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Arizona gray squirrel

(Sciurus arizonensis), at Garden Canyon, Fort Huachuca, Cochise County, Arizona.

Despite their resemblance to eastern gray squirrels in appearance and behavior, Arizona grays are more closely related to fox squirrels. I have a long history of animosity toward gray squirrels, a feud fueled by their careless destruction of my garden back in Virginia, especially their depredations of my tomato plants and tulips. Maybe I’m softening as I grow older, but I actually find these Arizona fellows funny and cute. 

As with so many of the creatures we share this world with, Arizona gray squirrel populations are threatened by habitat loss in their already restrictive range. When will we ever learn?

At Ramsey Canyon I watched a band of about eight coatis move through the trees, then down the canyon, then up and out of view. I love watching them on the move, with their magnificent tails held high to signal their whereabouts to the others in the band. They are raccoon relatives, but active during the day and somewhat tolerant of human presence, so more likely to be seen than raccoons. They are superlative scrapers and diggers. Check out those claws in the bottom photo. 

White-nosed coatis (Nasua narica) at Ramsey Canyon Preserve, Cochise County, Arizona.