At first they were, like gray squirrels almost everywhere in the US, abundant to the point of being a nuisance, especially to people with bird feeders. Then they were gone, or almost so. When mange struck the gray squirrels of the San Bernardino Mountains in California, people noticed, particularly in the past year.

While the cause is known, a new study by the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, California Fish and Game Wildlife Investigations Lab and California Animal Health and Food Safety Lab will delve into when and how of the population crash.

The study will rely heavily on reports from citizens in the area.

Read this newspaper article on the study in the Crestline Courier-News.
Or visit the study’s website, here.

Photo: A healthy gray squirrel, courtesy of the California Department of Fish and Game