Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel, Idene Abhari

SAVE THE NORTHERN FLYING SQUIRREL 

Idene Abhari

WHERE: The Northern flying squirrel is mostly found in the Southeast, specifically North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Biologists first discovered the species in the early 1950s. The squirrel was tracked in three areas of the Southern Appalachians: Mount Mitchell, Roan Mountain, and the Great Smoky Mountains. When the federal government declared the squirrel endangered in 1985, studies performed actually found the squirrel in eight  mountain ranges: Long Hope, Roan, Grandfather, and the Black-Craggy Mountains north and east of the French Broad River Basin, and Great Basalm, Plott Balsalm, Smoky, and Unicom Mountains south and west of the French Broad River Basin. Its distribution within North Carolina is most dense in the counties of Graham, Transylvania, Jackson, Swain, Harwood, Henderson, Buncombe, Mcdowell, Caldwell, Watauga, and Ashe. These tend to be further  northwest within the state. This is because these areas contain the cool, wet boreal and deciduous forests in the highest mountains of the state. The squirrel tends to spend the most time in different conifers like the red spruce, Fraser fir, Eastern hemlock and northern hardwood trees like the yellow birch, buckeye, and the sugar maple. It often forages in the conifers and dens in the hardwoods. Usually, individual squirrel have between 3 and 8 favorite dens and rotate between them. They also often share their nests with other squirrels.

FEATURES: It is around 10 to 12 inches long and weights between 3 and 5 ounces. It’s long flat tail makes up 80% of its body! It has large protruding round eyes and silky densely packed fur. The broad tail and the flaps of skin it has between its wrist and ankles forms an overall flat shape that is both aerodynamic and elegant. This makes it easy for the flying squirrel to glide in the air. The adults are generally gray with either brown, tan, or red wash on the back. The bottom of their bellies is often grayish of a shade of white. Young squirrels are mostly black with gray backs and undersides that are also a shade of off-white.

BEHAVIOR: Northern flying squirrels are nocturnal and emerge from their dens before dusk to forage. They don’t store food, and will leave their nests to go to their preferred feeding areas. They travel quickly, due to their aerodynamic build. They are able to spread all four legs and glide to a nearby tree or to the ground. This squirrel is not a picky-eater! Its favorite food,  however, has been deemed to be fungi. The type of fungi, truffles, are found underground and emit a strong odor that attracts the squirrel. Though it is considered a “tree squirrel” it  spends mosts of its time foraging on the ground digging for food. 

THREATS:

The main threat to the Northern Flying Squirrel is deforestation leading to habitat destruction, degradation, and fragmentation. It’s federal status is endangered, since July 1, 1985. Introduced exotic pests, recreational and residential development, and pollution like acid rain also affect the species negatively. Even without human doing, “small, relict populations suffer from genetic constraints (e.g., increased homozygosity) as well as from climatic and vegetational processes associated with post-Wisconsin changes in mountain environments.” The balsam wooly adelgid, an insect which was introduced from Europe, has also damaged much of the environment that the flying squirrel inhabits. In insecticide used to attack the adelgid has also proven harmful to the squirrel, infecting their food supply, so a new solution must be introduced for this issue. The recovery plan is described in four steps. 

SOLUTIONS:

First, we must study the distribution of the species in the Appalachians. Second, we must provide the species safety from human-related interference like deforestation. Most of the areas it inhabits are owned by the U.S. Forest Service, so this is highly possible. Third, we must study and record its habitat requirements and dietary needs. Finally, we must study its response its the effectiveness of these measures. We can support local politicians that favor funding in these areas to complete this four-step plan, much of which is already underway. Those particularly interested in helping this squirrel can volunteer to help biologists check and build more flying  squirrel boxes.

Video of squirrels in action:

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/weirdest-flyingsquirrel?source=searchvideo

WORKS/IMAGES CITED:

"Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys Sabrinus Coloratus)." N.p., n.d. Web.

LeGrand, Jr., H.E., J.T. Finnegan, S.E. McRae, S.P. Hall. 2010. Natural Heritage Program List of the Rare Animal Species of North Carolina. N.C. Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh, NC.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1990. Appalachian Northern Flying Squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus and Glaucomys sabrinus coloratus) Recovery Plan. Newton Corner, MA. 53 pp.

Hall, E. R. ‘‘American Flying Squirrels,” in The Mammals of North America (John Wiley & Sons, 2nd ed., 1981).

Handley Jr., C. O. ‘‘A new flying squirrel from the southern Appalachian mountains,” Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 1953, vol. 66, pp. 191-194.

Weigl, Peter D. 1990. “Fly By Night Refugees,” Wildlife in North Carolina (February 1990).

Weigl, P. D., T. W. Knowles, and A. C. Boynton. 1999. The distribution and ecology of the northern flying squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus coloratus in the southern Appalachians. North

Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Raleigh.