Eastern gray squirrel Facts for Kids
Sciurus carolinensis · SKY-ur-us kair-oh-lin-EN-sis
Squirrels help plant trees by forgetting where they buried nuts.
- 🏃 speed: not yet checked
- ⚖️ weight: not yet checked
- 📏 9 to 12 in23 to 31 cm1 long
- 🎂 1 year to 6 years1 year to 6 years2
- 🍽️ plants
- Doing fine (Least Concern)
Gray squirrels bury nuts in the ground for later. They forget some, and little trees grow! Their bushy tail helps them balance.
An eastern gray squirrel races along branches and fences, using its bushy tail to balance. In fall it collects acorns and nuts and buries them in many hiding places, then sniffs them out later, even under snow. It sleeps and raises babies in a nest of leaves up in a tree, called a drey.
Eastern gray squirrels have ankles that can turn all the way around, so they can scamper down a tree headfirst. They hide food in many small places and find most of it again by smell and memory. The nuts they miss sprout into new trees, which helps forests grow. Squirrels are good at fooling thieves: if another animal is watching, a squirrel may pretend to bury a nut.
How big is a eastern gray squirrel?
Eastern gray squirrel in numbers
| Length | 9 to 12 in23 to 31 cm1probably head and body only |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | no checked number yet |
| Weight | no checked number yet |
| Top speed | no checked number yet |
| How long it lives | 1 year to 6 years1 year to 6 years2average |
| What it eats | nuts, acorns, seeds, buds and fruit |
| Where it lives | forests, parks and backyards of eastern North America |
| What kind | Mammals |
| Is it in danger? | Doing fine (Least Concern)3 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- A squirrel's tail works like a blanket, an umbrella and a balance pole.
- Squirrels sometimes pretend to bury a nut when someone is watching.
- A squirrel's front teeth never stop growing.
Compare the eastern gray squirrel
Friends and neighbours
Raccoon
American robin
North American beaverThree questions
Books about the eastern gray squirrel, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the eastern gray squirrel for free.
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, Castle Clinton, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Lowell, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, Eastern gray squirrel (Q468500), checked 30 October 2026.