01/21/2020
Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day!
🐿️ there are FOUR different squirrel species in South Carolina? The eastern gray squirrel, southern fox squirrel, American red squirrel and southern flying squirrel all call this state home.
🐿️ We also have ground squirrels! The chipmunk and the groundhog can be found in S.C. and are in the family Sciuridae.
🐿️ American red squirrels, which can be found in the upper northwest corner of our state, are often called “boomers” by locals.
🐿️ The Southern fox squirrel has three common color phases:
Approximately 80% of the fox squirrels seen in S.C. are gray with a black face, around 17% are black with white faces, and about 3% are brown with black or white faces.
🐿️ Cousin Eddie may be right; squirrels are a little higher in cholesterol than other meats. According to Penn State University, 100 grams of squirrel meat has 83 grams of cholesterol, whereas the same amount of beef and pork has 69 and 71 grams of cholesterol respectively.
👍👍👍
(Photo: Perlick, Laura, USFWS)
