This Massive Squirrel Has Been Saved from Extinction

[n2doc]

It only took about half a century, but the once-rare Delmarva fox squirrel (Sciurus niger cinereus) now has a healthy population once again, placing it in a position to finally leave the protection of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). If that happens, this giant squirrel—which can reach an astonishing 75 centimeters in length—would join just 29 other species that have been declared recovered under the ESA.

The Delmarva fox squirrel has enjoyed legal protection since 1967, predating the Endangered Species Act of 1973. At the time it was declared endangered, the subspecies had lost 90 percent of its historic range, which once included almost the entire 274-kilometer Delaware peninsula for which it is named as well as areas of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Deforestation and other habitat loss during the first half of the twentieth century pushed the squirrel out, while hunting also took a heavy toll. By the 1960s the subspecies could only be found in a few Maryland counties.

Endangered-species protection brought an end to the squirrel hunting season, but the real key toward recovering the Delmarva squirrel turned out to be private landowners. Biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) relocated squirrels onto several large Maryland farms where they thrived. Other reintroductions took place on national wildlife refuges, but today 80 percent of the squirrel’s expanded habitat consists of private lands. The squirrel has now regained approximately 28 percent of its historic range and its population (estimated at between 17 and 20,000) is stable, widely distributed and, according to the FWS, healthy enough to withstand any future threats that might arise from disease or habitat loss, or even sea-level rise (which, FWS predicts, will result in some deforestation along the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Coast).

The process to delist the squirrel from the ESA isn’t quite over. The public is invited to submit comments or other supporting information on the proposal to delist the species. Comments are due by November 24. Assuming no new information about previously unassessed threats comes in during that process, it would then take another few months before the squirrels were delisted. Even then, FWS would continue to monitor the squirrels for several years to make sure their populations remain healthy outside the protection of the ESA.
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2014/09/23/massive-squirrel-saved/

[PADemD]

1. 75 centimeters = 29.53 inches

[NickB79]

2. As a long-time squirrel hunter, all I can say is

That's a big fucking squirrel.

I'd literally feel undergunned if I was out in the woods with my .22 and saw that monster squirrel.

Wonder if I could get them to introduce a few here in Minnesota, though; that would be a LOT of squirrel meat

[lisby]

9. Really?

In this day and age, it is necessary to shoot squirrels? Are you actually starving? Because that is the only excuse besides rabies that I can begin to consider.

[NickB79]

10. You have a problem with eating free-range, hormone-free, humanely raised meat?

Having actually grown up on a farm, I realize that the meat we get in nice, neat plastic-wrapped packages at the grocery store comes with a huge helping of pain and suffering from livestock raised and manipulated their entire lives by humans, many of them who don't give a fuck about their general well-being. It's also much more sustainable than eating cattle or hogs fattened on herbicide and oil-dependent GM grain, pumping out massive amounts of methane and other pollutants from massive feedlots.

Hunting where possible helps offset all that while allowing me to get a bit of meat in my diet (I tried going vegetarian, and it was rough). And squirrel and rabbit hunting is a great way to do this, because the season is long (6 mo.), I don't need any specialized equipment, I avoid the crazy deer hunters who all cram into the woods for the few days they can hunt, and squirrels and rabbits are very common and tolerate hunting pressure well because they breed so fast. The money I spend helps protect forests and grasslands from being plowed under by farmers, and it's just fun to go walking in the woods on a nice autumn day. I'd suggest you try it sometime if you're concerned about the environment or animal welfare.

[davidthegnome]

11. Some good points here.

How sure are you though - about the hormone free part? We get a lot of hunters at the small store/gas station where I work, and they're always talking about hunting on this one or that one's farm land. So, if the feed the farmers give their animals in some cases involves herbicide and oil dependent GM grain.... does that not in some way spread to the local wildlife? Maybe this is a dumb question, I just can't help but wonder if the stuff they're putting in the soil also effects the moose, deer, bear and other animals that rely on that same land and the surrounding area for sustenance.

I've never hunted before myself, I wouldn't even know how to use a rifle or set a snare. But I am curious about this sort of thing, as it's something that largely sustains the economy of my area and helps keep me employed.

[SeattleVet]

12. I saw one when I was bowhunting deer in Marlyand many years ago (~1983?).

It was a captive in a cage at a research facility adjacent to where we were hunting, when they were trying to figure out how to get the population back up. My first thought was how full the crockpot would be, then the guy I was with explained the amount of the fine and jail time involved. Glad these guys were able to make a comeback, with the cooperation of all of the hunters, outdoor sportsmen, and land owners.

[alfredo]

5. Including tail? Here's an Indian giant squirrell. It's about the same size, maybe

a bit larger.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

7. aghhh! too cute!

that's an awesome squirrel outfit! nice spot to perch, too.

[Judi Lynn]

8. Whatta great squirrel. It would be wonderful to see, not eat one, in person. n/t

[IrishAyes]

14. That is NOT a squirrel, I'm tellin' ya!

I don't know what it IS, but it can't be a squirrel. That thing would give me nightmares, especially since I used to kinda sorta tease normal size ones back when I had my chows and a huge oak in the front yard. When the dogs and I were indoors looking out the kitchen windows onto the front porch, there'd be a squirrel running up and down the rail, challenging them dirty lowdown hounds to come out and fight, dammit!

The dogs would bark and try to jump through the window. The squirrel would practically froth at the mouth, and I'd be laughing my head off. It made the squirrel go into orbit when I'd wave my arms at him/her. (The neighbors couldn't see.) But the squirrel(s) would get revenge their own way. When we were outdoors, they'd tease the dogs and play chicken by scampering across the yard right in front of those poor old chows; and when I walked anywhere under the oak tree, I swear they THREW acorns at me. Lordy, how I loved them.

But that Indian critter and its American cousin? I don't think I'd dare mess with them.

[alfredo]

15. They know karate.

[proReality]

3. Flashback to Princess Bride. n/t

[PeoViejo]

4. What a disappointment

I was expecting an article on how Chris Cristie managed to cover his tracks.

[marble falls]

6. That's just plain nuts.

[IrishAyes]

13. Good one!