August 22, 2023
When it comes to spotting Arizona mammals, Mount Graham red squirrels (Tamiasciurus fremonti grahamensis) are among the rarest sights of all. Found only high atop their namesake and other peaks in Eastern Arizonaโs Pinaleรฑo Mountains, these squirrels, a subspecies of the Southwestern red squirrel, numbered in the low hundreds until 2017, when the lightning-caused Frye Fire burned much of their habitat. After the fire, the Arizona Game and Fish Department counted just 35 surviving squirrels, b...