Wednesday 23 January 2008

Queen's Park squirrels with demon eyes

I loves this pic of what was an incredibly tame squirrel - I just clicked my teeth and it came hopping over to me...

So some definition of what we are looking at from wikipaedia:

Squirrels are generally clever and persistent animals. In residential neighborhoods, they are notorious for eating out of bird feeders, digging in potted plants either to bury or recover seeds, and for inhabiting sheltered areas. While many companies sell bird feeders which are supposedly "squirrel-proof", very few of them really are. Although expert climbers, squirrels also thrive in urban environments that are largely free of trees.

Squirrels are sometimes considered pests because of their propensity to chew on various edible and inedible objects. This characteristic trait aids in maintaining sharp teeth, and because their teeth grow continuously, prevents over-growth. Homeowners in areas with a heavy squirrel population must keep attics and basements carefully sealed to prevent property damage caused by nesting squirrels. (A squirrel nest is known as a "drey", especially in Britain.) Fake owls and scarecrows are generally ignored by the animals, and the best way to prevent chewing on an object is to coat it with something to make it undesirable.

Squirrels can be trained to be hand-fed. Because they are able to cache surplus food, they will take as much food as is available. Squirrels living in parks and in cities have learned that humans are typically a ready source of food. Hand feeding is not recommended, however, because squirrels may carry animal-borne diseases. Even if they do not carry disease, they often have a hard time telling fingertips from food, and bites are painful. Squirrels are occasionally kept as household pets, provided they are selected young enough and are hand raised in a proper fashion.

They can be taught to do tricks, and are said to be as intelligent as dogs in their ability to learn behaviors. In these cases, a large cage with ample access to water and a balanced diet with good variety will keep a pet squirrel healthy and happy. As a pet, the owner must be aware of "spring fever" at which time a female pet squirrel will become very defensive of her cage, thinking of it as her nest, and will become somewhat aggressive to defend the area.

Urban squirrels have learned to get a great deal of food from over-generous humans. One of the more common and inexpensive foods fed to squirrels is peanuts. Recent studies however have shown that raw peanuts contain an inhibitor that prevents the absorption of protein in the intestine.
So there we go then...

1 comment:

James Graham (Quaequam Blog!) said...

That's the fattest squirrel I've ever seen! Don't show it to Alan Johnson or he'll have it shot to help with his anti-obesity targets.