- Habitat Loss: The destruction or fragmentation of grey squirrel habitats due to urbanisation, deforestation and agricultural practices can reduce the availability of food sources and proper shelter, leading to nutritional stress and, ultimately, starvation.
-Competition: In habitats where grey squirrels coexist with other squirrel species, such as red squirrels or invasive species like the eastern grey squirrel, competition for food and territories may lead to limited access to resources and an increase in starvation cases.
-Population Density: Overcrowded grey squirrel populations can deplete food resources, causing malnutrition and starvation especially during harsh winter months when natural food sources are scarce.
-Disease: Infectious diseases or parasites can weaken grey squirrels, making them less efficient in finding food and more vulnerable to starvation. Some diseases, like squirrel pox, can cause severe lesions and skin conditions, affecting the squirrel's ability to feed and regulate its body temperature.
-Weather: Extreme weather events such as droughts, prolonged winters or sudden temperature changes can disrupt the squirrel's natural food availability or impact their ability to forage and store food. In such conditions, starvation can occur if the squirrel cannot adapt or find alternative sources of sustenance.
-Predation: Increased pressure from predators, including larger birds of prey, larger carnivorous mammals or even domestic animals, can cause chronic stress, displacement and reduced foraging opportunities, leading to malnutrition and starvation in grey squirrels.
-Human Interference: Human activities like hunting, trapping or disrupting natural foraging areas can also cause starvation in grey squirrels by disrupting their usual feeding patterns and reducing their ability to find and store food.
-Food Insecurity: If there's a lack of availability of nuts, seeds, fruits, insects or other typical food sources in the surrounding environment, grey squirrels may face food insecurity and eventually succumb to starvation.