Guide

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Gray squirrel mating chases in late winter

February

Eastern gray squirrels have their first mating season of the year in late winter, and the sign is a noisy chase through the trees with one female and several males. It looks like play or a fight, but it is courtship.

Why this time of year

Gray squirrels have their first mating season of the year in late winter, and noisy chases through the treetops are the sign of it.

How to notice it

  1. Look at trees and fences near feeders or oaks in the afternoon, and watch for a gray squirrel running with another close behind.
  2. Count the chasers. Several males following one female is the courtship pattern, and it can go on for a long stretch.
  3. Listen for chattering and the scrabble of claws on bark as they spiral up trunks and race along branches.
  4. Stay back and let them run. Keep dogs leashed and do not try to separate them.

Try this with kids: Count how many squirrels are chasing and how many are being chased, and tell a grown-up which trunk they spiral around.

Safety

  • Do not feed or approach squirrels. Keep a distance and keep pets back.

Sources

  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon: two mating seasons, one in late January or February and one in late May or June; courtship is noisy energetic chases through the treetops; 44-day gestation, first litter March or early April; red squirrels much smaller (about 12 in), reddish, white belly.
  • esf.eduSUNY ESF Adirondack Ecological Center: two breeding periods, late winter and mid-summer; 1-10 or more males engaging in mating chases of a female in estrus; gestation 40-44 days.
  • animaldiversity.orgAnimal Diversity Web (University of Michigan): breeding December-February and May-June, slightly delayed in more northern latitudes; males follow females 5 days before estrus; gestation 44 days.

Checked against these sources on October 30, 2026.

In the guide for February

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