From: Yahoo! News
Posted: 6/17/02

Monday June 17 2002 8:20 AM EST
Western gray squirrel: Going nutty with no lovin' in the den

By Eric Sorensen , Seattle Times science reporter

KLICKITAT WILDLIFE RECREATION AREA, Klickitat County — Forget the deadly mange, the declining habitat and finicky lifestyle. The western gray squirrel's single biggest challenge is this: While the love-starved males are poised to mate for two-thirds of the year, females entertain such passion for less than a day.

"It comes down to six hours... probably," said John Koprowski, a University of biologist who has studied the western gray in Oregon. For males, "it's a long year."

And to make matters worse, eligible bachelorettes can be pretty hard to find when your population is in a tailspin.

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