Ever since I started working in the Front Range, I’ve had a wildlife wish list. After over a year of frustration (I never even saw a single elk, despite there being a herd 300-strong that grazes in my park, especially in fall and winter), this spring I’m seeing everything: elk, pronghorn, and the elusive Abert’s squirrel.

Abert’s squirrel. Photo: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

The Abert’s squirrel, also called the tassel-earred squirrel (although not by anyone I’ve met) is a tree squirrel with distinctive tufted ears. Its coloration varies dramatically, from very black to gray. Some varieties or subspecies, such as that found around Mesa Verde National Park are black with white tails.

Abert’s squirrels in the Front Range tend to be dark black, most without the white stomach exhibited by the squirrel in this photograph. I saw one roadkilled Abert’s squirrel in my entire first year at the park; this spring the live ones are everywhere. I mentioned this to one of the seasonal rangers, and she told me that this is the first year they’ve really been common since the Hayman Fire in 2002. I don’t know if anyone has quantitatively studied how the fire affected the Abert’s squirrel demographics–it would be interesting–but it’s nice to see them around.

I’ll be camping from tomorrow until Tuesday, but the abstract has been submitted for GSA, so I’ll be posting regularly again come Tuesday!

Edit 7 July 2006: After speaking with a local biologist, it seems unlikely that the fire caused the population decline, and more likely that drought caused both the fire and the squirrel population decline. Correlation does not equal causation! He did emphasize that this is just his casual observation, not the result of any formal studies, however.

This post made the Friday Ark #93.