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Species authority page

Abert's squirrel

Sciurus aberti · Squirrels · Small game

Abert's squirrel (Sciurus aberti): Long, pointed ear tufts (tassels) on the ears. Gray-and-white coloring. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the abert's squirrel map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Abert's squirrel climbing a pine tree
Adobe Stock · Standard License (asset 323817911)
Scientific name
Sciurus aberti
Family
Sciuridae
Range
Colorado Plateau and southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, south into Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental; not in Canada. Transplanted populations are established in Arizona's Graham and Santa Catalina mountains.
Biology

How to identify it

Long, pointed ear tufts (tassels) on the ears. [1]

Gray-and-white coloring. [1]

The Kaibab squirrel (S. a. kaibabensis) is one of nine subspecies and was formerly treated as a separate species. [1]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Do not identify Abert's squirrel from colour alone. Compare structure, size, range and the listed similar species before making a field decision.[1]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Nearly confined to cool, dry ponderosa pine forest, typically between 5,500 and 8,500 ft elevation; optimum habitat is all-aged ponderosa pine stands. [1]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Diurnal and active year-round. [1]

Feeds on ponderosa pine seeds (preferred), inner bark of young twigs, buds and fungi; in winter clips roughly 45 twigs a day, leaving clipped twigs under pines. [1]

Builds nests of pine twigs high in the crown (about 16–90 ft up), usually on the south side of the tree. [1]

Summer home ranges average about 18 acres; winter ranges are smaller. [1]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Colorado Plateau and southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, south into Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental; not in Canada. Transplanted populations are established in Arizona's Graham and Santa Catalina mountains.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. USDA Forest Service · reviewed 2026-09-30

    USDA Forest Service