-4- 
     
    
   
   
    
     allows the animal to leap from a tall tree and glide to another at 
     
    

    
     a lower level, also with the ability to swerve right or left during 
     
     the descent. The skin is loose and full to provide the extended, 
     
     soft side membranes for gliding; this membrane, in flight, stretches 
     
     tautly from wrists of the forelegs to ankles of the hind legs. The 
     
     eyes are large and lustrous, ears low, rounded and wide, the tail 
     
    

    
     is long, soft, broad and flat, with rounded tip, legs are of mod- 
     
     erate length. The fine, silky dense fur is quite unlike that of 
     
     any other Canadian mammal. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Their food habits are omnivorous, feeding on a diet of seeds, nuts, 
     
     buds, berries and insects, and meat when available. They have been 
     
     known to gnaw on frozen baits at traps set for carnivores. They 
     
    

    
     do not accumulate midden waste piles as Red Squirrels do and do not 
     
     hoard food for the winter. They also do not hibernate but continue 
     
     to be active even in sub-zero temperatures. Natural enemies of 
     
    

    
     the species are chiefly owls and martens. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Nesting sites too are adapted to their environment, making use of 
     
     natural hollows in trees and discarded nesting holes of the larger 
     
     woodpeckers. They are also known to take advantage of bird boxes 
     
     which are set out for bluebirds and tree swallows. In them they 
     
     rest, sleep and sometimes give birth to their young. When first 
     
     born, the young are naked and sightless for about ten days. The 
     
     mother nurses them for 6 to 7 weeks and by late summer they have 
     
     reached adulthood and are able to enjoy the liberties of the forest 
     
     and secure their own food. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Of no economic importance to man, Flying Squirrels occupy an 
     
     interesting niche in the natural world. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Reference: Mammals of Alberta - by D. Soper 
     
    
   
   
    
     Edmonton Naturalist 
     
     October 1976 
     
     Vol. 4(8): 188. 
     
    
   
   
    
     LIST OF ENDANGERED CANADIAN WILDLIFE PUBLISHED 
     
    
   
   
    
     A communication has recently been received from the Canadian Wild- 
     
     life Federation announcing the release of a list of 41 species of 
     
     wildlife whose existence across Canada is endangered. The list is 
     
     the first comprehensive one prepared in Canada and was done with 
     
     the cooperation of provincial fish and wildlife departments, the 
     
     Canadian Wildlife Service, and the Museum of Natural Science. It 
     
     took 1 1/2 years to prepare the list "making sure it stood up all 
     
     over Canada. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The United States Congress passed an Endangered Species act several 
     
     years ago that protects hundreds of species. Killing listed 
     
     species is punishable by fines and jail terms. The United States 
     
     list includes plants. 
     
    
   
   
    
     OFFICIAL CANADIAN WILDLIFE FEDERATION LIST OF ENDANGERED WILDLIFE IN 
     
     CANADA 
     
    
   
   
    
     The following is a list prepared by the Canadian Wildlife Federation 
     
     of those animals considered to be "endangered throughout most or 
     
    

    
     all of their Canadian range". "Endangered" may be defined as 
     
    

    
     "those species or subspecies currently in danger of extinction and 
     
     whose prospects of survival are in immediate jeopardy".