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Sunday, May 23, 2010

The Return Of The Squirrels

I had to do it. I really had no choice. The squirrels were beginning to get angry with me. Just look at how furiously this first squirrel's tail is moving. He was not happy at all, and that feeling was focused right at me. And who can blame them? I haven't talked about them in a very long time. I even wrote about the geese yesterday, and barely made any mention of squirrels!

Last year until they all went into hiding for the winter I wrote a post about squirrels at least once a week. Usually many more. We started out as bitter pretend adversaries, but then these feisty little creatures began to warm up to me. We've been friends ever since.

I'm not sure they understand, but it wasn't my fault that I seemed to be neglecting them. It was simply that they had not come back out of hiding from the cold of winter. I was beginning to think that they had gone the way of the geese. But I think they're now out to prove that theory very wrong. They're back... with a vengeance!

I tell you, it seems like every time I turned my camera towards another animal, a squirrel would come up and demand my attention. This wasn't just simply lurking around the edges. No. Once I began taking the pictures a squirrel would come close and start chittering loudly at me as if it was trying to get my attention.

And who was I to say no? Every single time I turned my attention to my little buddies. I was lucky that the other animals seemed to wait so patiently for me. That's something squirrels don't seem to be. Patient! But they know me well enough to know that their impatience works on me every time.

At one point though, there was something bad in the forest. The squirrels had to close ranks and prepare to defend themselves. A hawk was flying through the forest looking for some tasty brown prey. It was after these intelligent little rodents. But the squirrels sounded the alarm and chased it off.

Squirrels might seem like ordinary little rodents to some of you. But I've studied them in action. I know how intelligent they can be. I watched them once gather together to fight off a hawk that came to the forest to hunt them. They fought back as one, attacking the hawk as a group. They even sent one squirrel out as a decoy to lure the hawk down to them.

For those of you who doubt they would do this, I saw it with my own eyes. No exaggeration, no joke. These squirrels acted more like a tribe of humans than just ignorant little forest animals, even including different types of squirrels in the battle. No animal has the same intelligence as humans, but I think we humans sometimes vastly underestimate the intelligence of certain animals.

Squirrels may seem ordinary to some people. And they are definitely pests at times. But they are also some of the most interesting little creatures you could ever find. All you have to do is pay attention to them for a time. I always watch them when I'm in their forest. I probably won't write quite as many posts about them as in years past, but this is definitely the return of the squirrels.

18 comments:

  1. You caught the squirrel in action so nice! I like the first picture with his challenging expression.

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  2. I took a 6" lag bolt and attached it to a piece of wire I hung from a tree branch and can screw an ear of corn on to this. It is fun to watch them eat upside down.I can now get real close, they react more at my animals.

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  3. Love that first picture. That squirrel is ready to GO in any direction you can imagine. But he had to check in with you first!

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  4. I think you are becoming one with the squirrels ratty. With that new camera of yours you are getting up close and personal with them too. Love the shots. I agree that animals are much more intelligent that we give them credit for. How else could they survive without such intellect.

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  5. The first picture is really a great shot! I find squirrels interesting to watch plus annoying. They have started raiding all of my bird feeders accept for the one which is squirrel proof and ignoring the corn.

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  6. I won't get 'em mad at me, then....! ha

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  7. Just because of you, I start to see more and more squirrels at Cerok Tokun. The species over here is definitely different from yours, but everyone of them looks cute.

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  8. Your squirrel shots and stories are always so wonderful.

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  9. The pictures are fabulous, expecially the first. I love squirrels too. Often home-bound, I love reading your posts, a vicarious walk through the woods.

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  10. You are THE squirrel whisperer. I am also beginning to really love these little guys. When they stand up on their hind legs in front of me, there is just nothing cuter. They all have different personalities too. I think of you each time I am in the gardens with these little guys. We do have hawks here in the city as well so I'm not happy about that though they usually stay around the beach area.

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  11. Wow... what a great shot for photo number one. You caught him in action. Love it.

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  12. The first picture of the squirrel is classic. I love the way they waived their furry tail.

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  13. Of course squirrels are smart. All us animals are smarter than humans take us to be. Actually we creatures like being underestimated. It gives us an unexpected advantage.

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  14. Well, I hope you are now forgiven. These squirrel pictures are incredible. The little creatures are so expressive, aren't they? I would say the first one seems a little disdainful, with his flip of the tail, probably deciding whether your worth his time at all.

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  15. Now you have given them their five mins of fame, I am sure you are forgiven. Great pics.

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  16. They were very upset that you were not giving them proper attention. You know they are one of my favorite animals and I totally agree with you about their intelligence. I have seen them do some amazing things.

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  17. They sure are interesting animals. Love your stories Ratty..Ha!

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  18. Good to see these cute lil fellas again. And it's cute the way they wag their tails, just like a bunch of excited puppies.. lol

    That's true. Most animals, in wild or domesticated, are quite intelligent.. that includes ants too. If we had proper devices to measure their true intelligence, I bet there might be some who can even surpass human intelligence. You never know. =D

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