrels in Flanders and the Netherlands.

Pairing season: Most young are born in spring, otherwise in summer or autumn. The nest is compact and round, with a diameter of 30 to 60 cm, and is built in the fork between tree branches. It is made of leaves and twigs and lined with dry grass and leaves. Only the female cares for the young. Two to eight young are born in a nest.

Characteristics: Head-body length 23-30 cm. Tail length 19 to 25 cm. Weight between 450 and 650 grams. Age 9 to 12 years.

Food: It eats plant-based food, such as acorns, grains, shoots, flowers, nuts, seeds, fruits, buds, roots and mushrooms, supplemented with corn, bird eggs and insects. It strips the bark from trees to get to the sap and marrow.