A tree squirrel from the Yucatán Peninsula and nearby areas, including southeastern Mexico, northern Belize, and northeastern Guatemala. It was once called the Yucatan gray squirrel or Campeche squirrel, but it has its own distinct look and range. Compared with many familiar park squirrels, it has a more tropical forest lifestyle and a rougher, mixed coat. Its fur is often gray, black, brown, buff, or whitish, giving it a grizzled appearance that helps it blend with bark, dry leaves, and forest shadows.

One thing that makes the Yucatan squirrel different is its close connection to lowland forests. It lives in dry forests, evergreen forests, pine-oak woodland, and secondary forests that have regrown after logging. It is usually found below about 750 meters (2,460 feet), so it is more of a lowland forest squirrel than a high mountain species. It spends much of its time in trees, where it climbs, rests, feeds, and builds leafy nests high in the branches. This makes it different from ground squirrels that depend more on burrows and open land.

The Yucatan squirrel eats soft fruits, nuts, seeds, flowers, buds, and shoots, and it may sometimes take insects too. This flexible diet helps it survive in changing tropical forests. Like other tree squirrels, it may also help spread seeds as it feeds and moves through the canopy. It is active during the day, especially after sunrise, and may sometimes be seen sunning itself on a branch later in the day. Its tail is long and bushy, helping it balance as it moves through trees.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Belize

2016

Guatemala

2016

Mexico

2016