Sciuridae
Sciurus carolinensis
(eastern gray squirrel)

Image Caption:
A male mounts a female squirrel for a period of intercourse lasting less than a minute.  Like other rodents, during copulation the male deposits a waxy plug into the vagina of the female, possibly to make copulation with other males less successful (Koprowski, 1993).  However, in a study Koprowski observed that during the grooming that normally follows intercourse (Steele & Koprowski, 2001, p. 115), many eastern gray squirrels discard or eat the plug (1992, p. 572).  The male may guard the female for twenty minutes or so after copulation, but she will likely mate with more than one male before her estrous cycle is over (Koprowski & Steele, 2001, p. 115).

<<  Copulation and Vaginal Plugs                                          >>

Sciurus carolinensis carolinensis (Easter Gray Squirrel) copulating (mating)
Works Cited:

Steele, M. A. & Koprowski, J. L.  (2001).  North American Tree Squirrels.  Washington and London: Smithsonian.

Koprowski, J. L. (1992). Removal of copulatory plugs by female tree squirrels. Journal of Mammalogy. 73(3): 572-576.
Image Location: United States, Virginia, Norfolk
Image Date: 2008JUN24
Image Species:  Sciurus carolinensis carolinensis
(EXIF Information is accurate – stamped in UTC).

Web Page and Pictures By Peter Leitheiser
Updated: 2009NOV19