Fox squirrels are the single most-recorded mammal in Texas, ahead of far more conspicuous animals like deer and raccoons, with nearly 56,000 logged sightings. That ranking says as much about how well this squirrel handles people as it does about its numbers: it thrives in the pecan bottoms, oak mottes, and shaded parks of the Hill Country and the riparian corridors of Balcones Canyonlands and Devils River, where mature trees break up drier surrounding land, but it’s just as comfortable in a suburban yard.
Records climb sharply into an April peak, nearly six times the July low, tracking spring breeding activity and new litters becoming active in the canopy. Texas heat pushes activity toward early morning by summer, which likely thins out the record more than any real drop in squirrel numbers. NatureServe ranks the species S5, secure, statewide.
