Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Trapping UP Michigan "flying squirrels"

This past winter I helped a friend of mine do some trapping, which I had never done before. In some fox/coyote sets and some small conibears we caught a bunch of squirrels I had never seen before. My friend is an experienced trapper, and he says I wouldn't have seen them because they are nocturnal. Has anyone seen these? They aren't like southern flying squirrels. I had never heard of nocturnal squirrels before. Why were they attracted to our traps?

When I started years ago, Flying Squirrels were not a very common call we would get. Now we get calls for them on an almost daily basis. There are some core areas local to me that have very large populations of them. I believe most we find are Southern Flying Squirrels, where in your area both may be common, but more so the Northern Species which is a little larger. They are a communal animal, and once you find the location are easily caught, sometimes 20-30 can come from inside one home. Their infestations can sometimes mimic a mouse issue, being that they are nocturnal , people will describe scratching, scurrying around in the ceilings at night. I do not find them so much around conifers,(Red Squirrel habitat) but hardwood areas with mature growth trees such as walnuts-oak-beech etc., or around yards that have bird feeders. We will usually try to live trap them, and my son will hold over numerous one till spring, and then do a release in an area we know is suitable for them. They are also easily caught with Rat Snap traps. Not sure why they would frequent your sets in the winter, but my guess would be he was using some type of meat for bait, and the fat attracted them like suet would at a feeder. Really interesting and very docile animals. Hope this helps.

I see them sometimes, while bowhunting, right about dark. they are kinda neat, a friends spin feeder was stuck last winter, and there was a Flying squirrel frozen between the barrel and the spinner, dont know how it got in there!

I had never even heard of these, let alone seen one. The fur is actually kind of nice.

Any pics?

Sorry, no. I should have gotten some, but I didn't even think of it.

Do you have them identified? Or might they be sugar gliders?

I've never heard of sugar gliders before. The guy I was trapping with called them flying squirrels. They had some loose skin between the rear and fore legs that with a little imagination could be thought to resemble wings.

It would be pretty surprising to find wild sugar gliders in Michigan.

Flying squirrels are fun to watch. I haven't seen any in a long, long time.

Taxidermists will sometimes buy flying squirrels (frozen whole).

We used them as bait.

Youper, we had them in the attic of our old house prior to some renovations to keep the weather out (newaygo county). At first I thought they were just small reds until I shot some.

I trapped & released the survivors with a live trap. That was quite a while back and I haven't seen any since--but unless you see one gliding in the evening, it may be a tough call.

the DNR lists them as a "northern flying squirrel"

DNR Squirrels

Those ones in the link are the ones. They are about as long as a red squirrel, but twice as big around and have a head twice as big. The tail has shorter hair, and looks almost rat like.

https://usercontent2.hubstatic.com/13556735.jpg

https://www.texvetpets.org/wp-conte...lstein-sugar-glider-image-01-610x428.jpg

I have them here in Ohio. My wife has some as pets. (They are marsupials that come to you when called, and like people)

looks tropical...:)

I hope you are joking and not really that dumb...

What, you don't think sugar gliders could handle UP cold???
Or even Ohio?
Just because they are tropical and cannot stand to be even slightly chilly?

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/69357.jpg


Do I look like I'm kidding, dumass?

There are sugar gliders all over the country. Folks raise them for sale (as we do) and some get loose. (So I wouldn't be too surprised to find them in Michigan) They are no more indigenous to this area than pigs are to Texas, but they do exist.(ask any Texan about if pigs exist) Both gliders and flying squirrels can glide, but they are very different. Squirrels are rodents, and gliders are marsupials, among other differences.

And the likelihood of a sugar glider surviving a Single UP cold snap?