Delmarva Peninsula
Fox Squirrel
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Habitat
Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrels live in
mature mixed pine and hardwood forests
along streams and marsh land and may also
occupy small woodlots near agricultural
fields. They prefer woodlots of mixed loblolly
pine and hardwoods such as oak, maple,
hickory and beech. These trees provide them
with food they like such as nuts and seeds.
Unlike the common gray squirrel that
frequently builds a nest of leaves high up
on a branch, the Delmarva Peninsula fox
squirrel prefers to nest in tree cavities in
mature forests (both hardwood and pine
trees) with minimal understory and ground
cover. Occasionally however, it will build a
leaf nest. Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrels
feed heavily on nuts and seeds (mast)
primarily oak, hickory, walnut and loblolly
pine. During the spring, they feed on tree
buds and flowers and will also eat fungi,
insects, fruit and seeds. In the summer and
early fall, Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrels
feed on mature, green pine cones.
Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrels prefer woodlots of mixed hardwoods such as oak, maple,
hickory, beech and pine. These trees provide them with food they like such as nuts and seeds.
Unlike the common gray squirrel that builds a nest of leaves high up on a branch, the
Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel prefers to nest in tree cavities in mature forests both
hardwood and pine trees with minimal understory and ground cover. USFWS photo.
The Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel
(Sciurus niger cinereus) is named for the
geographic area defining most of it’s habitat
or range: the entire state of Delaware,
southern Pennsylvania and the peninsula of
Maryland and Virginia. While it was once
plentiful, the squirrel’s population dropped
so drastically that it became endangered.
Recovery efforts are helping to turn the tide,
and now the population is expanding.
The largest of all the tree squirrels, the
Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel has heavy,
silver to whitish-gray slate hair and an
unusually full, fluffy tail and white belly.
It can grow to 30 inches (with half of that
being tail) and can weigh 11/2 to 3 pounds.
The squirrel’s coat varies in color from
frosty silver-gray to almost black.
Behavior
Although the Delmarva Peninsula fox
squirrel is a forest species, it prefers to
spend its time on the ground foraging for
food in woodlots and openings, such as farm
fields. It usually avoids confrontations by
running away rather than climbing up a tree;
however, fox squirrels will climb trees to
avoid predators. When moving from tree to
tree, the squirrels frequently descend down
the first tree to the ground then climb up the
second tree rather than leaping from tree to
tree. The squirrels mate in late winter and
early spring. About 44 days later in February
and March most young are born. Females
give birth to litters averaging one to four
young and raise the litters by themselves.
The squirrels can have up to two litters
per year.
Imperiled Population
The Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel once
occupied the whole Delmarva Peninsula as
well as parts of southeastern Pennsylvania
and west-central New Jersey. By the early
1900s the population was reduced to only
the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Predators
of the squirrel, including red and gray foxes,
weasels, minks, eagles and other raptors,
also contributed to their mortality. Nestlings
and young may be taken by raccoons, great
horned owls, opossums and black rat snakes.
Some accidental deaths by vehicles also
occur and occasionally Delmarva Peninsula
fox squirrels are misidentified and shot by
hunters. When the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service (Service) provided Endangered
Species Act protection for the squirrel in
1967, it occupied only four counties in
Maryland (Kent, Queen Anne’s, Talbot
and Dorchester) less than 10 percent of its
historic range. Thanks to reintroduction
continued on back
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
http://www.fws.gov
April 1999
Recovery Efforts
Habitat restoration for the Delmarva
Peninsula fox squirrel began in 1945 when
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
purchased LeCompte Wildlife Management
Area in Dorchester County. Legal hunting
for the squirrel was banned in 1971.
Following the squirrels protection as an
endangered species in 1967, the Delmarva
Peninsula Fox Squirrel Recovery Team
began coordinating state and federal efforts
for the species’ restoration and protection.
The team launched a reintroduction program
to reestablish the squirrel throughout its
native range. Much of the squirrel’s occupied
habitat is privately owned lands. The
Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel also
receives additional protection through the
Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Law of
1984, which requires endangered species
habitat protection within critical areas
(1000 feet landward of low mean high tide).
The Future and You
The Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel can
have a bright future with a little help. The
successful recovery of the Delmarva
Peninsula fox squirrel depends on the
willingness of landowners to provide habitat
for these squirrels. Farmers can continue to
provide prime habitat for the squirrels.
Leaving uncut corn or soybeans along
hedgerows gives the squirrels food through
the winter. Developers can also assist with
conservation efforts by leaving desirable
woodlot trees intact (e.g., nut, seed and berry
producers) and by providing corridors from
one small woodlot to another. A buffer of
trees and hedgerows between streams and
development can also help the squirrels
survive. Citizens can build nest boxes and
place them in trees within the forest where
Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrels reside.
Efforts to recover the Delmarva Peninsula
fox squirrel will help protect not only the
squirrel, but also other species that depend
on the native forests of the Delmarva
Peninsula. One of the principal criteria of
the species recovery is stability or expansion
of Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel
populations during a five-year period. Five
year monitoring data from several sites is
currently being analyzed. The sites include:
Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge;
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge;
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge;
Maryland’s Wye Island Natural Resource
Management Area; and LeCompte Wildlife
Management Area.
Using the GIS (Geographic Information
System), biologists will be able to identify
suitable habitat over a large area and
monitor land use near Delmarva Peninsula
fox squirrel habitat with the ultimate goal
of recovering this species to a population
level that no longer require Endangered
Species Act protection.
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge
During 1969–1971, 30 Delmarva Peninsula
fox squirrels were relocated to Chincoteague
National Wildlife Refuge and released in
habitat surrounding the historic Assateague
Lighthouse. Since the early 70’s, the
population of squirrels at Chincoteague
Refuge has reached 300–350, with
new populations dispersing on their
own throughout the southern portion of
the refuge.
Refuge biologists conduct an annual fox
squirrel box check to monitor the population.
If a squirrel is found in a nest box, biologists
capture the squirrel with a holding device
and give it an ear tag. Each ear tag is
numbered and provides biologists with vital
information about the squirrels' sex, age,
and whether or not the animal is a recapture.
Refuge biologists use this information to
monitor the status and trends of Delmarva
Peninsula fox squirrels and to alter their
management program when necessary.
Chincoteague Refuge’s long-range plan for
these squirrels is to maintain enough habitat
to support the current population with the
ultimate goal of transplanting part of the
Chincoteague populations to other suitable
habitats on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
Photo by Michael Colopy
efforts by the Service, Maryland
Department of Natural Resources and
other state wildlife agencies, the squirrel
can now be found in all counties on the
Eastern Shore of Maryland and a few sites
in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The primary cause of the Delmarva
Peninsula fox squirrels’ endangered status
is habitat loss from agricultural and
residential development. Isolated woodlots
were encroached upon and the squirrel
became vulnerable.
