If you live on the East Coast, I bet you encountered at least one eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) during your regular comings and goings today. Perhaps you saw one doing elaborate acrobatics on your bird feeder. Maybe you swerved to avoid one darting across the road. Or perhaps you caught one red-handed taking tiny nibbles out of your newly ripened tomatoes…

Although native to the woodlands of eastern North America, the eastern gray squirrel has adapted quite well to urban and suburban living. It also seems to thrive in far-off habitats. In Europe, particularly the UK, where the eastern gray squirrel was first introduced in the late 19-th century, it’s considered a dangerous invasive species, responsible for driving native red squirrel populations towards extinction.

Want to learn more about eastern gray squirrels? Check out these posts from our friends at Buzz Hoot Roar about decoding squirrel chatter and squirrel warbles (the horror!).