Increasing size of squirrels - Ask Extension
Are squirrels in Portland bigger these days?
Knowledgebase
Increasing size of squirrels #929694
Asked April 26, 2026, 5:10 PM EDT
Are squirrels in Portland bigger these days?
Multnomah County Oregon
Expert Response
I do not have data that would enable me to answer your specific question. Unless a researcher is capturing and tracking individual squirrels, these data are not regularly collected by the state wildlife agency, etc.
However, you may be seeing more Eastern fox squirrels, which have established an unfortunate dominance of the local squirrel-scape. Eastern fox squirrels are a non-native, introduced, invasive species that crowds out our native tree squirrels. Great photos of our native (and non-native) species as well as general info can be found here https://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/living_with/docs/TreeSquirrels.pdf
However, you may be seeing more Eastern fox squirrels, which have established an unfortunate dominance of the local squirrel-scape. Eastern fox squirrels are a non-native, introduced, invasive species that crowds out our native tree squirrels. Great photos of our native (and non-native) species as well as general info can be found here https://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/living_with/docs/TreeSquirrels.pdf
