PFW helps Indiana DNR try to restore state endangered squirrel

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has enlisted the help of The Nature Conservancy and Purdue University Fort Wayne with the goal of assisting a species of squirrel that is state endangered.

The collaboration aims to restore the population of the Franklin’s ground squirrel, which once thrived in northwest Indiana prairies.

To hopefully restore populations in Indiana, three groups worked to bring in 25 Franklin’s ground squirrels from South Dakota and relocate them to Kankakee Sands, a nature preserve in northwest Indiana.

The partnership between the DNR and PFW started after the DNR reached out to Scott Bergeson, Ph.D., an assistant professor of animal biology at PFW who has worked with the DNR before on similar projects, for help with restoring Franklin’s ground squirrel populations.

Read the details at wane.com.