Squirrel Hunting - East Coast

bluemike807

bluemike807

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Ok, prepare for a weird thread.

Out here in NS, there are no indiginous grey squirrels. I've seen one small population in the Middleton region, but noone knows how they got there.

Like alot of other places, I imagine that, if they gained a foothold, they would be difficult to remove - much as Great Britain and British Columbia have discovered; that they would encroach upon the habitats and food supplies of other species.

Here, as elsewhere, I imagine that the main 'victim' of this would be the red squirrels, which are largely unchallenged and I've noticed they grow quite a bit larger here than they do in West of NS, in say, Ontario.

As such, there is no 'season' for grey squirrels (for much the same reason there isnt a season for Zebra here, as... there aren't any) - but Im wondering about the practicalities and legalities of introducing some.

To start - no, Im not serious - but it's got me thinking. I miss squirrel hunting; when I was younger we did it, never wasted meat, never did it for the 'thrill' - it was a practical, serious and educational hunt. Here, I feel like my poor .22's never get much of a workout aside from at the range - I almost always bring a shotgun for rabbit or grouse, and beyond those, there's not much call for a .22, unless you're a trapper.

But I had this thought; say you owned a chunk of land, 10 acres or so, of which, say, 6-8 were wooded. Would you be able to introduce a 'seed' population of grey squirrels who would be able to survive and thrive - potentially even isolating them in the forested area (say everything around it for 500m was open grassland) and have a sustainable population of squirrels?

Do people think it would have a tremendous impact on the local ecology? My impression has been that there isnt much that they would compete with, aside from an already small population of reds that don't come close to fully utilizing their ecology.

Call me cracked for liking the idea of a sustainable, managed squirrel 'preserve' but it strikes me as an interesting thought experiment into human-managed ecology. Plus, you know... squirrel hunting.
 
How long do you think it'll take for a box of them to reach you by mail? :D

You may be beset with offers, pretty soon.

In truth, though, there are probably a half dozen laws that would make your life a PITA, to do with introducing species and stuff like that. Check on that, carefully, before moving forward.

Cheers
Trev
 
"...introducing some..." Don't even think about it. They're called tree rats for a reason. Made the mistake of storing stuff(no lockers) on my balcony including 4 rims(for a truck I no longer have. Yeah, I know. Keep thinking I'll sell 'em.) The tree rats live in 'em now. They've chewed on just about evrything out there. Ruined a perfectly good, large, vehicle cam net and a virtually new rag top for a short Samurai. Ate a hole in the screen door too. Other tenants feed them.
 
 
I'm a biologist. Please, please, do not do this. Exotic species are a nightmare! Many of the pest species we have in North America were once introduced like this. You have no way of controlling their spread once released.
 
Barnes_270 said:
I'm a biologist. Please, please, do not do this. Exotic species are a nightmare! Many of the pest species we have in North America were once introduced like this. You have no way of controlling their spread once released.
Click to expand...

NS had it's experiment with wild boar on Robert's Island. The DNR ordered all to be destroyed because Robert's Island isn't really an island technically speaking.
Chances are the amendment of the NS Wildlife Act in 1989 to include released exotic species, was probably due to this case.
 
The interesting thing is that out here in BC, I don't know of any area that has them that is a legal hunting area. They're all in metropolitan / suburban areas in the GVRD.

Anybody in BC know otherwise?
 
Barnes_270 said:
The interesting thing is that out here in BC, I don't know of any area that has them that is a legal hunting area. They're all in metropolitan / suburban areas in the GVRD.

Anybody in BC know otherwise?
Click to expand...

I see this here in ontario too. I go to school in london and the buggers are everywhere, you could trip over them walking to class. But as soon as i get into the woods hunting i do not see a single one. In fact while out hunting i have only ever seen one black squirrel. Lots of chipmunks but no squirrels
 
Barnes_270 said:
The interesting thing is that out here in BC, I don't know of any area that has them that is a legal hunting area. They're all in metropolitan / suburban areas in the GVRD.

Anybody in BC know otherwise?
Click to expand...

My Impression was that in BC they fall under a certain schedule (I forget which... C?) which allows them to be hunted (more like plain killed) at any time and by any means. Someone once told me it would be perfectly legal to kill them with a blunt pencil on Easter Sunday.

And no, dont worry this isnt something I have any intention of doing. I am mostly curious as to people's take on the idea of the species' impact on local ecology. The lesson of the Eastern Coyotes is something people are still learning the hard way; a new/invasive species which has tremendous impact on the local wildlife - adding another, and one that has the potential to be an additional foodstuff for the coyotes - would be a terrible notion.

Still, its interesting to guess how that population arrived in the Middleton area. When I took the trapper course, I asked about the legality of:

A) the fur buyers having pricing and sizing information for squirrels but
B) they werent mentioned anywhere in the NS regs

both the instructor and a conservation officer didnt know what to say; whether or not it would be potentially legal/illegal for someone in Middleton to trap those squirrels.

Gunslingr said:
I see this here in ontario too. I go to school in london and the buggers are everywhere, you could trip over them walking to class. But as soon as i get into the woods hunting i do not see a single one. In fact while out hunting i have only ever seen one black squirrel. Lots of chipmunks but no squirrels
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It was actually in London that I got the idea - the wife and I went to school there for three years. They really are everywhere - downtown. Victoria Park is action-packed with them; huge black squirrels. Walking through there with my dog, who particularly likes them, it was like walking through a hunter's wet dream, except of course it might be frowned on to take one's .22 downtown.
 
Unless you have a lot of nut bearing trees grey squirrels won't do well in the northern hemisphere. Grey squirrels this far north pretty much only survive in urban/suburban areas where people are always feeding them. Town I grew up in NB had quite a few in around town where mature nut bearing trees like oaks, butternut, etc had been planted and people fed them but we never ever saw them outside of town in the woods.
 
Barnes_270 said:
I'm a biologist. Please, please, do not do this. Exotic species are a nightmare! Many of the pest species we have in North America were once introduced like this. You have no way of controlling their spread once released.
Click to expand...

+1
the idea that you will be able to "contain and control" an invasive species is common. Unfortunately it generally leads to an out of control situation.
 
Saw plenty of blacks and greys when I lived in Winnipeg. Destructive little bastards. Saw plenty outside of the city but don't ever recall hearing of anyone hunting them.

In Aberta, I have seen them in the river valley and park areas in Calgary. I was really surprised to see a few blacks in Lethbridge, between the hospital and Henderson Park. Someone must have intentionally released these animals. Never encountered them outside the cities so I do not foresee any hunting opportunities, but I am surprised at never hearing of any erradication program within Alberta.
 
Gunslingr said:
I see this here in ontario too. I go to school in london and the buggers are everywhere, you could trip over them walking to class. But as soon as i get into the woods hunting i do not see a single one. In fact while out hunting i have only ever seen one black squirrel. Lots of chipmunks but no squirrels
Click to expand...

well, thats because squirrels that live in the bush are not accustomed to living in backyards and seeing people up close every day. squirrels in the bush are 100x more afraid of humans than tree rats that live in urban areas and backyards.

if you do any squirrel hunting in southern ontario you'll quickly learn that squirrels in the bush don't like humans. weather and time of day will have a huge impact on how many you'll see as well. even when you watch a squirrel go up a tree, it's usually very hard to get a clean shot without a partner or dog because they'll almost always try to stay out of your view. when walking through a squirrel infested bush i often have to sit for 15 minutes or longer before they'll even start moving around again. keep walking and you'd think theres no squirrel for miles...

squirrel hunting with a small cal rifle is fun and challenging. plus they taste great too. i prefer shake n baked then tossed in the deep fryer until med-well then let it rest 5 minutes before eating :D
 
here from is the list of animals from BC.where i live we have 4 or 5 of them.going to be busy this winter.
Schedule "C" animals can be captured or killed anywhere and at any time in BC. Schedule "C" birds may be hunted using electronic calls. You do not need a hunting licence to hunt or kill the following Schedule "C" wildlife:
(a) Rana catesbeiana - American bullfrog
(b) Rana clamitans - green frog
(c) all species of the family Chelydridae - snapping turtles
(d) Didelphis virginiana - North American opossum
(e) Sylvilagus floridanus - eastern cottontail
(f) Oryctolagus cuniculus - European rabbit
(g) Myocastor coypus - nutria
(h) all species of the genus Sciurus - gray squirrels and fox squirrels
(i) Passer domesticus - house sparrow
(j) Sturnus vulgaris - European starling
(k) Columbia livia - rock dove (domestic pigeon)

You do need a hunting licence to hunt the following Schedule "C" wildlife UNLESS you are hunting them on your property or they are damaging your property:
(a) all species of the genus Corvus - crows, except Corvus corax - common raven
(b) Pica pica - black-billed magpie
(c) Molothrus ater - brown-headed cowbird and the eggs of this bird species may be destroyed.
 
I can recall watching a TV news story about one of the Gulf Islands, and their 'possum problem. Apparently a result of someone bargain hunting for hay for their horses, and having had it trucked to the US coast, and shipped up by barge.
The load came with live luggage and the game was on.

I remember laughing hysterically at this poor hippy type that was wailing about the wreckage they were making out of his chickens, but that he was worried about what it would do for his karma if he did anything violent to the opossums. He was truly distraught over it! Funny stuff! Pretty sure the possums though they had found the promised land!

I had read a lot about rat shooting in various places. Never seen one until I was in Vancouver sitting in a drive-thru line and looked over and saw a pair of them working through the landscape bark looking for goodies. If there's one around...

Back to squirrels!:)
I was pretty sure that there would be laws on the books to punish the introduction of alien species. Poor thing to do in the first place, but worse still if you get caught and tagged with the cleanup costs!

Cheers
Trev
 
i would like it if they were already here, don't want them introduced though


they are tasty! i saw a few once in my backyard.... *cough*
 
Gunslingr said:
I see this here in ontario too. I go to school in london and the buggers are everywhere, you could trip over them walking to class. But as soon as i get into the woods hunting i do not see a single one. In fact while out hunting i have only ever seen one black squirrel. Lots of chipmunks but no squirrels
Click to expand...

I used to shoot alot of them in the Watford area as a teenager when I would go to visit my Aunts and Uncles. All my hunting was done outside of town on farm woodlots. Maybe the poulations in the wild around that area have taken a hard hit due to predators, habitat loss etc? The ones you see in the city of London are surviving on the welfare system(ie: birdfeeders) and they're only predators are hyundais and "fluffy" the cat next door,LOL.;)
 
Used to shoot lots of them as a kid in the Qu"appelle Valley along with snowshoe rabbits. Just bought a Pedersoli 32 cal muzzleloader for the sole purpose of shooting squirrels in the Aggasis Forest...saw lots of them while scouting deer this fall. We used to roast them on a stick slowly...they're quite good.
 
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