Oddly New York Has One of the Lowest Squirrel-To-People Ratios In The Nation

If you've ever wondered what the squirrel to people ratio was for New York State, luckily for you someone spent cold hard cash on this survey.

This graph shows the squirrel-to-people population across America as compiled by StatsPanda using data from sources like the Squirrel Census. Wait, what was that? Yes, squirrel census is a real thing: Check out the Squirrel Census.

So the number of people in New York State clearly outweighs the amount of squirrels we have. It seems weird considering New York State is home to the Adirondacks and the Catskills, but science is science. We are the same as Michigan if you believe that. It's estimated that there are, at most, just four squirrels for every person and at least just one squirrel per person or even more people than squirrels.

What is the most common squirrel in New York State?

According to the New York DEC, when most New Yorkers think of squirrels, they think of gray squirrels.

Typical of a tree squirrel–sure-footed and having a "banner-tail"– the gray squirrel is widespread and abundant, living in nearly all areas of the state.

You can find gray squirrels in both urban and natural areas. The gray squirrel likes large trees, such as oaks and hickories. They can climb very quickly and are capable of jumping long distances from tree to tree, or limb to limb. Although it prefers to gather food in trees, once nuts and other seeds drop, the gray squirrel is forced to forage on the ground where it becomes more vulnerable to predation by coyotes, foxes, hawks and great horned owls. An adult male gray squirrel weighs about 11/2 pounds. You can read more online from the DEC here.