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Western gray squirrel

Sciurus griseus · Squirrels · Small game

Western gray squirrel (Sciurus griseus): Silver-gray back with a white underside. Long bushy silver-gray tail, may contain black. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the western gray squirrel map

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

Scientific name
Sciurus griseus
Family
Sciuridae
In North America
Native
Range
Lake Chelan and Tacoma, Washington south through Oregon, western Nevada, and the Sierra Nevada and coast ranges of California to Baja California.
Biology

How to identify it

Silver-gray back with a white underside. [1][2]

Long bushy silver-gray tail, may contain black. [1][2]

Large ears without tufts. [1][2]

18-24 in total length, 350-950 g. [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Fairly open oak and pine-oak forest, also riparian woods and lowland walnut groves; nests in tree cavities or on limbs. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Active year round; may stay in the nest in severe weather [1][2]

Most active early morning and late afternoon [1][2]

Eats acorns, nuts, conifer seeds, fungi, berries, green vegetation and insects; buries acorns [1][2]

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

Lake Chelan and Tacoma, Washington south through Oregon, western Nevada, and the Sierra Nevada and coast ranges of California to Baja California.

Biology

Sources

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

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology