Peters's squirrel

Peters's squirrel, Sciurus oculatus, is a large tree squirrel endemic to Mexico. It lives in the Trans-Mexican neovolcanic belt and on the Mexican Plateau, from Morelos, Puebla and Veracruz north into San Luis Potosi, and three subspecies are recognised: oculatus, shawi and tolucae. Animal Diversity Web gives an average weight of 638 grams and describes a mostly gray animal with white ears and underside, a black tail and a black stripe running from the back of the head to the tail. It favours oak, pine and fir forest between about 1,500 and 3,600 metres, and some populations shift from low oak woodland in summer to higher pine forest in autumn. It eats acorns, wild figs and pine nuts, caches food, and is active by day and around dawn and dusk. Logging, burning and forest clearing for agriculture have caused severe habitat loss, although the IUCN lists it as Least Concern.