Mississippi’s occurrence databases hold 75 southern flying squirrel records, enough for NatureServe to rank the species S5, secure, statewide. Reports come from Homochitto National Forest in the southwest, and from Holly Springs and Tombigbee National Forests farther north and east, tracking a nocturnal glider that needs mature trees with cavities to nest in.
Old cavities, not new plantings
A southern flying squirrel nests in tree hollows, often old woodpecker holes, and it needs enough mature timber nearby to glide between den trees and feeding areas. Homochitto’s bottomland hardwoods, Holly Springs’ hardwood draws, and Tombigbee’s hardwood bottomlands along the Black Belt Prairie’s edge all hold that kind of older, cavity-rich forest, while young pine plantations without standing dead wood offer this squirrel little to work with.
No strong season, no strong signal
Records stay fairly flat across the year rather than showing the sharp seasonal swing seen in some of Mississippi’s other mammals. That fits an animal that neither hibernates nor migrates and instead often huddles with denmates inside a shared cavity through cold snaps, staying active through the winter rather than disappearing from the record for months at a time.
Status in Mississippi
NatureServe ranks the southern flying squirrel S5, secure, in Mississippi, and it’s native to the state. That fits an adaptable glider that holds on wherever the state’s hardwood forests still carry enough old, cavity-bearing trees.
