The smile of the fox torrent
Unlike many of its squirrel relatives, the Delmarva fox squirrel is very slow to expand its range and colonize new territories. The squirrels released at Assawoman Wildlife Area this past spring and last fall appear to be thriving, with the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife noting at least one female produced young this past summer. A third, naturally occurring population is located at the Nanticoke Wildlife Area and surrounding lands. Still, these large, silver-gray squirrels remain rare in Delaware, with only three established populations known in the state.ĭelmarva fox squirrel populations occur in Sussex County, with one group the result of translocations to Assawoman Wildlife Area in fall 2020 and spring 2021, another the result of a translocation to Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in the 1980s. Delmarva fox squirrels are now abundant on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
![the smile of the fox torrent the smile of the fox torrent](https://resizing.flixster.com/p6sgNgEhfkfCGXowgZQwnwlWk8E=/206x305/v2/https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p26760_p_v8_ae.jpg)
Translocations, habitat management and land protection have helped Delmarva fox squirrel populations recover regionally to the extent that the species was removed from the federal endangered species list in 2015. Part of the Delaware Department of Agriculture, the Delaware Forest Service promotes shared stewardship across agencies by making woodland habitat available to help expand the species’ distribution in Delaware. The two male and two female Delmarva fox squirrels were introduced to the Delaware Forest Service’s Headquarters Tract of Redden State Forest. The Delmarva fox squirrel, a rare species in Delaware that has recovered in much of its regional range, received another population boost in Delaware with the recent translocation of four squirrels from Maryland as part of continued efforts by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and state and federal partners.