By Matthew Strasburger | University Communication and Marketing
An ongoing effort to monitor and protect southern flying squirrels on East Campus is bringing together University of Nebraska–Lincoln student Hanna Haun and School of Natural Resources faculty through research, experiential learning and community outreach.
“Dr. John Carroll started building nesting boxes all around East Campus after the squirrels were first discovered. I’ve been working with him to use trail cameras to monitor and log their activity, behavior and movements,” said Haun, a senior fisheries and wildlife major. “This is a threatened species of squirrel, so it’s pretty cool that they’ve made a habitat here on campus.”
The squirrels’ presence on East Campus isn’t random. Haun said the arboretum’s mature trees provide ideal habitat.
“These squirrels like to live in the cavities of old trees, and we have trees here that are close to 100 years old, so it makes sense that they’re really liking them,” she said.
See a video of the flying squirrel in a squirrel box and read more about Hannah at https://news.unl.edu/article/flying-squirrels-fuel-student-led-research-and-outreach