The fox squirrel, the largest tree squirrel in North America, is well recorded across Louisiana, with 1765 records running from East Baton Rouge and Lafayette through the central parishes and up to the pine country around Kisatchie National Forest.
A squirrel of open woods
Where the gray squirrel keeps to dense hardwood canopy, the fox squirrel wants room: open pine and pine-hardwood stands, scattered mature trees, and a parklike understory it can cross on the ground. It is a noticeably bigger, heavier-tailed animal than its gray relative, often with rusty tones in the coat. Kisatchie National Forest is the clearest stronghold in the record, with Sam Houston Jones State Park, Alexander State Forest Wildlife Management Area, and Lake Bruin State Park adding records around the state.
A fall animal on the ground
Fox squirrels spend more time foraging on the ground than any other Louisiana squirrel, and the calendar reflects it. Records crest in October and November, when the animals travel and bury nuts across open ground in full view, with a smaller rise in March and April as the year’s first litters leave the nest.
Status in Louisiana
NatureServe ranks the fox squirrel S5, Secure, in Louisiana, and the species is native to the state. USGS NAS does not list it as nonindigenous here.
