In the redwood forest where I used to live, the only squirrels living there were Western Gray Squirrels (which pretty much look like Eastern Gray Squirrels.) End of story about squirrels in Santa Cruz County, right? . . . well, actually, no. When I photographed the squirrel below in a park in more urban Santa Cruz, I thought, “What the hell? That’s not a gray squirrel! What is it?” After a little research, I found that in urbanized Santa Cruz you are more likely to see an introduced Fox Squirrel or Eastern Gray Squirrel, both from the Eastern US. I guess squirrels like California, too.
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Western Gray Squirrel
Hi Carla
I have been meaning to tell you how I enjoy your blogs.
Warm regards, Anna Winiarski
On Sat, Sep 18, 2021 at 10:07 AM Carla Brennan’s Blog wrote:
> carlabrennan posted: ” The Squirrels of Santa Cruz2021 In the redwood > forest where I used to live, the only squirrels living there were Western > Gray Squirrels (which pretty much look like Eastern Gray Squirrels.) End of > story about squirrels in Santa Cruz County, right? . .” >
Hi Anna, Thank you letting me know! I hope you are well. Much metta, Carla
I’ve only seen western gray squirrels at Point Lobos and in the wooded areas of Carmel-by-the-Sea. They were larger, with a longer tail, than the eastern gray squirrels that are all over the place, and their coat color had no brown. They were quite fast and elusive. There are plenty of fox squirrels in Berkeley.
Another fascinating and beautiful post. Do squirrels have parking problems in Berkeley?