Head to head
Eurasian Red Squirrel vs American Red Squirrel
The Eurasian red squirrel and American red squirrel share a common name and a similar reddish coat, but they are not closely related and face very different pressures across their respective ranges.
| Eurasian Red Squirrel | American Red Squirrel | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Sciurus vulgaris | Tamiasciurus hudsonicus |
| Range | Europe and parts of Asia | Much of North America |
| Main threat | Introduced grey squirrel competition | None significant |
| Population trend region | Regionally decreasing (Britain, W. Europe) | Stable throughout range |
| Notable behaviour | Scatter-hoarding nuts and seeds | Defending large pine cone caches |
| Conservation status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Population trend | Decreasing | Stable |
| Habitat | Forest | Forest |
Eurasian Red Squirrel vs American Red Squirrel: common questions
Are the Eurasian red squirrel and American red squirrel closely related?
No, despite sharing a similar name and reddish coat, these two species belong to different genera and are not closely related, having evolved their similar appearance and lifestyle independently on separate continents.
Why has the Eurasian red squirrel declined while the American red squirrel has not?
The Eurasian red squirrel has been pushed out of much of Britain by the introduced grey squirrel, which outcompetes it for food and can carry a squirrelpox virus fatal to reds, while the American red squirrel faces no equivalent introduced rival across its North American range.
Do both red squirrels store food for winter the same way?
Both scatter-hoard or cache food, but the American red squirrel is particularly known for aggressively defending large, concentrated caches of pine cones called middens, while the Eurasian red squirrel more typically scatter-hoards individual nuts and seeds across a wider area.