cjhsa wrote:I live in an urban area where squirrels have no natural predators other than the occasional hawk or unusually daring housecat. There is a huge overpopulation.
They dig up seeds that I plant. Then the eat the plants before they can grow. When things come ripe the squirrels always get the first bite (even worse are the oppossums that live in the sewers, they can decimate you garden in a single visit).
Anyway, it's not unusual in summer to see a half eaten tomato dragged over the side of the garden, or a squirrel with one in his mouth. In the winter, they eat the citrus, you find peels all along the fencelines. I just removed a large loquat tree that was serving as a fueling station for a large population of tree rats, so now they'll probably be even more aggressive in the garden.
I plan to fight.
Cats are very hard on the squirrel population here!!
Most cats won't go after full grown squirrels, some do, but not many. Squirrels are vicious. The baby squirrels in spring at the easiest to catch, hell, I can catch them.
Being an urban area I cannot reduce their numbers using my preferred method. And no I won't eat them. I trap and either exterminate or relocate depending on how much damage is being done. The local animal control folks even tell you not to relocate them, just euthanize and keep it quiet so the animal lovers don't freak out.
kickycan wrote:Invisibility ain't all it's cracked up to be. What happens when you're in a crowded avatar airport? People must be running you over and smashing into you all the time.
You seem to be suggesting that my avatar, invisible to you, is
not, in fact, Godzilla-sized and capable of a mighty roar when threatened in any way.
Its getting a seat in the avatar airplanes that causes me heartache.
Montana, it is worth noting that where you live, the squirrels have more options to feed themselves than in cjhsa's urban area. Unlike racoons, squirrels are not sufficiently dexterous to open a garbage can, nor big enough to knock it over. When i was a boy, living in a small town in the country, squirrels were not a problem: it was a case of both more opportunity to feed elsewhere, and of squirrel hunting. One of my neighbors down the street, about my age, really liked squirrel and rabbit stew, which his mother would cheerfully make, so long as he skinned and cleaned the animal. It was a commonplace to see him headed out to the farm country, with his .22 over the handle bars. I shot a few squirrels, but for the practice--my grandmother would not cook them, complaining that squirrels and rabbits provided too little meat to bother.
In Toronto, there is a large river valley that divides the city east and west--the Don valley. There are many deep ravines from the streams which feed the Don. Racoons, opposums, even skunks are commonly seen in the streets of a city the size of Chicago. The racoons are a serious problem.
The circumstances of survival for small animals in the country and the city differ radically.
Often I have to look twice at the thread title because of how these threads evolve. This one is interesting...from Janet's boob to squirrels. *L*
get back to boobs - does squirrels have'em? to show?
Janet's got wiggly squirrels
I think the foregoing was all very appropriate--this was a squirrelly thread to begin with . . .
husker wrote:get back to boobs - does squirrels have'em? to show?
I wished you hadnt asked ...
squirrels being mammals, do have breastesses...
Region Philbis wrote:squirrels being mammals, do have breastesses...
yer making it hard to be a boobhead!
What do you think about a thousand bare-breasted squirrels in a kick-line for next year's super bowl half time? PETA would go nuts!
As long as their is no fur malfunctions.
Setanta
I know that the poor animals don't have it easy in the city. When I lived in the city we has an abundance of squirrels, racoons and skunks and my heart went out to them knowing that they had very little sources of food :-(
Montana, i do feel sorry for the 'possums and skunks, because i believe they truly are out of their element, and are bewildered when they wander into traffic. Squirrels and raccoons do not have my sympathy--they willingly, eagerly attempt to exploit the opportunities that human civilization offers them. If you've ever seen a blue jay scolding a defiant squirrel, you've gotten a good picture of the character of two of the "animal kingdom's" arrogant bullies . . .
LOL, I actually have seen bluejays squalking at squirrels.
