What Time of the Year Do Southern Flying Squirrels Have Babies

Southern Flying Squirrels
Fact Sail

Genus/Species:

Glaucomys volans

Range:

Southern flying squirrels, an exclusively nocturnal mammal, inhabit the entire eastern half of the The states from southeastern Canada to southern peninsular Florida.

• Bodily encounters with humans are rare because flight squirrels are exclusively nocturnal in their activity. They alive in woods with nut or acorn-bearing trees, a h2o supply, scattered expressionless trees and snags. They sometimes nest in attics. Autumn nights are best for observing flight squirrels because they are busy gathering nutrient for winter. Flying squirrels are less active during cold winter weather.

• Flying squirrels can exist identified by their high-pitched, excited-sounding "cheeps" often heard within the first several hours after sunset. They use these sounds to continue rail of ane another and offer warnings. Sounds produced by flying squirrels sometimes exceed the upper limits of frequencies heard by human ears.

• Flying squirrels feed on hickory basics, acorns, wild ruby pits and other seeds. They also eat dormant insects, lichens and fungi. In warmer weather condition, they eat diverse types of vegetation, including mushrooms, persimmons, wild grapes and the bark of many hardwood trees.

• Though they do non hibernate, flight squirrels nest together in groups during wintertime. They tin can reduce their metabolic rate and body temperature to conserve energy, and they benefit from one another's radiant heat. Social reasons also encourage the behavior amongst related flying squirrels.

• The females are circumspect mothers. They maintain several secondary nests to which they can bring their young to go along them safe. A flying squirrel was one time seen moving her young during a wood fire and being singed in the process. Too, she will not hesitate to defend her immature, even if is she is outnumbered or if her foe is larger. Nests are made out of shredded bark and/or Spanish moss.

• Baby flying squirrels are unremarkably weaned when they are near six to eight weeks old. The newly born young are commonly about 2.v inches long from head to tip of tail and weigh less than 1-fifth of an ounce. They are blind, pink and hairless. Their eyes open in near three weeks. The gliding membrane, however, is already fully adult. They can live at least five years in the wild and 12 years in captivity.

• The gliding capabilities of the immature develop quickly. Past eight weeks they can execute 90-degree turns, lateral loops and other maneuvers like adults. Adults often make glides of up to 160 anxiety; the record is well-nigh 100 yards.

• Their major nocturnal predators are owls and snakes, particularly rat and corn snakes in the Southeast. Raccoons likewise similar to make prey of flying squirrels.

• The peak breeding seasons for southern flying squirrels are February through March and Baronial through October.

Suggested Reading Fabric:

"Mammals of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland" by David Webster, James Parnell and Walter Biggs, Jr. 1985. The University of North Carolina Press.

"Mammals of the Savannah River Site" past Gus Cothran, Michael Smith, Jerry Wolff and John Gentry. 1991. Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, SRO-NERP-21.

"Peterson's Field Guides: Mammals" by William Burt and Richard Grossenheider.1980. Houghton Mifflin Company.

Myths & Facts:

Myth: Flying squirrels wing.
Fact: Flying squirrels glide. The membrane (patagium) located between the wrist of the front leg and the talocrural joint of the hind leg allows the squirrel to glide from one tree to the next. The tail is used as rudder to help them steer.

Myth:

Flying squirrels are grey squirrels that fly.
Fact: While grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) and flying squirrels are both members of the Sciuridae family unit, grayness squirrels cannot fly.

Quote:

"Although they are very social animals, the social beliefs of flying squirrels is something that will be very difficult to fully understand considering nosotros cannot watch them," Savannah River Ecology Laboratory researcher Tom Risch says. "But indirectly nosotros can reply some questions about the animals' reproductive success. These are really neat little animals that can answer some important questions for us."

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Source: http://archive-srel.uga.edu/outreach/factsheet/flyingsquirrel.html

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