Today I want to share a story about the Great Squirrel Mystery of Chicago: https://interactive.wttw.com/urbannature/great-squirrel-mystery#!/
In case you don’t have time to watch, here is a quick summary.
Squirrel Mystery-The Problem
An ecology scientist noticed the way that two populations of squirrels, fox squirrels and gray squirrels, were distributed in Chicago neighborhoods. The gray squirrels live mostly in affluent neighborhoods. In contrast, gray squirrels prefer more modest surroundings. The mystery: Why do the squirrels distribute this way? (Since you are reading this instead of watching the video, I’ll give you the answer at the bottom of this post)
Squirrel!
Seemingly lighter than air, they amaze me as I watch them floating through tree tops over several acres. I bet there is no limit to how far they can travel this way. Squirrels are ubiquitous creatures of wild woodlands, city neighborhoods and basically anywhere there are trees. This story reminds us there are interesting questions to answer everywhere.
Squirrel Mystery-Urban Ecology
Second, squirrels are part of the urban ecology. With the increase in human population, more and more wildlife live in cities and suburbs so it’s important to learn more about these interactions. Third, I love seeing the scientific process in action. This story demonstrates scientific thought and process. It is a great example for elementary and high school students. It might encourage students who like science and like being outdoors but may not be open to field research in exotic places.
Squirrel Mystery-Citizen Science
This story includes citizen science as well. More and more scientists are asking for help from average citizens to make observations or collect data. Several other citizen science projects you might check out: Journey North, Christmas Bird Count, and iNaturlist. If you know of others, I would love for you to share in the comments.
With the internet, mobile devices and human networks, citizen science is on the rise. Like many questions in science, multiple hypotheses were made, tested and then discarded before getting to a pretty definitive answer.
Squirrel Mystery-The Answer
Gray squirrels win the food competition with fox squirrels but they really try to avoid predators. They stay in the affluent neighborhoods where free roaming cats and large outdoor dogs are less likely to be around. Fox squirrels are more assertive toward predators. They live in lower income areas where cats and outside dogs are more common or suburbs where other wildlife like coyotes and hawks are more common. All in all, what a great STEAM story!
(Full disclosure: I used photos that were labeled as fox and gray squirrels and appeared as I know them in my region. I apologize if they are not the exact species in the article)