NATURAL HISTORY

Ginny is our pet name for the West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel.   The West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel is a tiny little nocturnal mammal with big black eyes, who we love with all our hearts.

The West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel is the signature species of the boreal forests of the Allegheny Highlands and the Monongahela National Forest.  This "signature species" shares its delicate ecological niche with the Cheat Mountain salamander, the northern water shrew, dwarf cornel, blister pine, showshoe hare, winter wren and black throated blue warbler. 

The ancestors of the West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel moved to the high ridges of the Appalachian Mountains during the last Ice Age, and evolved into "high elevation specialists".   This may explain why this night glider sticks mainly to the cooler ridge tops and heavily canopied north facing slopes.

The West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel diet consists mainly of a "truffle-like" fungus that grows in these mixed mesophytic forest areas. 

		Top Left: The WV Northern Flying Squirrel lives in boreal forests composed of northern hardwoods, red spruce and hemlock.Top Right:  The WVNFS is highly adapted to the cooler climates of the High Allegheny Mountain regions. So much so that they do not hibernate and are active year round.Bottom Left: The WVNFS likes cool, moist high elevation, older forests. This may be because of the abundance and variety of lichen and fungi available as a food source. The WVNFS is known to consume many types of fungi, then spread the spores in its feces and thereby improving tree and forest health.
Above: An innate response, spreading the skin  laps (patagia) is a reflexive action and is believed to aid in softer landings for pups that might fall from the nest.	Above: Flying squirrels are nocturnal animals and their large eyes aid them in travel and foraging at night.	Above: They often nest in cavities of birch trees. Birch wood is soft and often mined by woodpeckers and other holemakers.
	Left:  A researcher records data pertaining to a WVNFS caught and tagged during the WV Department of Natural Resources annual nest box counts.