I find the variations or diversity in nature to be the special ingredient underpinning the strength of Mother Nature. This was abundantly clear last week when I was in Florida for a very specific variation of the Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger). I was in search of the Sherman’s Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger shermani) that only occurs in a handful of places in Florida and a couple other states.

The Sherman’s Fox Squirrel is a subspecies of the more common and widespread Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger). The Fox Squirrel is the largest of the tree squirrels found in North America. They measure 20 to 30 inches, from tip of nose to end of tail, and come in around 2-3 pounds.

Fox squirrels are found throughout the eastern half of the United States, but there are several subspecies of this squirrel, and I was in Florida in search of the Sherman’s subspecies. This large and unusual looking squirrel requires stands of Longleaf Pine trees that has a scattering of oaks. This squirrel feeds on pine and oak seeds, so they are highly tied to a specific habitat.

Just the overall appearance of this squirrel makes it worth going out of your way to see it. It has a black head, forelegs and back. It has bright white ears and tip of nose making them stand out on the black head. The belly is tan to cream color. And it has a huge fuzzy tail that can be black to silver.

Of course, in order to find one of these super shy and secretive squirrels, I did a lot of internet searches to learn of possible locations where I could find and photograph one. After sitting up late into the night I made a list of possible locations. In the morning, I started making some calls. Most of the places were state and county parks. I called all of them. Only one had staff that picked up the phone. They told me yes, they have a couple of these squirrels. I dropped the phone and started driving. Upon arrival I was given a map and location. It was a five-mile hike out to the location, so I packed up water, snacks and camera gear and headed out. When I arrived in the area, I could see evidence of a Sherman’s Fox Squirrel eating the large cones produced by the Longleaf Pine trees but no squirrels. I was exhausted by the time I got back to my truck. The search continued.

While driving through central Florida I stopped at another state park that had the right habitat. I drove in and talked to the staff who basically laughed in my face and said “good luck buddy” they are hard to find and super shy. The same thing happened at the next several parks that I stopped at.

Next, I drove 1.5 hours south to a natural preserve that someone on Facebook had posted seeing one there. Upon arrival the habitat wasn’t right. I drove down the road a little further and saw someone in their driveway. I risked it and drove onto their property. The homeowner wasn’t too pleased to see me. He said we don’t get many people out in the country. I inquired about the squirrels, and he said he has never seen one in the area. I was off again.

I made a couple more phone calls and sent a few text messages to friends who know wildlife well and live in Florida. I got a few replies but no solid leads. The search continued like this for 3 days. Just when I got a promising lead it never panned out. It was getting very frustrating, and I was beginning to think I wouldn’t be able to find one.

A friend who was born and raised in Florida knew of the species and said the only place he had ever seen one was along a very rural road in the middle of nowhere. I had run out of leads and thought it was worth a try. One morning around 10 am I rolled up in the general area that my friend told me about. I had little to no hope of seeing one when all of a sudden, I saw one about 50 feet off the road heading towards a fence.

I pulled the truck over and got out. I was able to grab a few images of the fleeing squirrel. It sat on the fence long enough to capture a few more. It jumped to a tree allowing for a couple more images. I came back a couple times over the next couple days and managed to capture a few more images. It was amazing. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and capture images of wildlife. He can be followed on www.Instagram.com, www.Facebook.com and www.Twitter.com. He can be contacted via his web page at www.NatureSmart.com.