How Long Do Squirrels Live?

In North America, we most often see Eastern gray squirrels, tree squirrels andred squirrels, which all have white bellies and bushy tails. But have you ever wondered how long these ubiquitous squirrels live?

Are you seeing a new crop of fluffy birdseed thieves every year, or are you seeing the same clever squirrels growing old and telling tales of their sunflower hauls to their baby squirrels?

Gray squirrelslive an average ofsix years, so yes, you are likely seeing many of the same squirrels in your yard year after year. It's not unheard of for gray squirrels to live up to 12 years as wild animals.

Red squirrelsare similar, and have an average life span offive yearsand a top-end life expectancy of about 10 years. The male red squirrels tend to live longer than female squirrels, and only about 20 percent of young squirrels live to become adult red squirrels.

Fox squirrelslive abouteight to 18 yearsin the wild. Female fox squirrels usually live, on average, 13 years, while males tend to live about eight years. Most fox squirrels die before maturity; predators like hawks and owls kill squirrels, and newborn squirrels can be eaten by small snakes.

Wild squirrels can live up to 18 years, depending on their species, environment and a handful other factors. In North America, we most often see Eastern gray squirrels, tree squirrels and red squirrels, which all have white bellies and bushy tails but slightly different average life spans. They fall into three basic types: tree squirrels, ground squirrels and flying squirrels.

All squirrels are part of the rodent family, and as is the case for many mammals, the larger the species of squirrel, the longer its average life span.

But what about pet squirrels? Do squirrels in captivity tend to live longer than wild squirrels live? Sometimes. Red squirrels can live up toeight years in captivitycompared to about five years in the wild.

The average life span of a gray squirrel in captivity keeps increasing. They can live as long as20 years as a petcompared to six years in the wild.

Fox squirrels also live longer as pets. In captivity they canlive up to 18 years; that's almost double their average life span in the wild.

Of course, not everybody loves squirrels; they really are everywhere, and they really do eat everything. But next time you see asquirrel getting into your gardenor trying to eat your birdseed, remember the furry little guy is just doing normal squirrel things.