What Squirrels Are Endangered? Flying and Island Species
Most tree squirrels are secure; the threatened ones are island endemics, specialised flying squirrels and isolated subspecies. The current list.
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The squirrels in trouble are not the ones in gardens. They are mountaintop specialists and island endemics with nowhere left to go.
Species of concern
| species | situation |
|---|---|
| Mount Graham red squirrel | single Arizona mountain; wildfire-vulnerable |
| Carolina northern flying squirrel | high-elevation spruce-fir only |
| Virginia northern flying squirrel | same habitat; delisted then contested |
| Delmarva fox squirrel | recovered — delisted 2015 |
| Various Asian giant and pygmy squirrels | habitat loss, some Data Deficient |
| Eurasian red squirrel | Least Concern globally; critical in Britain and Ireland |
Why specialists fail and generalists do not
| trait | generalist (grey, fox) | specialist (montane flying) |
|---|---|---|
| Diet | broad | narrow |
| Habitat | woodland, parks, gardens | one forest type |
| Response to warming | shifts range | nowhere upslope left |
| Tolerance of people | high | low |
| Status | secure | threatened |
Global and regional status are different claims
The Eurasian red squirrel is secure across Eurasia and in serious trouble in Britain and Ireland. Both statements are true, and conflating them is the commonest error in writing about squirrel conservation.
The one useful garden action
Leave standing deadwood where it is safe. Cavity availability — not food — is what limits flying squirrels, owls, bats and woodpeckers, and a dead limb takes fifty years to replace. In Britain and Ireland, the second step is not deliberately feeding greys, since they are the vector by which reds are lost.
Fire is the acute risk for the rarest
A single-mountain population has no refuge from a large wildfire, which is why Mount Graham red squirrel numbers have crashed and partially recovered more than once. Range size, not population size alone, is what makes a species fragile.
Common questions
Which squirrel species are endangered?
Are red squirrels endangered?
Why are flying squirrels disproportionately affected?
What is the rarest squirrel?
What threatens squirrels generally?
Does any of this affect what I do in a garden?
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