Western Gray Squirrel

Western Gray Squirrel

• Weight 1-2 lb, a large squirrel.
• Seed-eating rodent, dental formula 1-0-1-3/1-0-1-3.
• Diet acorns and other nuts and seeds.
• Once common around southern Puget Sound after clear cutting of old growth, but now limited to dry oak forests south of Tacoma.
• The gray squirrel usually seen in the Tacoma and the Puget Sound lowlands is the introduced Eastern Gray Squirrel, which is smaller and usually reddish about the face, back and tail, the tail looks scraggly compared with the bushy tail of a Western Gray Squirrel.
• The Western Gray Squirrel recovery plan can be found here. The plan contains a full review of natural history, status, and plans to bolster populations and habitat.