Southern Flying Squirrel - Description and Ecology

Description and Ecology

Southern flying squirrels have grey brown fur on top with darker flanks and are a cream color underneath. They have large dark eyes and a flattened tail. They have a furry membrane called a patagium which extends between the front and rear legs, used to glide through the air.

Southern flying squirrels feed on fruit and nuts from trees such as red and white oak, hickory and beech. They store food, especially acorns, for winter consumption. They also dine on insects, buds, mushrooms, mycorrhizal fungi, carrion, bird eggs and nestlings and flowers. Predators include snakes, owls, hawks and raccoons. Domestic house cats can be dangerous to these animals. Although graceful in flight, they are particularly vulnerable on the ground.

Both in the wild and in captivity they can produce two litters each year (with 2-7 young per litter). The gestation period is approximately 40 days. Young are born without fur or any capabilities of its own. Their ears open at 2 to 6 days old, and fur grows in by 7 days. Their eyes don't open until they are 24–30 days old. Parents leave their young 65 days after they are born. The young then become fully independent at around 120 days of age.

Southern flying squirrels show substantial homing abilities, and can return to their nests if artificially removed to distances of up to a kilometre. Their home ranges may be up to 40,000 square meters for females and double that for males, tending to be larger at the northern extreme of their range.

Exposure to southern flying squirrels has been linked to cases of epidemic typhus in humans. Typhus spread by flying squirrels is known as "sylvatic typhus" and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has documented a total of 39 such cases in the U.S. from 1976 to 2001. The squirrel acts as host to the Rickettsia prowazekii bacteria and transmission to humans is believed to occur via lice or fleas.