The fox squirrel’s Washington story is an east-side one. Of 572 records, 241 come from Whitman County in the Palouse, with Walla Walla, Benton, Grant, Okanogan, and Franklin counties close behind, a distribution that follows towns, orchards, and riverside corridors rather than native forest.
An introduced squirrel of open country
North America’s largest tree squirrel is native to the open oak and hickory woodlands of the East and Midwest and was carried west into towns and farm country, where it thrives among scattered big trees. Washington’s records trace that preference along the Columbia River at Potholes, Maryhill, Lincoln Rock, and Bridgeport state parks and through the Palouse, with a smaller western foothold in the San Juan Islands.
Out in every month
Fox squirrels do not hibernate, and they spend more time on the ground than most tree squirrels, which makes them easy to notice. Washington’s counts peak in April, when the animals are busy and conspicuous after winter, and rise again in October as they bury nuts against the cold months.
Status in Washington
NatureServe flags the fox squirrel as exotic in Washington and assigns it SNA, Not Applicable. Globally the species is G5, secure across its native range.
