Northern Flying Squirrel

The Northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) is one of two species of the genus Glaucomys, the only flying squirrels found in North America (the other is the somewhat smaller Southern flying squirrel, G. volans). Unlike most members of their family, flying squirrels are strictly nocturnal. The Northern flying squirrel is found in coniferous and mixed forests across the top of North America, from Alaska to Nova Scotia, south to the mountains of North Carolina and west to California. Populations from the Pacific Coast of the United States are genetically distinct from those of G. sabrinus found elsewhere in North America, although they are considered to belong to the same species. Two subspecies are found in the southern Appalachians, the Carolina Northern flying squirrel, G. s. coloratus, and the Virginia Northern flying squirrel G. s. fuscus, both of which are endangered, although the Virginia subspecies has recovered enough that it was delisted in August 2008. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put the flying squirrel back under protection on June 6, 2011.