Go nuts grey squirrel!

I remember the first grey squirrel (Latin name, Sciurus carolinesis) I had a long term relationship with. I know what you are thinking, that sounds like a funny thing to say, but it's true! When I was working out of Lebanon Hills Regional Park, there was a resident squirrel. Her name was Foxy, often referred to as Foxy Cleopatra, and we saw her most every day. She had a bright white tip on her tail, lived right outside of our offices in a burr oak tree, and spent her time watching the different activities going by and cacheing acorns for winter. As I started to have this more intimate (if you can call talking to a squirrel and watching her live her life intimate) relationship, I began to notice different thing about her and started to actually dive into the squirrel deep end.

I am sure most of us have seen a grey squirrel, whether on the internet, in person, or in a movie or television show. They are a common sight here in Minnesota, and most people consider them pests. I have always loved watching squirrels, I think they are fascinating creatures. Aside from being smart, good at math, and inquisitive, most Minnesotans have a long standing battle over bird feeders with them. They are notorious bird seed eaters, devilishly talented at beating baffles, and territorial with even the most aggressive of birds. One of the first things I noticed about squirrels was their ability to do math. Yes, you read that right, they are math wizards. Now I cannot tell you if they know how to calculate arcs, angels, and speed, but their brains are hardwired to do some pretty insane math. They can figure out angels for jumps faster than any human I have met. Watching them acrobat from tree branch to tree branch, from the ground to bird feeders, and leaping from bird feeders by their toes, it is evident they have the ability to do some pretty hardcore math by rodent standards.

Now on to the fun facts. There are quite a few cool pieces about these fuzzy woodland critters.

First off, they are some of the best environmentalists. It is true! Squirrels hide acorns and other seeds in hides in the ground, and any of them that they forget start off as saplings and can grow into trees. They help propagate trees more efficiently than any human efforts, and do so naturally with no real reward. There are some disputes on the percentages of nuts they recover, but generally they can find up to 80% of the nuts they have buried. This fact is likely going to change as more research is done, but for now, as with all science, it is the most up to date information I have!

Now I have to be honest, they don't solely bury nuts to hide food for winter. While this is entirely a reason for doing so, there is more to the story. Inside acorns there are proteins called tannins. These tannins are found in acorns and they have been present so that they can deter animals from eating them. Since they are slightly toxic, squirrels should not be able to eat them, but they still do. So how does this work? They first will go about hiding their toxic treats under ground. Over time, water runs through, and this begins to leech the tannins from the nuts, and make them much more palatable and edible, and having a snack that is hidden for them. Cool right? Much like a wine connoisseur, squirrels know the best things are aged in a cool dark place.

Squirrels are also known as a creature that can survive a terminal velocity fall. At least in principle. Terminal velocity is the fastest you can fall and the maximum rate of speed achievable by a falling object. There is one lovely, life saving aspect to this tale I haven't discussed, which is their tails. If you have ever watched a squirrel fall, you will likely have noticed their tails start swinging about, looking fully panicked and like they can't control themselves. They are actually using their tail to control their fall, and to slow the speed at which they are approaching the ground. As long as they land feet first, they will in theory never fall hard enough to die. I would ask that you always respect nature, and not drop squirrels from very high or steep places, as this is in general is just mean to do to a sentient creature.

There are a few myths that I am going to dispel for you about our furry friends.

Myth #1 Squirrels are herbivores.

While many of us picture squirrels as nut eating, carefree creatures, they are not solely seed eaters. They will often target baby birds if they are hungry. This is a fact that many people do not like to hear, as it is much nicer to imagine squirrels and birds hanging out as friends, not squirrels dining on baby birds. While they might not dine regularly, when push comes to shove, baby birds are a tasty snack for our furry friends. Much like ourselves, squirrels are omnivores.

Myth #2 Squirrels can have rabies.

There have been no known cases of smaller mammals such as squirrels, mice, chipmunks or other rodents having rabies. The main reason is that rabies is spread through the bite from a rabid animal to a non-rabid animal. Now, squirrels and their smaller friends do not do well when bitten. It is almost always fatal when they get attacked by a predator that manages to get them in their mouths. So next time someone calls your squirrels rabid, you can let them know that while they might be nuts, they most certainly do not have rabies. (Please note that it is still highly unpleasant to be bitten by a squirrel and it will most definitely suck, so do your best to not touch their mouths. They still can have fleas and ticks so you can still get some gross stuff on you if you choose to handle them.)

Grey squirrels are wild. They are incredibly fascinating creatures who have so many fun facts and interesting weird quirks about them. I think they are especially fascinating because of how easy it is to just ignore them. They are our neighbors, and the more you know about them the easier it is to coexist.

Keep being curious, and stay wild!