The fox squirrel’s 5,078 Ohio records lean noticeably toward the Lake Erie plain. Cuyahoga County alone accounts for more than a quarter of them, and Lucas, Lorain, Lake, Erie, and Ottawa counties all rank high, a northern and western tilt that sets this species apart from the gray squirrel.
A squirrel of open woods
The largest tree squirrel in North America, the fox squirrel favors open, park-like woods: scattered oaks and hickories over short grass, woodlot edges, fencerows, and big yard trees, where it can travel the ground between trunks. It spends far more time foraging on the ground than its gray cousin and will cross open country that a gray squirrel avoids. Ohio’s record fits that taste, gathering at Sheldon Marsh Dedicated Nature Preserve, Maumee Bay and East Harbor state parks along the Erie shore, and Cuyahoga Valley National Park, with relatively few coming from the deep forest of the southeast.
A gentler seasonal swing
Fox squirrel reports peak in April and May, dip through late summer, and rise again modestly in September and October as the animals bury hickory nuts and acorns for winter. This squirrel stays conspicuous all year; January’s count holds up well, because a fox squirrel is too big, too rusty colored, and too fond of open ground to overlook on a bare day.
Status in Ohio
Native to Ohio and not listed as nonindigenous by USGS NAS, the fox squirrel carries a NatureServe state rank of SNR, unranked, and a global rank of G5, Secure. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
