As we’ve said before on this blog, squirrels are found in many parts of the world other than Europe and North America (despite what some squirrel lovers there would have you believe!:-)

And as proof of this, a great video of squirrels in Malaysia has just been put onto YouTube. Watching it though, raised more questions for us than it solved.For we’d always thought that squirrels in Asia were likely to be relatives of the palm squirrel. These squirrels though (and yes, we know there aren’t that many close-ups in the video) look pretty grey, and similar to their American and European cousins, save perhaps that their ears look a little lower-set (which could be an optical illusion).

So this is another puzzle we need to throw open. If there’s anyone out there who lives in Malaysia/knows about squirrels in Malaysia, please get in touch.
In the meantime, enjoy YouTube user “Laskered”’s video of “Squirrels in Redang”.

If anybody out there has a definitive answer as to why one poor grey squirrel has been found almost completely bald, then the Tiggiwinkles animal hospital here in the UK may be keen to hear from you.

 It seems that the poor bald creature was brought in to the renowned wildlife hospital some time ago, but the hospital still can’t be sure as to the cause of “Smoothie’s” problem.

 (As a sidenote here, if you live in the UK, see more of  Tiggiwinkles on Channel 5’s “Wild Animal ER most evenings at the moment…and yes,  cute rescued squirrels feature amongst the patients).

It seems that genetic disorders and mites (amongst other causes) have been explored in relation to this squirrel, and yet still, no-one can be sure. But if you do have the answer, or just want to find out more, go here:

http://www.bucksherald.co.uk:80/news/Miserable-squirrel-is-a-real.4288818.jp

If you see a squirrel lying down and spread eagled, this isn’t necessarily a cause for concern. He or she may simply be cooling down, especially at this time of year.

After all, having fur is a warm business, and though squirrels do have summer and winter coats, on a boiling hot day, the fastest way for them to cool down is to “spread eagle themselves out, so that the greatest possible amount of their surface area is exposed and letting out heat.

Other people have also suggested that squirrels may also lie down in this way to signal submissiveness, as any other creatures do.

Of course, if the squirrel seems distressed, can’t open its eyes, is in poor condition, doesn’t move after some minutes, or has an injury, they probably are in need of attention from an animal sanctuary or rehabilitator.

An example of a squirrel who was in all likelihood just chilling out simply “chilling out” is shown in this YouTube video by “rockgirlsteffi” that we’ve just found. Enjoy!

“Cyril the Squirrel, you may remember, is a grey squirrel we talked about a few posts back, made famous by a UK newspaper for his ability to grab crackers using hanging flower-baskets as a swing. Many do, we know. (And as for the crackers as squirrel food, it’s a new one on us, but this squirrel seems to like it).

Anyway, not contentent with just having his picture taken, the now-famous Cyril, from Darlington UK, now demonstrates his athletic prowess on video, here:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1562587976/bctid1631241554

 Enjoy-though be warned, the video contains scenes of impending feeder destruction by this squirrel!

UK squirrel-lovers have lots to cheer about and observe, but wondering about the difference between ground squirrels and chipmunks isn’t one of them (as neither are found in this country).

That said, we know this is a question that many people ask, especially in the US. And so, at last, here’s a detailed answer:

 http://www.herald-review.com/articles/2008/07/06/columnists/hawbaker/1033853.txt

Enjoy!

Here’s a lovely story of squirrelly ingenuity, a cute squirrel photo, and a cautionary, “squirrel proof” birdfeeder tale, all rolled into one.

 For the full story, and photo, visit:

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=193846&in_page_id=34

Note however that many of us could have told this lady (who, bless her, seems to love squirrels as well as birds) that her feeder was not animal proof. no “birdcage design”, tough wiring, whirling around, weight-respondent mechanism, or anything, so far as we can tell.

Still, her squirrel was still ingenious. Enjoy!

The question of what squirrels like to eat is one we’re asked here more than any other. On the question of coconut, it can vary from squirrel to squirrel, and country to country (eg. a palm squirrel is more likely to see coconuts more frequently than an Eastern Grey).

 Nonetheless, I have often seen grey squirrels spiriting away halves of coconut meant for birds.
They key word here though, may be halves. If the pictures at:

 http://10000birds.com/ambitious-squirrel.htm

are anything to go by, it seems that getting into a whole coconut may be beyond even an ingenious squirrel’s reach.

 However, if you know differently, please get in touch!

Squirrel Bungee feeders provide as much fun for humans as they do challenge for squirrels.

But it’s the kind of thing you sometimes have to see in action to get the point. Which is where this video from “capatootie” on YouTube comes in…

Enjoy, and if that’s got you keen to give your squirrels even more bounce, you can read more about squirrel bungees here.

“The Red Squirrel” blog has more adorable red squirrel photos on their site…To check them out, click here:

http://worldphotos4.wordpress.com/2008/06/23/it-rained-this-morning-and-its-cooler-today…/

Well, OK, the squirrels themselves weren’t doing the talking, despite the title of this post. However, just this afternoon, there was a fascinating feature on the radio about the diffeences between greay (gray) squirrels and their-genetically-mutated-but-otherwise-identical black squirrel counterparts.

It should be available for download for at least a week here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio4_aod.shtml?radio4/shared_earth

And just to be clear, the feature is the first item in the rogramme, not the whole programme itself.

Enjoy!