Range: Southern flying squirrels, an exclusively nocturnal mammal, inhabit the entire
eastern half of the United States from southeastern Canada to southern peninsular Florida.
Actual encounters with humans are rare because flying squirrels are exclusively
nocturnal in their activity. They live in woods with nut or acorn-bearing trees, a water
supply, scattered dead trees and snags. They sometimes nest in attics. Autumn nights are
best for observing flying squirrels because they are busy gathering food for winter.
Flying squirrels are less active during cold winter weather.
Flying squirrels can be identified by their high-pitched, excited-sounding
"cheeps" often heard within the first several hours after sunset. They use these
sounds to keep track of one another and offer warnings. Sounds produced by flying
squirrels sometimes exceed the upper limits of frequencies heard by human ears.
Flying squirrels feed on hickory nuts, acorns, wild cherry pits and other seeds. They
also eat dormant insects, lichens and fungi. In warmer weather, they eat various types of
vegetation, including mushrooms, persimmons, wild grapes and the bark of many hardwood
trees.
Though they do not hibernate, flying squirrels nest together in groups during winter.
They can reduce their metabolic rate and body temperature to conserve energy, and they
benefit from one another's radiant heat. Social reasons also encourage the behavior among
related flying squirrels.
The females are attentive mothers. They maintain several secondary nests to which they
can bring their young to keep them safe. A flying squirrel was once seen moving her young
during a forest fire and being singed in the process. Also, she will not hesitate to
defend her young, even if is she is outnumbered or if her foe is larger. Nests are made
out of shredded bark and/or Spanish moss.
Baby flying squirrels are usually weaned when they are about six to eight weeks old. The
newly born young are usually about 2.5 inches long from head to tip of tail and weigh less
than one-fifth of an ounce. They are blind, pink and hairless. Their eyes open in about
three weeks. The gliding membrane, however, is already fully developed. They can live at
least five years in the wild and 12 years in captivity.
The gliding capabilities of the young develop quickly. By eight weeks they can execute
90-degree turns, lateral loops and other maneuvers like adults. Adults often make glides
of up to 160 feet; the record is about 100 yards.
Their major nocturnal predators are owls and snakes, particularly rat and corn snakes in
the Southeast. Raccoons also like to make prey of flying squirrels.
The peak breeding seasons for southern flying squirrels are February through March and
August through October.
Suggested Reading Material:
"Mammals of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland" by David Webster, James
Parnell and Walter Biggs, Jr. 1985. The University of North Carolina Press.
"Mammals of the Savannah River Site" by Gus Cothran, Michael Smith, Jerry
Wolff and John Gentry. 1991. Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, SRO-NERP-21.
"Peterson's Field Guides: Mammals" by William Burt and Richard
Grossenheider.1980. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Myths & Facts:
Myth: Flying squirrels fly. Fact: Flying squirrels glide. The membrane (patagium) located between
the wrist of the front leg and the ankle of the hind leg allows the squirrel
to glide from one tree to the next. The tail is used as rudder to help them
steer.
Myth: Flying squirrels are grey squirrels
that fly. Fact: While grey squirrels (Sciurus
carolinensis) and flying squirrels are both members of the Sciuridae family,
grey squirrels cannot fly.
Quote:
"Although they are very social animals, the social behavior of flying squirrels is
something that will be very difficult to fully understand because we cannot watch
them," Savannah River Ecology Laboratory researcher Tom Risch says. "But
indirectly we can answer some questions about the animals' reproductive success. These are
really neat little animals that can answer some important questions for us."
This fact sheet was produced by the Outreach Program of the Savannah River
Ecology Laboratory.
