Sciurus carolinensis
The Eastern Grey Squirrel is not indigenous to South Africa. It was imported from North America to the city of Cape Town, by way of Great Britain, in the late 1890’s. Thankfully it has not spread much further than Cape Town’s suburbs and surrounding towns in the years since, as it relies on the nuts of plants like oaks and pines that also are not found naturally in this country. In addition they’ve been recorded feeding on cultivated fruits from orchards and gardens, fungi, insects and eggs.
Eastern Grey Squirrels are usually encountered alone or as small family groups. They nest in holes in trees or construct their own nests – called dreys – in the forks of branches. While they’re very agile in trees they often forage on the ground. They’re also well known for hoarding food stores by burying it for later consumption. Litters of 1-4 kits are born at anytime of year and leave the nest when they’re about 2 months old. In the wild they may live to about 8 years old, though most die within two years of birth. Adults weigh around 550g and measure between 40 and 50cm in length, of which the tail accounts for roughly half.
One of the very best places to see these critters locally are in the Tokai Plantation, a spacious picnic area managed as part of the Table Mountain National Park.
Cecil John Rhodes, the man responsible for establishing the Eastern Grey Squirrel (and Chaffinch and Common Starling) in South Africa, is a controversial figure. A staunch proponent of British imperialism, he amassed an enormous fortune here at the southern end of Africa. As this isn’t a political blog we won’t delve into his legacy any further, but whether you despise or admire the man you cannot help but be impressed by the magnificent memorial erected for him on the slopes of Devil’s Peak (inside the Table Mountain National Park) in Cape Town after his death at the rather young age of 48 in 1902.
DeWetsWild 