Oddly Michigan Has One of the Lowest Squirrel to People Ratios in the Nation

First, can you believe there are people who study and rank such things? A report finds that, though you may not think so, Michigan has one of the lowest squirrel to people ratios in America.

This means that, unlike several other states, there are nearly as many people in Michigan as there are squirrels.

Here's the math.

In the largest squirrel-to-people ratios happen in sparsely populated western states like Montana. There, it's estimated that there are as many as 21 squirrels for every one person.

Even given Michigan's vast rural areas and no-neighbors-for-miles Upper Peninsula, it's estimated that there are, at most, just four squirrels for every person and at least just one squirrel per person or even more people than squirrels.

So the number of people in Michigan's metro areas outweighs the amount of squirrels in our woodlands. It hardly seems possible but science is science.

This graph shows the squirrel-to-people population across America as compiled by StatsPanda using data from sources like the Squirrel Census. That's a real thing: the Squirrel Census.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the map above is that there are no squirrels in Hawaii. It would seem the islands could benefit from our little nut-loving friends.

Maybe after reading this, you're thinking you may need to take in some squirrels as pets and help the squirrel population thrive. But before you take in some black, brown, or redtail squirrels, check the legalities of keeping them as pets. Here are some animals that are banned: