Bachman's Fox Squirrel

Description:

Very unusual squirrel for this area ... or anywhere, really. Jellis helped me with the ID last year when I managed to get a slightly fuzzy photo taken from a distance. These are much better, as the little fellow obligingly stood and watched as I edged closer. Large, muscular, fast ... and curious.

Habitat:

A large squirrel, Bachman's Fox Squirrel occurs in uplands throughout the eastern two-thirds of the state of Mississippi. (In Florida, a squirrel with the same markings is called Sherman's Fox Squirrel.) Not an endangered squirrel, but it occurs in far fewer numbers than grey squirrels and its population is declining through changes in land use and management, timber harvesting, etc.

Notes:

Bachman's Fox Squirrel is named for the Rev. John Bachman, 1790-1874, founder of Newberry College in South Carolina and a naturalist of note. Bachman was especially interested in small mammals, like rabbits and squirrels, as well as birds. Several naturalists of the era, including John James Audubon, honored him by naming organisms for him ... a warbler, a sparrow, a shore bird, a brush rabbit and a butterfly.