The first time I spotted one of these I couldn’t figure out what it was. They are twice the size of the common Grey Squirrel and shy. They disappear quick.
This was the first one that didn’t run away.
There are three different subspecies, the other two look like a normal squirrel. Southern Fox Squirrel have the white face and ears.
They like pine forests on the coast, something we have plenty of. The southern variant has a good population in South Carolina, but a rare in North Carolina. They colors tend go full grey in other areas of the south.
I’m glad this one didn’t run away on you. Never having heard of this kind of squirrel, I searched out an article about it:
https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/mammals/land/southern-fox-squirrel/
I didn’t know about it either. I bet most people up north, me included, have seen the grey ones and thought it was just a ‘big squirrel’.
Wow! How neat! I’ve never seen a squirrel like that before.
Twice the size, and a panda look LOL