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JustSquirrels.Com » Squirrel Feeders, Squirrel Food and Squirrel Facts
A couple of squirrelly miscreants are on the loose.
The furry offenders were spotted shinning up our neighbour’s drainpipe, sidling along their window ledge, and gaining entry to their kitchen through the open window…only to emerge thirty seconds later, eating their spoils. We witnessed this, but were to far away from the house to do anything about it-except post this as a cautionary tale.
We’ve said it before, but it’s worth saying again. It’s summer in the Northern hemisphere, where most squirrels live. Summer means open windows, and to a squirrel, even a partially open-window or entry point, means “please come in,” especially if there’s food about near that window. After all, summer is their leanest season, when the stores from last year are running low, but this year’s nuts and berries have not yet come to full fruition. What would you do, in their shoes (or, rather, paws)?
Remember, squirrels don’t understand the law of theft :-).
You can help the situation by distraction feeding them with nuts and seeds left safely outside, (whether in a squirrel feeder or otherwise) and/or, by making sure that any potential squirrel food is left well away from open windows.
Unless of course, you find witnessing squirrelly misdeameanours just too cute anyway ;-). Luckily, this is what our neighbour thought, so this particular tale (or should that be, “tail”) has a happy ending.
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:
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:
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:
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.
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