The red squirrel population on Arizona’s Mount Graham has increased more than expected, according to the Arizona Department of Game and Fish.
The latest survey shows an increase of about 89 squirrels since last year, marking a positive trend for this species, which is native only to the Pinaleño Mountains of southeastern Arizona.
That brought the total population of the unique red squirrels to approximately 233 animals, an increase of 60% from the previous year.
The good news came after the squirrel population dropped by about a dozen animals between 2022 and 2023, a small hit after a tragedy that dropped numbers to double digits.
“We all knew we were seeing a lot of squirrels and squirrels during this last survey… but I don’t think any of us expected such a dramatic increase,” Holly Hicks, AZGFD small mammal project coordinator, wrote in a press release. on Tuesday.
The wildlife agency said they noticed the increase after discovering more middens, which are food storage areas for the squirrels.
According to Game and Fish, the Mount Graham subspecies of squirrels was listed as endangered by the U.S. Federal Wildlife Service in 1987.
Their population peaked in the 1990s at more than 500 but had since dwindled, exacerbated by the 2017 Frye Fire that brought the animal’s population to about 35, according to Game and Fish.
“We were all extremely concerned about the subspecies after the 2017 Frye Fire caused the squirrel population to decline dramatically,” Marit Alanen, chief Mount Graham red squirrel biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wrote in the news release.
“It’s really fantastic news to see numbers above 200 now,” she added.
Game and Fish noted that reintroducing the population faced challenges, on top of the squirrels having a “highly territorial” nature and lower production rates than other red squirrels.
“Long-term impacts on the population size and habitat of the red squirrel on Mount Graham include wildfires, insect infestations, competition with non-native Abert’s squirrels and poor pine cone harvests caused by drought,” the news release said.
Game and Fish would continue repopulation efforts alongside the Coronado National Forest and the USFWS.
The efforts include long-term habitat assessments, as well as conservation and research initiatives in partnership with the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation, the University of Arizona and the Phoenix Zoo.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why these endangered squirrels saw a population spike in 2024
