The Eastern Grey squirrel is an animal native to New York City. They can often be spotted in the city parks, scavenging for food and scurrying through the treetops. The Eastern Grey squirrel is capable of finding their own food without human assistance and rummaging through trashcans. Their diet primarily consists of berries, seeds, and nuts, which they gather from the trees and plants growing in New York’s parks. Humans are often warned not to feed these squirrels, or any other wildlife, because it could potentially cause harm to their health, as well as lose their fear of humans, leading to dangerous situations. The Eastern Grey squirrel is not nocturnal, therefore they are mainly active during the day. The Eastern Grey squirrel plays a big part in preserving the environment. The seeds and nuts the squirrels do not eat, but instead hide in the earth, often sprout into trees and plants. If the Eastern Grey squirrels live protected and undisturbed, they will continue to populate our parks with plants, improving the ecosystem for both the wildlife and humans. Unfortunately, Eastern Grey squirrels living in the city have a much shorter lifespan than those living in the rural parts of New York.
Sources:
https://www.nycgovparks.org/programs/rangers/wildlife-management
https://www.nycgovparks.org/programs/rangers/wildlife-management/squirrels
image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Eastern_Grey_Squirrel.jpg
Entry 1:
Unlike some animals, squirrels do not hibernate during the winter. However, they do not like the cold and prefer to stay in their dens during the colder weather. Squirrel dens can be seen in trees in the parks of New York City. They resemble large bird nests high up in the branches, safe from potential predators below. During the winter, when natural growing source of food is scarce, the squirrels dig up the food they buried during the warmer seasons. However, squirrels in New York City can also find food in the trash cans located in parks.
Union Square Park
Entry 2:
In NYC, because of the large population of humans and the lack of space, the squirrels here have seemed to developed a trust in humans. While most wild animals would flee at the site of a human, NYC squirrels will scamper toward you if they sense that you have food. I have found that just by holding my hand out, the squirrels will assume that there is food. However, we are frequently warned to refrain from feeding the squirrels because this trust could be very harmful and can lead to severe consequences.
Central Park
Entry 3:
As the weather becomes a bit warmer, squirrel sightings are much more frequent. I have noticed that there are a variety of different squirrels here in New York City’s parks. I recently saw a squirrel with darker, almost black, fur. Through research I have found that these squirrels occur as a “melanistic” subgroup of the Eastern Grey squirrel and the Fox squirrel. The most common squirrels we see here are the grey colored squirrels.
Union Square Park
