Wild Kingdom Host Visits UNL Flying Squirrel Study

Peter Gros toured East Campus research that began after a 2021 discovery of southern flying squirrels in a hollow tree.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Wildlife

Wooden nest box mounted on a large bare oak trunk above dry leaf litter on a winter lawn under a grey sky. — University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers are studying a population of southern flying squirrels found on East Campus, a finding that challenges their long-assumed range limits. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Wild Kingdom co-host Peter Gros visited the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's East Campus to see research on southern flying squirrels. The project was funded in part by a Wild Kingdom conservation grant and has installed a replacement for the first nest box ever placed on campus.

Why it matters

Southern flying squirrels were long thought to live only in Nebraska's southeast corner, so a population found on Lincoln's East Campus challenges that understanding. The work offers local residents a way to contribute through citizen science.

The project's grant money will fund 15 new nest boxes across likely hotspots on campus. The expanded effort will rely on a live map that lets residents report sightings.

The players

Peter Gros

Peter Gros is the longtime host of the Wild Kingdom wildlife series, which he has presented since 1985.

Wild Kingdom

Wild Kingdom is a long-running wildlife television series sponsored by Mutual of Omaha.

National Wildlife Federation

The National Wildlife Federation is a conservation organization that partners on the EcoLeaders grant program.

The details

Gros toured the campus with Lord Ameyaw and Cameron Lyons. A UNL landscape crew found the squirrels in December 2021 while removing dying trees on East Campus, and the team has since finished much of a full tree inventory there.

December 2021: UNL crew found southern flying squirrels in a hollow tree on East Campus.
Early October 2026: Wild Kingdom season four of "Protecting the Wild" premiered.
November 4, 2026: Gros visited UNL East Campus to see the flying squirrel project.

Seasonal Patterns

The EcoLeaders grant program, a partnership between Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom and the National Wildlife Federation, funded the project. The work extends that program's conservation efforts into an urban campus setting in Lincoln.

Residents can report flying squirrel sightings through the project's forthcoming live map. The team plans to expand citizen science reporting as nest boxes are added across campus hotspots.

The takeaway

Urban campuses can support rare wildlife when residents report sightings and maintain habitat such as nest boxes. Local observations help researchers map where species actually live.