Big, strange-looking squirrels are driving golfers nuts at the 124th U.S. Open in Pinehurst.
The furry creatures are fox squirrels, according to Falyn Owens, a biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. They're less common than gray squirrels, the species people tend to be most familiar with in the Triangle.
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They're also larger. According to Owens, fox squirrels can reach 26 inches in length and weigh up to 2.5 pounds, which is about a pound heavier than a mature gray squirrel.
Fox squirrels can also be different colors. In the eastern parts of the state, fox squirrels tend to be black with a white belly and forehead, Owens said. In the northwestern parts of the state, fox squirrels tend to be reddish gray above and rusty orange on the belly.
Fox squirrels do exist in the Triangle, but gray squirrels are more common in residential and heavily populated areas.
According to N.C. Wildlife, many fox squirrels call longleaf pine and open pine-oak forests in the Sandhills home, which is why so many spectators and golfers are seeing them at the 2024 U.S. Open in Pinehurst, in Moore County.
Golf Digest reports the squirrel startled golfer Min Woo Lee this week in Pinehurst. Video posted on X shows Lee telling the fox squirrel "Stay back, brother. Stay back."
The fox squirrel is the largest tree squirrel in the state, according to N.C. Wildlife.
The U.S. Open is in Pinehurst through June 16. WRAL News has a complete guide.