The Fox Squirrel

Our native squirrel down here in Summerfield is the Fox Squirrel. I took these pictures today from the feeder outside my Lanai.

At first glance, he looks like any other Eastern Gray that we are all familiar with....

From wikipedia:  body length:  17.7 to 27.6 in.   tail length:  7.9 to 13.0 in  
So now we have a total length of approx:  25-40 inches.  
I bought a real nice squirrel proof feeder.  He's not getting any feed.  With these guys around I would really be going thru it.  We also have the Eastern Gray squirrel, and the Fox, naturally dominates them.  

Look at his arm!  From Wikipedia:  To help with climbing, they have sharp claws, developed extensors of digits and flexors of forearms, and abdominal musculature

Now he's trying to bribe the gnome into getting him some of that seed...

Settles on a drink, and he's gone on his way.  Tucker lives to catch one, and I fear for him if he does.

A little more info on the Fox Squirrel from wiki:

They are not particularly gregarious or playful, in fact they have been described as solitary and asocial creatures, coming together only in breeding season.^[15]They have a large vocabulary, consisting most notably of an assortment of clucking and chucking sounds, not unlike some "game" birds, and they warn the listening world of approaching threats with distress screams. In the spring and fall, groups of fox squirrels clucking and chucking together can make a small ruckus. They also make high-pitched whines during mating. When threatening another fox squirrel, they will stand upright with their tail over their back and flick it.^[5]

They are impressive jumpers, easily spanning fifteen feet in horizontal leaps and free-falling twenty feet or more to a soft landing on a limb or trunk.