Weights of Adult Gray Squirrels

Abstract

Checking stations on West Virginia's state-owned forests offered technicians the opportunity to weigh 10,973 gray squirrels, Sciurus carolinensis Gmelin, during the October hunting seasons of 1949 through 1952. A total of 4050 squirrels were classified as adults and these are discussed in this paper. Age classifications were based on the examination of sexual organs as outlined by Allen (1943). Squirrel weights were obtained from specimens brought into the checking stations by hunters. Multilated and gutted squirrels were eliminated from the sample. The state-wide sample indicated little difference between the sexes; the males averaged 523 grams and the females 518 grams (Table 1). The results indicated that squirrels from the …