SCORES & OUTDOORS: The great squirrel apocalypse: where have they all gone?
by Roland D. Hallee
Over the last several months, I have received many inquiries about what appears to be a shortage of gray squirrels in central Maine. Time and time again I have received emails asking what has happened.
Some reported not seeing any squirrels following a year – 2018 – when there was an over abundance. However, this year, you couldn’t prove it by me, based on literally being overrun by squirrels at our home in Waterville.
Let me try to explain.
In the fall of 2018, millions of squirrels met their demise on New England roadways. One year later, we look back at the why and the how.
In 2018, it was practically all we were hearing about in northern New England.
It was the Great Squirrel Apocalypse of 2018 — and, pardon the pun, it was nuts.
My personal experience that year was pretty much the same as elsewhere in Maine. It was the fall of 2018, September to be exact, and my wife and I drove from our camp in Vassalboro to the YMCA State Camp, in Winthrop, for the rehearsal of our granddaughter’s wedding. On the way, we counted 45 dead squirrels. Why so many road killed squirrels laying on the side or middle of the road?
Although a specific alignment of natural events led to this carnage, if you take a step back you’ll see it’s only part of a much larger story of boom and bust that continues to play out today.
What led to the great squirrel apocalypse?
Lots of different trees in the forest produce food (known as mast) for squirrels. Hard mast — such as acorns, hickory nuts, beechnuts, and walnuts — is the most important because it can keep for a long time. Squirrels and chipmunks are incredibly efficient at “squirreling away” caches of nuts in times of abundance to prepare for more meager seasons ahead.
The populations of these animals closely follow the abundance of hard mast. If trees produced roughly the same amount of nuts every year, the population of squirrels and chipmunks would rise to a level that could consume just about all of it, meaning there would be little left to actually produce new trees.
Every few years, all trees in a given species will produce an excess of flowers and pollen, and, if the conditions are right, they go on to produce an overwhelming amount of seeds and nuts — so many that the animals can’t even come close to eating all of it, and the mast can go on to germinate.
Acorns, beechnuts, and maple helicopters were all scarce in 2018. In 2016 and 2017, many species of trees in New England had rare back-to-back mast years. Because of that, squirrels and many other forest animals successfully raised multiple, large litters of offspring. Populations skyrocketed.
But 2018 was different.
Maple seeds never appeared in spring, beechnuts never appeared in summer, and acorns never appeared in fall. There were some hickory nuts, but not enough.
Panic set in.
All those hungry squirrels began ranging farther and farther in search of food. And if food was scarce on one side of the road, foraging on the other side is the obvious next step.
But when faced with an oncoming vehicle, squirrels tend to be terribly indecisive. Some may make it most of the way across before panicking and retreating, and while many are lucky enough to survive a car passing over them, many more do not.
I’m curious to know how many accidents were caused last year by well-intentioned drivers trying to dodge squirrels.
The failure of nearly every tree to produce mast in 2018 continues to have an impact. Hard mast feeds smaller animals, like squirrels and chipmunks, which in turn feed larger animals. Many of the latter populations were affected, although not all these animals saw their numbers decline.
The roadsides covered in carcasses were a feast for scavengers, which meant the great squirrel apocalypse was a boon to crows, ravens and turkey vultures. The abundance of ravens in particular seems most notable to me, as they’ve audibly changed my local landscape. We witnessed a marked increase in the number of crows at camp this past summer, accompanied by the ever-annoying call of the bird.
Birds of prey are another story, however. The high squirrel and chipmunk populations of the past few years led to a rise in their numbers. Barred owls – which, again, we saw and heard in greater numbers this past year – were everywhere this spring.
Larger animals with more diverse diets typically see longer lags before any changes in their population. The adults usually don’t starve when one key species declines, but the success in breeding and raising their young declines, which can slowly bring down the population.
Which brings us to today, and some good news.
All the major tree species in the New England forests had mast years in 2019. Maple helicopters were so heavy this past spring that the trees looked red instead of green well into spring. Acorns were falling heavily this past fall, and beech are ripening in their spiked husks.
The cycle continues, and nature will find balance.
Boom-and-bust population cycles are common in the natural world, and the crash of one species will often have ripple effects throughout the ecosystem.
Roland’s trivia question of the week:
What was the New York Jets original nickname when they entered the American Football League in 1960? Where did the Tennessee Titans originate when they entered the AFL in 1960?
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Thanks so much for writing this. Just standing outside at night in Rome, I realized I haven’t heard a single coyote this year. Not one. The red and flying squirrels have all vanished. Didn’t see a single turkey this year, either. No deer in the field. Something terrible is happening.
I also have upwards of 30 ducks here on the pond that didn’t leave for the first time. I feed them now, and support the local wildlife all that I can, but even the raccoons have vanished. I’ve just put all of this together. Devastated.
Squirrels have all vanished in a matter of a couple of months. Have not seen even one squirrel. Squirrels have played in this yard always. Ever since I can ever remember, birds start chirping as early as 3:30 in the morning and I DO NOT EVEN HEAR ONE BIRD CHIRPING. They VANISHED together.
It’s so depressing, my heart cries. I CANNOT adjust. I do not hear anyone freaking out or making a big deal about it but they should. BREAKING NEWS… THE BIRDS DIE, WE DIE. Simple as that.
10/0/2020 I have noticed a loss of squirres in my yard in Clinton County Michigain, especially this past year, and throughout town. We have 2 large walnut trees, 6 maples, (used to be 12 huge trees), but yet an apple tree. The squirrels just suddenly disappeared. It is the same all over town. I am concerned about the problem. Now, unfortunately there is an overabundance of chipmunks, which I must have removed from the walls of my home. I have been living where I am for fourty years . I miss squirrels, they were a regular part of the yard, never causing problems. I never have seen so may chipmunks as this past year of 2020.
I live in Louisiana it’s the same way here Deer, squirrel’s and ,Bird population is way down and places where there there’s always corn like yards and Hunting clubs where that feed year-round there was no reason for them to migrate i remember. I’m not sure about the reason deer population went down but the squirrels i think caught a disease from being overpopulated my grandpa told me about 30 in ago of him seeing it happen
I live in SW Michigan, I have had several colonies of thirteen lined ground squirrels on our property for years. One lives under my front walk. I usually see them eating seeds and grasses all the time. This year I HAVENT SEEN ONE. What could have happened over the winter?
Squirrels have all vanished in a matter of a couple of months. Have not seen even one squirrel. Squirrels have played in this yard always. Ever since I can ever remember, birds start chirping as early as 3:30 in the morning and I DO NOT EVEN HEAR ONE BIRD CHIRPING. They VANISHED together.
It’s so depressing, my heart cries. I CANNOT adjust. I do not hear anyone freaking out or making a big deal about it but they should. BREAKING NEWS… THE BIRDS DIE, WE DIE. Simple as that.
We moved into our house in North Carolina situated on 3.5 heavily wooded acres in the country September 2019. I fed the darn squirrels to keep them out of my birdseed during the winter, then noticed a couple of pregnant squirrels give birth to 10-12 babies. Google told me to stop feeding them, especially living in the woods with acorns everywhere, but I kept up a breakfast ritual. A few months ago, I sat on the front porch as 10 of the babies ate the Cheerios I had sprinkled when a big owl came swooping down on them. I chased off the owl, but knew that this was going to be a problem for the little guys. Here it is early October and ALL my squirrels are gone. The birds are happy with all the extra birdseed, but the annoying, pesky little fellows are all gone. From reading this thread, I guess it was the owl.
I have also noticed the declining squirrel population in Rochester, NY and Buffalo, NY. They were the most beautiful things to watch when I’m in these areas. But I noticed since 2016 the diminishing numbers and made mention of it, but kept getting the same response, “they’re here”. Apparently, nobody seems to notice that something is off with our furry friends.
Today I went for a walk and saw two fat squirrels…the most I’ve seen at the same time since my return to Rochester, NY nearly a month ago. One of the squirrels looked lethargic, sick even. I’m truly alarmed. I’ve been moving around New York since 1999 and I have never not seen the squirrels…until now.
On the other hand, the bird population seems to have increased. They started making noises as early as three in the the morning…that I find strange. They usually start making noises at around five in the morning.
Should we be concerned? I wonder.
I have lived in Rochester, New York most of my adult life. We feed the squirrels, birds and a few feral cats. Today I noticed no squirrels when last week I had at least 6-10 visiting daily. It break my heart. Only God knows what is going on. Nature is dying. End times in the Bible!