There are Fox Squirrels on Orcas Island, and in a few other places in
Washington where they've been introduced. So far as is known, neither
Gray Squirrel occurs on Orcas, though it's probably only a matter a time
before someone releases a pet Eastern Gray.

On Thu, 18 Jun 1998, Gayle Benton wrote:
> stranger appeared, much to my distress, and has been wreaking havoc with my
> bird feeders. To me, it looks just like a Fox Squirrel, and coming from
> California, I know how destructive they are to habitat and just about
> everything else. However, I see nothing about Fox Squirrels in the Pacific
> Northwest Mammal books. If it is a Fox Squirrel, we are going to get rid of
> it, and if not, we are wondering what it is, and if we should do away with
> it. I hate to see our native species replaced by something foreign.

Maybe. But in this case, it's more likely that the alteration of the
islands by development are the cause of Tree Squirrel decline and Fox
Squirrel increase.

Kelly Cassidy