Looking for squirrels in Indiana? You’re in for a treat. Indiana’s forests, farmlands, and even suburban backyards are home to several fascinating squirrel species. From the boisterous Fox Squirrel to the quick-moving Red Squirrel, these little acrobats are part of the state’s everyday soundtrack — rustling leaves, cracking nuts, and leaping from oak to maple like furry trapeze artists. This guide dives deep into each of Indiana’s five squirrel species: their looks, behavior, diet, breeding patterns, and how they’ve adapted to live alongside humans. Whether you’re a casual bird-feeder observer or a wildlife enthusiast, you’ll discover something new about the squirrels that call Indiana home.
1. Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
Physical Characteristics & Identification Tips
The Eastern Gray Squirrel is probably the most recognizable squirrel across Indiana. Adults typically measure around 9 to 12 inches long, excluding their 8-inch tail. They’re dressed in a sleek mix of gray, brown, and white — a camouflage masterpiece that blends effortlessly with Indiana’s hardwood forests. Their fur can sometimes appear almost silver under the morning sun. Interestingly, a few melanistic (black) individuals appear in certain Indiana towns, turning up like shadowy versions of their gray cousins. You can easily distinguish the species by its large bushy tail and lighter underbelly, plus its curious, almost bold personality around humans.
Behavior
These squirrels are social creatures — in their own territorial way. You’ll often see them chasing one another up tree trunks, play-fighting, or scolding intruders with a raspy chatter. They’re diurnal, active mostly in early mornings and late afternoons. In fall, they enter a frenzy of food-burying activity known as “scatter hoarding,” hiding acorns and walnuts in dozens of secret caches. Believe it or not, they remember roughly 70 % of those spots, guided by smell and spatial memory rather than GPS instincts!
Habitat and Range
Eastern Gray Squirrels dominate Indiana’s central and southern woodlands, particularly where oak, hickory, and walnut trees grow thick. They thrive in both city parks and deep forests, showing remarkable adaptability. Even in Indianapolis neighborhoods, they build nests — called dreys — high in maple or sycamore trees, insulated with leaves and twigs for the cold Hoosier winters.
Diet
Their diet reads like a pantry inventory: nuts, seeds, buds, fungi, berries, and even corn from nearby fields. In suburban settings, they’re frequent visitors at bird feeders, often performing acrobatic acts to get the last sunflower seed. In tough seasons, they’ll gnaw on tree bark or dig up bulbs, showing resourcefulness that keeps them thriving year-round.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Breeding peaks twice a year — late winter and midsummer. After a gestation of about 45 days, the female gives birth to two to five kits, usually inside a tree cavity or leaf nest. The young open their eyes at four weeks, and by ten weeks they’re ready to practice their first high-wire jumps. Eastern Grays live three to six years in the wild, though city life sometimes shortens that span due to predators and traffic.
Fun Facts / Unique Traits
They “talk” through tail flicks and chirps — a squirrel Morse code that can signal warning or irritation. Their front teeth never stop growing, which is why you’ll see them gnawing almost constantly. And here’s a quirky fact: they can leap up to nine feet horizontally — pretty impressive for a creature that weighs less than a pound!
Human Interaction
In Indiana cities, Eastern Gray Squirrels are practically co-tenants. Many residents feed them, while others consider them pesky roof invaders. Either way, they’re part of daily life. Observing their antics can be oddly therapeutic — unless, of course, they’ve just stolen your birdseed again.
2. Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)
Physical Characteristics & Identification Tips
The Fox Squirrel is the largest tree squirrel in Indiana, reaching up to 15 inches long with an equally grand tail. Their rusty-orange bellies and golden-brown coats set them apart instantly. The fur often gleams in the afternoon sun, giving the impression of a soft “fox-like” hue — hence the name. Their faces are expressive, eyes bright and alert, with rounder ears compared to their gray cousins. In certain counties, you might encounter paler or darker regional variants, reflecting microclimate differences in the state.
Behavior
Fox Squirrels are a bit like the lumberjacks of the squirrel world — strong, deliberate, and methodical. Unlike the nervous jitter of gray squirrels, Fox Squirrels move with a calm confidence. They spend much of their day foraging on the ground, often seen crossing open areas like pastures and parks. When startled, they freeze momentarily before darting up the nearest tree, flicking their tail as if saying, “I saw you first.”
Habitat and Range
They favor open forests and scattered woodlots — the kind of mixed terrain Indiana’s countryside provides in abundance. You’ll often find them around farmland edges, highways lined with old oaks, and even on university campuses. While they prefer mature trees for nesting, they’re perfectly content raiding cornfields or garden beds when opportunity knocks.
Diet
Fox Squirrels are classic omnivores with a taste for nuts, seeds, fruit, corn, and insects. During harvest season, farmers often spot them dashing between rows of corn like tiny, four-legged commuters. In winter, they depend heavily on cached nuts and acorns, digging through the snow with practiced ease.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Mating can get noisy — lots of chasing and squealing through the trees. After mating, females build spherical nests from leaves and twigs, often high above ground. Litters average three babies, and the young stay with their mother until midsummer. Fox Squirrels live about six to eight years in favorable conditions, though few make it that long in the wild.
Fun Facts / Unique Traits
Fox Squirrels can jump 15 feet horizontally and fall 20 feet without injury — talk about built-in shock absorbers. They also play an important ecological role by burying acorns that later sprout into new trees. In a way, they’re the unintentional gardeners of Indiana’s woodlands.
Human Interaction
While they occasionally annoy homeowners by raiding bird feeders or gnawing through attics, Fox Squirrels are also a beloved sight in parks. Their calm demeanor makes them easy photography subjects. Many Hoosiers enjoy watching their seasonal antics as a reminder of Indiana’s changing seasons.
3. American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
Physical Characteristics & Identification Tips
Small but fierce, the American Red Squirrel stands out with its fiery coat and feisty personality. They’re only about half the size of a Fox Squirrel — around 7 to 9 inches long — but compensate with boundless energy. Their fur is bright reddish-brown above and creamy white underneath, with a sharp contrast line along their sides. The tail is less fluffy than that of their gray cousins, giving them a slightly scruffier look. Their eyes, large and black, seem to reflect a perpetual state of mischief.
Behavior
If the Eastern Gray is the diplomat of Indiana’s treetops, the Red Squirrel is the warrior. They’re notoriously territorial, often seen chasing intruders — even birds — away from their claimed pine trees. Their chatter can be surprisingly loud for their size, sounding like an angry squeaky toy in the forest. Despite their feisty nature, they’re also clever planners, caching cones and mushrooms in secret stashes to last through the cold months.
Habitat and Range
Red Squirrels are more common in northern Indiana, where coniferous or mixed forests dominate. They prefer spruce and pine habitats, using dense foliage for protection and nesting. In suburban areas, they adapt readily to ornamental pines and even attics if given the chance. Their home territories can be surprisingly small — sometimes less than an acre — which they defend with surprising aggression.
Diet
Their diet leans heavily on conifer seeds, nuts, buds, fungi, and berries. Red Squirrels are also known to occasionally snack on bird eggs or insects — a reminder that survival often favors the bold. During autumn, they collect green pine cones and bury them in underground caches known as “middens.” These stockpiles can feed them through even the harshest Indiana winter.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Breeding typically occurs in early spring, with litters of three to six young born after about 35 days. Unlike the social grays, Red Squirrels prefer solitude, and juveniles are kicked out of the nest soon after weaning. Their lifespan averages about four years, though many succumb earlier to predators like hawks, owls, and snakes.
Fun Facts / Unique Traits
Red Squirrels have been recorded stealing maple sap by biting into tree bark — nature’s version of tapping syrup. They’re also known to dry mushrooms on tree branches before storing them — a behavior scientists call “food preservation,” and yes, it’s as fascinating as it sounds.
Human Interaction
Though small, they leave a big impression on anyone who encounters them. Their sharp calls echo through Indiana’s woodlots in late summer, warning everyone that this patch of forest belongs to them. Birdwatchers often recognize the Red Squirrel before they see it — just by its unmistakable scolding chatter. While some homeowners consider them pests, others admire their fiery spirit and endless determination.
4. Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans)
Physical Characteristics & Identification Tips
Meet the nocturnal acrobat of Indiana — the Southern Flying Squirrel. Unlike its tree-bound cousins, this squirrel doesn’t actually “fly” but glides with grace. Adults measure around 8 to 10 inches long, including a flat, feathery tail used as a rudder during flight. Their soft fur is a silvery-gray above and creamy white underneath. The most striking feature? Those enormous, dark eyes, perfect for night vision. Between their front and back legs is a stretchy membrane called a patagium — their built-in glider wing. When they leap from a branch, this thin flap of skin spreads out like a mini parachute, allowing them to glide up to 150 feet through the forest canopy.
Behavior
Southern Flying Squirrels are social and surprisingly chatty — though most people never notice them because they’re strictly nocturnal. At dusk, they emerge from their tree cavities in small family groups, gliding silently from trunk to trunk in search of food. They make high-pitched chirps and squeaks, inaudible to some human ears, to communicate with one another. During winter, multiple individuals may huddle together inside a nest to conserve warmth, a rare show of cooperation among squirrels. If you ever find a tree cavity filled with a fuzzy pile of sleeping squirrels, you’ve likely stumbled upon a “flying squirrel commune.”
Habitat and Range
These gliders prefer Indiana’s mature deciduous forests — particularly those filled with hickory, beech, and oak trees. They also appear in older suburbs with large shade trees. Their nests, made of shredded bark, leaves, and moss, are usually tucked into natural cavities or abandoned woodpecker holes. Because they rely on old trees for shelter, they’re excellent indicators of forest health. Spotting one near your property is a sign that nature’s balance is doing fine.
Diet
Their menu includes nuts, acorns, seeds, insects, bird eggs, and even fungi. They’re also fond of sap, which they lap up from gnawed tree bark. These squirrels stash extra food in tree hollows for leaner months, making them quiet yet effective participants in forest regeneration — some of their forgotten nuts eventually sprout into new trees. Think of them as tiny, nocturnal gardeners with wings.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Breeding occurs twice a year — in early spring and again in midsummer. Females usually produce litters of two to six pups after a gestation of about 40 days. The babies are born hairless and helpless, depending entirely on their mother’s care for the first month. By eight weeks, they’re ready to glide. The family group may stay together through winter before the young set out to find their own territories.
Fun Facts / Unique Traits
Southern Flying Squirrels glow faintly pink under ultraviolet light — a discovery that amazed scientists in 2019. The reason for this bio-fluorescence remains partly a mystery, though it might help them recognize each other in the dark. Another fun tidbit: they can make sharp mid-air turns during glides using their tail like a rudder. Picture a squirrel piloting itself through moonlit trees — it’s nature’s night-flight magic show.
Human Interaction
Because they’re active at night, most Hoosiers never realize they share their neighborhoods with these gliders. Occasionally, flying squirrels move into attics or birdhouses, especially near wooded areas. They’re harmless, gentle, and frankly adorable, though removing them humanely is best if they overstay their welcome. Watching them glide under a full moon, however, is one of Indiana’s quietest wildlife thrills — like spotting a secret acrobat under the stars.
5. Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus)
Physical Characteristics & Identification Tips
Technically a ground squirrel, the Eastern Chipmunk is a small bundle of stripes and energy. It’s easy to identify — russet-brown back, five dark stripes running down the sides, and those telltale cheek pouches that can balloon like grocery bags. Adults measure about 5 to 6 inches long, with a short, flat tail that acts more like a counterbalance than a flag. They move in quick bursts, pausing every few seconds to stand upright and survey their surroundings, their tiny paws clasped like they’re plotting mischief.
Behavior
Chipmunks are solitary and busy, spending most of their waking hours collecting food. They dart between logs, bushes, and stone walls, stuffing seeds into their cheek pouches until they look like furry marbles with legs. Once filled, they race back to their underground burrows to store the goods. Their burrow systems can stretch more than 30 feet, complete with sleeping chambers, escape tunnels, and even separate “toilet rooms.” Talk about home organization! In fall, they reduce activity, occasionally waking during mild winter days to snack on their stored supplies.
Habitat and Range
Found across all of Indiana, chipmunks thrive wherever trees meet open ground. They prefer wooded edges, gardens, and rocky outcrops where they can dig burrows safely. In suburban neighborhoods, you’ll often spot them scurrying under decks or garden walls. They’re more terrestrial than tree squirrels but can climb small shrubs or bird feeders with impressive agility. Their ability to adapt to both rural and urban spaces explains why they’re among the most common squirrels in the state.
Diet
These little hoarders eat a varied diet of seeds, nuts, grains, berries, and insects. They occasionally take bird eggs or small frogs, proving they’re opportunists when food is scarce. The cheek pouches serve as mobile shopping carts, allowing them to transport food to underground pantries for later. Their caching habit helps distribute seeds, making them another unwitting contributor to Indiana’s plant diversity.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Chipmunks breed twice a year, usually in April and July. Each litter has about four to six young that emerge from the burrow at around six weeks old. By summer’s end, the juveniles are fully independent. Their lifespan averages two to three years in the wild — short, but filled with non-stop action and industrious work. If squirrels were office workers, chipmunks would be the over-achievers who never take a coffee break.
Fun Facts / Unique Traits
Chipmunks communicate through a repertoire of chirps and trills. The rapid “chip-chip-chip” you hear in wooded parks is actually a warning call, not a friendly greeting. Each sound has meaning — one for aerial predators like hawks, another for ground threats like snakes. Their precision in vocal alarm systems fascinates researchers studying animal communication.
Human Interaction
They often charm gardeners with their antics — until they start digging into flower pots or seedbeds. Despite their tiny size, they can move surprising amounts of soil, leading to miniature sinkholes in lawns. Most homeowners opt for gentle deterrents like netting or peppermint oil instead of traps. After all, it’s hard to stay mad at something that looks like a Disney character come to life. Watching them scurry across a porch step is a reminder that even in urban corners, Indiana’s wild heart still beats close to home.
FAQ’s
1. When is squirrel season in Indiana?
Indiana’s squirrel hunting season typically runs from late August through the end of January each year. Hunters can pursue both gray and fox squirrels during this period, using firearms, bows, or air rifles. Always check the latest Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) regulations for specific dates and bag limits.
2. What is the most common squirrel in Indiana?
The most common squirrel in Indiana is the Eastern Gray Squirrel. It thrives in both urban neighborhoods and wooded areas across the state. Fox Squirrels are also widespread, especially in rural and agricultural regions.
3. How rare are black squirrels in Indiana?
Black squirrels are not very common but can be found in certain pockets of Indiana. They are actually a color variation of the Eastern Gray Squirrel, caused by a genetic mutation. You’re more likely to see them in northern and central parts of the state.
4. Can you legally own a squirrel in Indiana?
No, it is illegal to keep a wild squirrel as a pet in Indiana without a special wildlife rehabilitation or possession permit. Squirrels are protected native wildlife, and possession without authorization can lead to fines or legal action.
5. What time of year do squirrels have babies in Indiana?
Squirrels in Indiana typically have two breeding seasons each year. The first litter arrives in early spring (February to April), and the second in late summer (August to September). Each litter usually has two to four young.
6. What is the largest squirrel in Indiana?
The Fox Squirrel is the largest squirrel species in Indiana. It can grow up to 28 inches long, including the tail, and weigh nearly three pounds. They are known for their reddish-brown fur and bushy tails.
7. How many types of squirrels are there in Indiana?
Indiana is home to three main types of squirrels: the Eastern Gray Squirrel, the Fox Squirrel, and the smaller Red Squirrel. Flying squirrels also live in the state, but they are nocturnal and much less commonly seen.
8. Can you keep a squirrel as a pet in Indiana?
No, keeping a squirrel as a pet in Indiana is not allowed unless you are a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Squirrels are wild animals that require specific care and are best left in their natural habitats.
Conclusion
From the bold Fox Squirrel to the secretive Southern Flyer, Indiana’s squirrel community is more diverse than most people realize. Each species has carved its own niche in the state’s landscape — some in the tallest oaks, others beneath your front porch. They’re engineers, gardeners, comedians, and sometimes troublemakers, but they all play vital roles in keeping ecosystems balanced. Next time you hear rustling in the leaves, pause for a moment. It might be one of Indiana’s five squirrel species busy preparing for winter or simply showing off its aerial acrobatics. Whether you’re strolling through a Bloomington park or relaxing on your backyard deck, remember: you’re sharing your space with some of the state’s most remarkable — and entertaining — residents.
Read more: 5 Types of Squirrels in Maine (Pictures And Identification)