Recently, someone posted a link to an article about a guy that completed that most challenging Tree Squirrel grand Slam of all 8 species of tree squirrels in 1 year.
Okay, maybe not challenging like a Sheep slam, but interesting to some folks nonetheless.
I would love to find that link again. If anyone can repost, it I would be very grateful
Saw a panda squirrel while deer hunting in West Virginia about ten years ago. Never heard of one, much less actually see one. Should have gone back to my car for my 22rf. Instead, kept on deer hunting.
I can't remember the member who shot that, but he has also gotten them in all black, the traditional Giant Fox colors( similar to Panda) and some obvious mix between the southern ( giant) fox squirrel and Red Fox squirrel...he has a really neat collection of mounts and I hope he sees this thread...
"...the left considers you vermin, and they'll kill you given the chance..." Bristoe
Some of the subspecies are protected under ESA. The Mt. Graham Red Squirrel in AZ is another example. It is a subspecies of Tamiasciurus hudsonicus. I think AZ has a few of these - so some caution is needed before loading up.
I love hunting squirrels. My CZ really hates those little buggers, oddly enough. We get big fat grays, and there's a residential area near me that has a local population of black ones. I've lusted after them while thinking how to...nevermind. No legal course of action. I was on the lookout in AZ for some kind of tufted-eared one, as a 'if you see one they're legal' kind of aside to a hunt for something else, I seem to recall.
Good thread. Thanks B. Some of us know you're a dedicated and passionate and knowledgeable hunter, and only play the devil's advocate on TV. You should take me up on my offer to come up to fish some day. Based on how many hooksets you've racked up here over the years, I figure you for one of those guys who doesn't fish much, but gets lucky more often than not.
Leighton, If you didn't live in the Big East, I'd have been there yesterday. I find it hard to turn my compass that direction.
The tufted eared squirrels were Aberts. They are a game animal everywhere in their standard configuration but up on the Kiabab (North Rim), they are black and I THINK they might be off limits. Not sure.
I gave up fishing for tenure. Before that, I was a dry fly fisherman and the best walleye fisherman in Minnesota when I was a kid. All that saltwater stuff is a bit of an anathema to me. But I've been after sails once and a few other smaller prey. One day I might retire though that always seems less likely every day. If it happens, I'll be back on the water again.
By my count, there are nine species of tree squirrels, including the two in the genus Tamiasciurus (Abert's and Douglas Squirrels) in the U.S. My references are dated and there have probably been revisions that reduced the number to eight. (It looks like the Kaibab Squirrel has been lumped with Abert's as a single species, which makes a lot of sense to me.) According to my copy of Mammals of North America, there are 49 recognized subspecies among those nine species, some of which (as BrendD noted) are listed as threatened or endangered, and which cannot be legally hunted. These account for most of the variation in color, size, etc. mentioned in the posts above.
Since the Mount Graham red squirrel occurs only on a few hundred acres on the summit of Mount Graham, it's pretty easy to avoid them. Although Sciurensis nayaritensis (he calls it the Mexican squirrel) occurs only in the Chiricahuas in the U.S., its range extends quite a ways south into Mexico along the Sierra Madre Occidental. They were a staple food item on a pack trip into the northern Sierra a few years ago.
I was a little surprised to find that I had hunted or collected all but two of the species that he mentioned in the article. I guess if you knock around in the woods in enough states with a rifle and a license (or a collecting permit) you can kill a lot of different critters. Doing it all in a single year, though, takes some planning and dedication. As he noted, starting in Arizona gives you a bit of a leg up...
Ben
Some days it takes most of the day for me to do practically nothing...
Leighton, If you didn't live in the Big East, I'd have been there yesterday. I find it hard to turn my compass that direction.
Fair enough, and no arm twisting from me. Offer's got no expiration date. You ever feel froggy, jump on over.
Originally Posted by BrentD
The tufted eared squirrels were Aberts. They are a game animal everywhere in their standard configuration but up on the Kiabab (North Rim), they are black and I THINK they might be off limits. Not sure.
AZ F&G site:
"Hunting and Trapping History Tree squirrels have an uneven history as game in Arizona. Having gone from being totally ignored at the time of statehood, to having a limited season in conjunction with the deer and turkey seasons in the 1920s, the season was closed in 1935 due to a perceived lack of squirrels. Too many squirrels in the 1940s resulted in a re-opening of the season, and squirrel hunt regulations have since been liberalized gradually until every species and most subspecies are now subjected to limited hunting. Even the once sacrosanct Kaibab squirrel is now hunted, and the only totally protected squirrel is the federally endangered Graham Mountain spruce squirrel.
The Abert's squirrel is the most hunted squirrel species and the numbers of tree squirrel hunters and harvest depends largely on the overall number of Abert�s squirrels."
Originally Posted by BrentD
Before that, I was a dry fly fisherman and the best walleye fisherman in Minnesota when I was a kid. All that saltwater stuff is a bit of an anathema to me.
One of the best commercial tuna hunters I know loves nothing more in the world than chasing small(ish) tunoids on the feather in his time off. Seriously. False albacore, schoolie bluefin, bonito, skipjack, yellowfin...
But then you MN walleye boys might just not be up to the challenge with a game fish that very well might whip your arse...
Originally Posted by BrentD
One day I might retire though that always seems less likely every day. If it happens, I'll be back on the water again.
Ah, horseshyt. There never was a man who upon his deathbed declared that he wished he'd worked more.
Both the Apache (S. n. apache) and "Chiri" (S. n. chiricahuae) squirrels are listed as subspecies of S. nayaritensis. As far as I can determine, the common name "Chiri" refers to the subspecies that ranges south from the Chiricahuas in Arizona to somewhere north of Casas Grandes. It apparently also occurs in the higher elevations of the Sierra San Luis just south of the International Boundary along the Chihuahua/Sonora line. The Apache is the common one in the north central Sierra south of Casas Grandes. There are indeed a bunch, especially when you get into the Mexican and Central American varieties.
But I'm just a dumb ole deer biologist and I don't know why I am even posting on this thread...
Ben
Some days it takes most of the day for me to do practically nothing...
![[Linked Image]](http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss45/thmsbrownlee/foxsquirrel.jpg)
We get big fat grays, and there's a residential area near me that has a local population of black ones. I've lusted after them while thinking how to...nevermind. No legal course of action. 
I was on the lookout in AZ for some kind of tufted-eared one, as a 'if you see one they're legal' kind of aside to a hunt for something else, I seem to recall. 