Delmarva Peninsula Fox Squirrel

Delmarva Peninsula Fox Squirrel. Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. , A Species in Peril , This squirrel is presently restricted to local populations found on the Delmarva Peninsula in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. It lives mostly in mixed strands of mature hardwoods. Habitats include groves of trees along streams and in agricultural areas, and mature lobiolly pine forests adjacent to salt marshes. The Delmarva fox squirrel feeds on mast-producing trees such as oak, hickory, beech, walnut and lobiolly pine. In spring months, it feeds on buds and flowers of trees, fungi, insects, seeds, and occasionally bird eggs and young., A Loss of Habitat , Why did the fox squirrel population decline? As, it is so often the case, human activities are the cause. Farming, lumbering, and construction destroyed forest habitat vital to fox squirrels, and made conditions more favorable for the more aggressive gray squirrels. Some areas that remain are being protected and carefully managed under terms of the Endangered Species Act. At Blackwater, Chincoteague, and Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuges, nest boxes are provided to supplement leaf nests used by fox squirrels., Description , A large squirrel, weighing up to two pounds, silvery-gray in color, with white feet and a bushy tail with a pronounced black stripe on the outer edge. Population Status: Endangered