Eastern Grey Squirrel, the new terror.

[Rwede]

Rather than rely on Dr Suess for my understanding of ecosystems dynamics, I'll stick to reading studies done by professional fish and wildlife biologists in British Columbia.

But in doing so, I concede that I probably won't learn if Grey Squirrels like green eggs and ham.

[janalta]

I would say you read no more than the title of that report from your response. The report clearly states what the threat to BC's indingenous species is from grays.

Your insistence that the 100 years of grays in Stanley Park indicates that grays will have no effect on the native species is truely laughable. If you think Stanley Park is indicative of BC's natural ecosystems, then you're a city slicker who has never set foot in the real outdoors. Stanley Park is nothing like it was 100 years ago, and is an example of an "engineered showpiece" that caters to city dwellers who are ignorant of BC's native ecosystems.

Rwede's posts in this thread have been right on. Obviously, he is well aware of the millions of dollars we have been spending through Freshwater Fisheries BC trying to control alien species, and the effect that invasives have on ecosystems. The fines for introducing invasives have been jacked up to recognize the importance of preventing their spread.

Make no mistake, the introduction of gray squirrels is bad news for the Okanagan. Emotional responses because they are cute and fuzzy does seem to be the flavour of the day, though, which spells grief for our native plants and animals.

I would say, stop jumping to asinine conclusions.
I read the entire report....that is one document. I have also read many other articles documenting both sides of the issue.
The general consensus is that the Eastern Grey is NOT adapted to surviving well in our natural habitat and that it is more of a threat to the well being of home owners than to our ecosystem.
There is no proof that they threaten the native Red Squirrel....as a rule, they prefer different diets and habitat.
They are not going to wipe out our native bird population....there is no proof that they raid bird's nests any more frequently than native squirrels...and are certainly less of a threat in that respect than the number of native animals and domestic cats that kill birds regularly. Eggs and hatchlings are not a mainstay of their diet.
I am not now, nor have I ever been, a city slicker, I have more than likely spent more time in the great outdoors than you have and I am well aware of the fragility of native ecosystems.

The threat to our native ecosystem is minimal.....they are more of a threat to city dwellers and suburban areas...and yes, the few nut producers in the valley.
I have stated several times that I am aware of the detriment invasive species can have on natural habitats and ecosystems and I am all for controlling introduced species.....my opinion has nothing to do with 'cute and fuzzy'...and honestly, a squirrel is a rat with a bushy tail. I am in no way advocating the protection of this species....but.....I also think it's a dangerous situation to encourage people to panic and go out and kill/trap/shoot them. There are too many people out there who won't have a clue as to which species they are killing in the first place.
By all means encourage people to take photos and report populations...and let properly trained professionals deal with it.
Telling people they are a huge and immediate threat, that they are going to wipe out all of our birds, destroy everyone's houses...and that every day is open season to kill them.....ridiculous.

[kina]

Rather than rely on Dr Suess for my understanding of ecosystems dynamics, I'll stick to reading studies done by professional fish and wildlife biologists in British Columbia.

But in doing so, I concede that I probably won't learn if Grey Squirrels like green eggs and ham.

That's ok. You probably wouldn't understand the movie anyways.

[Rwede]

I don't form my opinions based on what a movie maker is saying. The fantasy in movies is purely for entertainment.

I rely on fact-based studies for my information on current events and wildlife science.

[Fancy]

General impacts
In overlap areas, the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) causes the extinction of the red squirrel (see Sciurus vulgaris in IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) through competitive exclusion. It can also cause damages to woodland through bark stripping activity, sycamore (Acer pseudoplantanus) and beech (Fagus sylvatica) are particularly badly affected (Bertolino and Genovesi, 2003). Grey squirrels also act as a reservoir for a poxvirus that red squirrels are affected by. This has been postulated as another reason why red squirrels go extinct in the presence of grey squirrels; a phenomonon known as pathogen-mediated competition (Gurnell et al. 2006). Squirrels can be a garden pest by digging up bulbs and eating the bark of ornamental plants.

http://www.issg.org/database/species/ec ... fr=1&si=65

We've always discouraged the gray squirrels (in our area they are mostly black) as they end up eliminating the red ones one way or another. They end up like mice - once you've got them it's hard to get rid of them. Then again, maybe they'll help get rid of the mice.

[janalta]

General impacts
In overlap areas, the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) causes the extinction of the red squirrel (see Sciurus vulgaris in IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) through competitive exclusion. It can also cause damages to woodland through bark stripping activity, sycamore (Acer pseudoplantanus) and beech (Fagus sylvatica) are particularly badly affected (Bertolino and Genovesi, 2003). Grey squirrels also act as a reservoir for a poxvirus that red squirrels are affected by. This has been postulated as another reason why red squirrels go extinct in the presence of grey squirrels; a phenomonon known as pathogen-mediated competition (Gurnell et al. 2006). Squirrels can be a garden pest by digging up bulbs and eating the bark of ornamental plants

http://www.issg.org/database/species/ec ... fr=1&si=65

We've always discouraged the gray squirrels (in our area they are mostly black) as they end up eliminating the red ones one way or another. They end up like mice - once you've got them it's hard to get rid of them. Then again, maybe they'll help get rid of the mice.

The problem is....these 'scientific studies' that people are relying on are not the same species that we have here in North America....nor do we have the same ecosystem, flora or fauna as the UK or Italy. Eastern Grey Squirrels are not going to destroy our Sycamore and Beech forests because we do not have them here.
The habitat of our native species is not the same as the preferred habitat of the greys.

[Rwede]

Aggressive pests like Greys are highly adaptable to foreign environments. We don't need a beech tree for Greys to do well.

[trapp]

The threat to our native ecosystem is minimal.....they are more of a threat to city dwellers and suburban areas...and yes, the few nut producers in the valley.
I have stated several times that I am aware of the detriment invasive species can have on natural habitats and ecosystems and I am all for controlling introduced species.....my opinion has nothing to do with 'cute and fuzzy'...and honestly, a squirrel is a rat with a bushy tail. I am in no way advocating the protection of this species....but.....I also think it's a dangerous situation to encourage people to panic and go out and kill/trap/shoot them. There are too many people out there who won't have a clue as to which species they are killing in the first place.
By all means encourage people to take photos and report populations...and let properly trained professionals deal with it.
Telling people they are a huge and immediate threat, that they are going to wipe out all of our birds, destroy everyone's houses...and that every day is open season to kill them.....ridiculous.

In one of my posts I indicated that they are not a threat to our native ecosystem except in the rural / urban settings. Just look out your windows folks, at our hillsides, how many deciduous fruit/nut baring trees do you see ?

I can not agree with this statement more. "let the trained professionals deal with it. In many cases the local bug control guy is not even trained for removal of larger nuisance animals." When the public starts to trap nuisance animals that is when we run into the problem of neighbors cats, dogs, and non target species being caught. Then who does the public blame?

The news media has sensationalized this critter referring to it as a "terrorist". We do not need to "take up arms" to deal with it. Handle the problems, train the public, and do some control work where over population and damage becomes evident.

[econovan64]

The squirrels are here. They take many forms.
The best way to protect yourself from the Greys is to be sure they can't get into your attic. They get entry through the weak and rotting fascia and soffit on poorly maintained houses. Once inside the may build nests and chew on things they find there.
Otherwise, not to worry, they are completely harmless and make nice pets.

[kina]

*off-topic/Jo*

[Woodenhead]

I'm beginning to think that I actually did not post enough panic smilies in my first post.

[grammafreddy]

I'm beginning to think that I actually did not post enough panic smilies in my first post.

Please - no more. That was excessive to the max.

[Woodenhead]

[GoStumpy]

Some information I dug up in less than 20 seconds:

http://www.spca.bc.ca/welfare/wildlife/ ... rrels.html

Eastern Grey Squirrel

The most common squirrel in urban B.C., the Eastern Grey Squirrel, is actually an import from eastern Canada which was released into Stanley Park in 1909.

They were then introduced to Vancouver Island in 1966. Eastern Grey Squirrels are much larger than native squirrels, are either grey or black in colour, and flourish in urban environments.

The increasing number of Eastern Grey Squirrels is often blamed for the decrease in native squirrel populations, however given that these squirrels have different food and shelter preferences, its more likely that urban development and the loss of coniferous forests is responsible.

Red Squirrels and Douglas Squirrels

Red Squirrels and Douglas Squirrels are our native tree squirrels and are approximately the same size (about half the size of Eastern Grey Squirrels).

The Red Squirrel is just that, rusty-red in colour with white underparts, whereas its cousin the Douglas Squirrel is reddish-brown with yellow underparts.

Both are both adapted to a life in coniferous forests but the Douglas Squirrel is found only on B.C.'s southern coast, whereas the Red Squirrel is absent here but found virtually everywhere else in B.C.

http://www.geog.ubc.ca/richmond/city/squirrels.htm

The squirrels are native to the Eastern United States and Canada. They have been introduced to Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, and Seattle city parks in western North America. Other introductions have occurred in Italy, Scotland, South Africa, England, and Ireland (Lloyd 1983). The introductions have caused concern in Europe where they are believed to be displacing the native European Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) (Lloyd 1983; Gurnell and Lurz 1997). However, there is no conclusive explanation for the displacement. In the five years that I have been studying squirrels, I could not find anything but anecdotal evidence that Eastern Grey squirrels are displacing native squirrels in BC. All three species have coexisted in Stanley Park for over 90 years.

[DaveC]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41ADeaQ_N-M

THIS oughta get you quaking in your boots you squirrel lovers!!!!