Approachability of Eastern Gray Squirrels
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- Keywords:
- Mammals, Squirrels, Behavior
- Abstract
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The Eastern Gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is known to forage in the morning and evening hours. In this study we hypothesized that Eastern Gray squirrels on the campus of Juniata College should be more approachable in the evening hours because they are less alert to the presence of potential predators than they would be in the morning while they are foraging. We believe that they would be more careful while they are feeding in the morning, and more relaxed in the afternoon. This study took place on the Juniata College campus (Huntingdon, Pennsylvania) where large numbers of gray squirrels can be found. We studied the squirrels at different hours of the day, using the same two people to approach them for every data collection event. The squirrels were more approachable in the late afternoon and evening hours; in the evening, the mean distance of approachability before a squirrel fled (2.249 ± 1.519 meters) was found to be smaller than that of the morning distance (3.718 ± 1.519 meters).
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- 2025-08-14
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