Urban and Suburban Living Squirrels

A popular past time, especially in Michigan, is watching the squirrels roam the backyards of many. From Fox Squirrels to Gray Squirrels they all provide a bit of entertainment for us. Michael Steele is a professor of biology and the H. Fenner chair of research biology at Wilkes University and an adjunct professor at Purdue University. He has done many studies on squirrels and especially how squirrels interact with Oak trees. Steele supports the idea that the density of animals in suburban and urban areas are consistently higher.

"No, I don't see them moving into those areas, but the density of animals are consistently higher," Steele said. "They live there and reproduce and the densities become much higher than in the forest."

The reason behind this is the consistent food supply that squirrels receive, Steele said. Finding food is a much riskier business in the forest because it is harder to find and because the amount of prey is increased. Squirrels that are living in suburban and urban areas, such as Michigan State University's campus, can find food by pestering humans. Often times squirrels will begin to associate humans with food, Steele said.