Mammal
Fox Squirrel
Sciurus niger
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA
Common Names
Eastern Fox Squirrel
Habitat
Deciduous forests, river bottoms, and woodlands along the Missouri and Ohio Rivers
First Observed
1803-09-11
Observed At
Along the Ohio River near present-day Cincinnati, Ohio
One of the earliest wildlife encounters of the expedition occurred when Lewis’s dog Seaman caught squirrels swimming across the Ohio River in September 1803 – a remarkable mass migration event. Lewis later noted various squirrel species throughout the journey, including the “whistleing squirrel” (prairie dogs or ground squirrels) of the plains and a squirrel “of the speceis common to the Rocky Mountains.” The squirrel swimming migration was one of the most vivid early journal entries.
Journal References
15 journal entries mention Fox Squirrel
Sep
11
1803
Seaman Catches Squirrels Swimming Across the Ohio
...down the Ohio River, they encountered large numbers of gray squirrels swimming across the river—a mass migration phenomenon well documented in the early American ...
Apr
14
1805
Lewis: April 14, 1805
... on the Lard. side, there was a
large village of burrowing squirrels. I have remarked that these anamals
generally celect a South Easterly exposure for their residenc...
Jun
5
1805
Lewis: June 5, 1805
... we
saw the largest collection of the burrowing or barking squirrels that we
had ever yet seen; we passed through a skirt of the territory of this
community for abou...
Jul
8
1805
Lewis: July 8, 1805
...
distinct species. the men also brought me a living ground squirrel which
is something larger than those of the U States or those of that kind which
are also common ...
Aug
2
1805
Lewis: August 2, 1805
...e course of the
day they passed some villages of burrowing squirrels, saw a number of
beaver dams and the inhabitants of them, many young ducks both of the
Duckanmal...
Aug
23
1805
Lewis: August 23, 1805
...is difficult part
of the river larger than a pheasant or a squirrel and they not abundant;
add to this that our stock of provision is now so low that it would not
su...
Sep
18
1805
Lewis: September 18, 1805
...arth
exept ourselves and a few small pheasants, small grey Squirrels, and a
blue bird of the vulter kind about the size of a turtle dove or jay bird.
our rout lay al...
Oct
26
1805
Clark: October 26, 1805
...ent
dancedour hunters killed five Deer, 4 verry large gray Squirrels, a
goose & Pheasent, one man giged a Salmon trout which we had fried in a
little Bears oil which...
Dec
1
1805
Lewis: December 1, 1805
...y had seen the track of one
deer only and a few small grey squirrels. these suirrels are about the
size of the red squirrel of the lakes and eastern Atlantic States, ...
Jan
15
1806
Lewis: January 15, 1806
...r Cat and those also of a small animal about the size of a
squirrel not known to me; these skins I procured from the Indians who had
previously dressed them and forme...
Feb
15
1806
Lewis: February 15, 1806
...on otter, sea Otter, mink, spuck, seal, racoon, large grey
squirrel, small brown squirrel, small grey squirrel, ground squirrel,
sewelel, Braro, rat, mouse, mole, Pan...
Feb
15
1806
Clark: February 15, 1806
...er, minks, Seals
racoons, large Grey Squerrel, Small brown Squirrel, Small grey Squirrel,
Ground Squirrel, Sewelel, Braro, rat, mouse, mole, hare, rabbet, and pole
C...
Feb
21
1806
Lewis: February 21, 1806
...eat agility, and
bound from tree to tree in pursuit of the squirrel or Rackoon their
natural and most usual food. their colour is a jut black except a small
spot of ...
Feb
25
1806
Lewis: February 25, 1806
...sembles
it much in form and colours. it is as large as the fox squirrel of the
Southern Atlantic states. the tail is reather longer than the whole length
of the body and...
Feb
26
1806
Lewis: February 26, 1806
...ort and flat. that he saw one of them run up
a tree like a squirrel and that it returned and ran into a hole in the
ground. the ears are short thin pointed and covere...
