Archive for Fun
Pawesome Loves This Squirrel
Momma squirrel just had a great article written about her over at Pawesome.net! Pawesome is a pet website founded by animal lovers Sarah Han and Sonia Zjawinski.
Even though Pawesome usually features stories about cats, dogs, or other actual pets, contributing author Jolene Robichaud found out about the squirrel in the window, and just fell in love.
I love her opening line, “One part ant farm, one part Discovery Channel…” It’s really like that!
Check out the entire article over on Pawesome!
Wildlife Holiday Cruise Gets a Guest Squirrel
A Scottish wildlife cruise on a loch (lake, sea inlet) outside of Glasgow usually offers its passengers the chance to “spot porpoises, basking sharks and even the odd whale and… many varieties of birds.”
But this week, the The Majestic Line’s Heritage and Wildlife of South Argyll cruise included a bit of actual wildlife right on board! A Red Squirrel seems to have ‘stowed away’ on The Majestic Line’s Glen Massan, and was spotted on the bow by Canadian professional photographer Steve Boyton.
Local National Park rangers plan to board the boat and safely trap the squirrel. They will release him/her back near the dock where the cruise originates.
The Nice Lady with the Bird
Michelle and I met a nice lady on the subway recently — and she was traveling with her bird in her lap. During our brief chat about the bird and pets, we told her about the squirrels in our window.
Well she has posted a nice article about our encounter, and about the squirrels, on her blog: Lemme Make It
You should check out her site.
Witty Squirrels Practice Tactical Deception
Squirrels may bury and re-bury their food up to 5 times, in an attempt to throw off their competition — who may be watching where the squirrel is digging. Sometimes a squirrel will even fake burying a nut, and then cover over the hole as it holds the nut in its mouth.
According to an article in the NY Times, a recent report in the journal Animal Behaviour showed that…
when squirrels are certain that they are being watched, they will actively seek to deceive the would-be thieves. They’ll dig a hole, pretend to push an acorn in, and then cover it over, all the while keeping the prized seed hidden in their mouth. “Deceptive caching involves some pretty serious decision making,” Dr. Steele said. “It meets the criteria of tactical deception, which previously was thought to only occur in primates.”
Smart!
NY Times illustration by Serge Bloch
Yankees vs. Twins vs. Squirrel
A squirrel briefly delayed play in Minnesota during the Yankees – Twins baseball game.
More here: MLB.com
British Squirrel Won’t Stop Riding Rollercoaster
A squirrel at the Alton Towers amusement park in England loves riding the roller coaster! The park has now taken steps to deter the squirrel from the ride by using ultrasonic noise, in order to prevent injury to park visitors and even to the squirrel himself.
More here: Alton Towers squirrel banned from rollercoaster
Photo: Ken Lennox
Squirrel Guest Stars in Holiday Photo
A couple vacationing beside a Canadian lake, set up their camera for an auto-photo, when a curious squirrel popped his head into the frame — making himself the star of the photo!
The squirrel joined Melissa Brandts’ snapshot at Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, Canada
The couple, who were exploring Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, Canada, had stopped to take a timed picture of themselves by its picturesque shoreline.
Melissa Brandts explained: My husband and I were exploring Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, Canada, when we stopped for a timed picture of the two of us. We had our camera set up on some rocks and were getting ready to take the picture when this curious little ground squirrel appeared, became intrigued with the sound of the focusing camera and popped right into our shot! A once in a lifetime moment! We were laughing about this little guy for days!
(via Telegraph.co.uk/news) — Photo: Melissa Brandts
