The squirrels are particularly active in my neighborhood right now. I find myself wondering what’s really going on in their heads. I mean, I’ve seen way too much Disney, and I’m hundreds of times their mass, and my lifespan is greater than theirs by quite a bit, so of course they seem like cartoon characters to me. But from their perspective, Winter is Coming, it’s mating season, and there are perfectly sensible ways to go about it that their little rodent DNA has already primed them for, no schooling necessary. I kinda wish I could get out of the mindset that they exist for my amusement.
Of course, my life looks equally ridiculous from the POV of a corporate legal entity.
Before we would let her out the back door we’d get her all worked up saying in excited high pitched voices “get the squirrels!! get the squirrels!! get the squirrels!!” and by the time we open the door she’s already ten feet out with a cloud of smoke from peeling out.
Uppity squirrels are a solvable problem. Just gotta have some other animals around that put the fear of god in 'em.
See now that’s adorable because it’s twitchy and weak and will never get in. . Now imagine something that looks like it bench presses and has a determined and thoughtful look in its eyes:
I lived in a side-by-side two family and, unbeknownst to them, a squirrel got into my neighbor’s kitchen one day when they had the screendoor propped open. Sometime later, they left the house, closing the door behind them. To get out, the squirrel gnawed through the window trim until it was able to squeeze out around the screen frame (it was summer and the windows were open). However, while it was in the kitchen, said squirrel discovered that this was the ultimate place of yummy and easily acquired food, so about 4 days later, my neighbor walked into the kitchen only to find the squirrel calmly sitting on the table munching on some crackers that had been left out (in the box). It had gotten in by clawing a hole in the screen of the other kitchen window.
About a week later, I heard a noise coming from my kitchen, and went in to find a (the) squirrel trying to make a hole in my screen. Thus started the squirrel wars, but that is a tale for another time.
This seems likely to me. I once lived near a squirrel that was used to being fed; after a while, it started grabbing pants legs to get attention. I’ve since heard reports of similar behavior. Feeding squirrels seems to be a bad idea.
Yeah, occasionally one hears about squirrels “attacking” people, and it’s almost always because they got used to people feeding them - once they lose their fear of humans and associate them with food, they get very aggressive.
I never realized how much like centaurs they look. Huh. I wonder if that’s where the myth came from…some boat brought Australian animals to someplace in Eurasia, and the rumors spread.
