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Sciurus niger
The black fox squirrel is also known as the eastern fox squirrel. Long leaf pine seeds and turkey oak and live oak acorns are among their favorite foods and they also eat fungi, buds, bulbs and insects.
Spotted in a pine forest in Silver Springs, Florida. I consider this spotting of a black fox squirrel to be a rarity. I have only seen two in my lifetime.
In May 2011, the fox squirrel was considered a threatened species in Florida due to urbanization and habitat fragmentation.
Spotted on Feb 18, 2018
Submitted on Feb 19, 2018
9 Comments
Thank you so much for the SOTD award. I'm very honored and also very thrilled to have seen this fox squirrel.
Wonderful series Mary! Very well deserved SOTD. Thank you for sharing :)
Great series Mary,fantastic eyes contact,congrats on the well deserved SOTD and thanks for sharing
Congratulations Mary, you may have missed on Spotting of the Week this round, but your beautiful black fox squirrel is our Spotting of the Day:
"Eye contact! We loved the color morph of this inquisitive Fox Squirrel, our Spotting of the Day. The fox squirrel is the largest tree squirrel found in North America, and can show highly variable coat colorations both within and between different populations. The upperpart of the body ranges from grey, through tawny brown, to completely black as seen here. Some fox squirrels are entirely black. Some local fox squirrel populations are declining due to habitat loss. This is the case for parts of Florida, where this species is threatened by pine forest logging and rapid urbanization.
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Thank you AshleyT for the nomination! Much appreciated.
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!
Thank you DanielePralong for your assistance in correcting the scientific name. Truly appreciate it.
Photo No. 1: is a beautiful photo, and a cute photo....
Great series Mary! Beautiful coat pattern on this squirrel.
I have corrected the scientific name for you (S. carolinensis is the Eastern grey squirrel; must have been just a second of inattention from you :-) )