A good acorn crop last year
helped the squirrel population rebound from its 1998 crash. This
Fall's hard mast looks even better, predicating a further increase in absolute
squirrel numbers for the upcoming year. Meanwhile the percentage
of white versus gray squirrels in the study area has stayed roughly the
same (23.1% this year, mid-way between the 25.1% and 21.6% of the previous
two counts). The downtown section south of the Post Office once again
was a hot spot with 45.4% white squirrels. The highest percentage
(46.8%) was observed near Morgan Heights just south of Brevard Elementary
School. The Count is not an actual census. It represents
the percentage of white versus gray forms seen on the mornings of the count,
an obvious underestimate of the actual number out there. Using other
methods we have estimated the total squirrel population in the three square
mile study area to be over two thousand. Using the percentage observed
in the Fall count, we can then estimate that approximately 540 of these
are white.
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