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Article: Flying Sprites of the Night; They Glide Through Our Woods With the Greatest of Ease, Those Flying Southern Squirrels That Nobody Sees
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- June 12, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Every night in the woods, when most humans are safely indoors,
strange creatures emerge from their lairs and leap into the air,
swooping silently among the trees. Very few people see them, but
they are real and they live throughout this region, including in
Rock Creek Park and many other wooded areas.
The little-known nocturnal creatures are flying squirrels, and
experts say they are more common hereabouts than the familiar gray
squirrel of the daytime.
Vagn Flyger, a retired professor of wildlife biology at the
University of Maryland, is an authority on this mysterious animal,
and he has turned his backyard in Silver Spring into a flying
squirrel community center. He puts out food to ...