NATIVE RANGE: North America

FIRST FINDING IN SLOVENIA: No recorded findings in nature yet

PATHWAYS: escape and release from captivity

POSSIBLE TO FIND: year-round

HABITAT: forests, farmland, urban environments including city parks. 

STATUS IN SLOVENIA: Currently not present, first expected to be found in urban environments. 

SIMILAR SPECIES: European (red) squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris.

Source: Terenski priročnik za prepoznavanje tujerodnih vrst v gozdovih (Fieldguide for the identification of alien species in forests)

NOTE: this species is included in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list) of Regulation (EU) 1143/2014. The species included on the Union list are subject to restrictions and measures set out in the Regulation. These include restrictions on keeping, importing, selling, breeding and growing. Member States are required to take action on pathways of unintentional introduction, to take measures for the early detection and rapid eradication of these species, and to manage species that are already widely spread in their territory.