Overview
Abert’s Squirrel (Sciurus aberti), also celebrated as the Tassel-eared Squirrel, is a handsome, charismatic arboreal rodent native to the scenic ponderosa pine forests of the American Southwest. Famous for its long, dramatic ear tufts that stand upright like feathery tassels, this forest acrobat shares an unbreakable, lifelong ecological mutualism with ponderosa pine trees, depending entirely upon them for food, shelter, and survival.
Biology and Physical Characteristics
Sciurus aberti features a grizzled grey coat accented with a broad reddish-chestnut stripe down its back, a pure snowy-white belly, and a massive, bushy plume tail frosted with white hairs. Its most striking feature is a pair of long, dense ear tassels that can grow over an inch long in winter before molting away in summer. Its heavy curved claws allow effortless sprinting up vertical pine trunks.
Behavior and Ecology
The species exhibits an extraordinary mutualistic bond with its host trees and forest fungi. While it eats pine seeds and strips twig bark to consume sweet inner cambium during winter, a major part of its diet consists of subterranean hypogeous fungi (false truffles). By digging up and eating these truffles, the squirrel disperses vital mycorrhizal spores through its droppings, helping young ponderosa seedlings absorb soil nutrients.
Conservation and Human Impact
Classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, Abert’s Squirrel is common and protected throughout Kaibab and Coconino national forests. However, extensive high-severity wildfires and commercial timber clear-cutting that destroy continuous, interlocking pine canopies pose significant localized threats to squirrel populations.
Interesting Factoid
Abert’s Squirrel’s famous winter ear tufts can grow up to 1.5 inches tall, acting like furry antenna tassels that keep its ears warm against frosty Rocky Mountain winter winds.