4 ms·
Squirrels are really cool. They are human-like in that they have a level of curiosity and derring-do that seems, uh, greater than what you'd imagine evolution w
by munificent 5y ago
Squirrels are really cool. They are human-like in that they have a level of curiosity and derring-do that seems, uh, greater than what you'd imagine evolution would select for.
We have a squirrel in our neighborhood that my wife and kids started leaving nuts out for. Within a few weeks, she would show up at the back door to wait for a handout. Now she has basically no fear of us. She'll take nuts from the kids' hands. She'll come right up to you, which is alarming if you're just trying to leave the house and don't actually have food on you. We have a Dutch door which we tend to leave open, and she's jumped onto the ledge before. It's probably only a matter of time before she comes all the way in the house, the cats notice, and all hell breaks loose.
- tzs 5y agoA squirrel trying to balance caution vs free food can be hilarious. This short video, which should be watched with the sound turned up, is awesome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ1ZYGHmtN8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ1ZYGHmtN8
- scrollaway 5y agoThat was perfect :)
- dzink 5y agoBe careful, as Squirrels often carry hunta virus and plague.
- jansanchez 5y agoDid you mean hantavirus? According to the CDC [0] squirrels do not carry that virus. [0] https://www.cdc.gov/rodents/diseases/direct.html https://www.cdc.gov/rodents/diseases/direct.html
- goldenkey 5y agohttps://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/woman-says-squirrels-source-of-hantavirus/article_83e0ee6b-d251-5e34-a124-2b29679c6e57.html https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/woman-says... A Canadian public-health Web site says although deer mice are the primary carrier of hantavirus, "all rodents including squirrels, rats, chipmunks and other kinds of mice should be treated as if they might carry the virus."
- syshum 5y agoNow I am confused, Which Experts™ should I listen to.
- goldenkey 5y agoThose Experts™ all started life as egg-spurts just like us. Just do a bit more research and trust your heart and judgment. Generally, the method for disease decisions (epidemiology) is to look up the statistics for your area. You may not even have any Hanta virus cases nearby. And plague is extremely rare. Field rodents aren't as likely to carry disease as city vermin. I wouldn't worry too much about rural squirrels. They are cute and generally eat nuts, not insects. It is far less likely for a squirrel to contract a contagion because the squirrel isn't eating trash like pigeons or rats.
- munificent 5y agoMy wife has volunteered at a wildlife rehab place (PAWS) before and worked with squirrels. They have very strict protocols about animal-borne diseases. For example, you don't get to work with bats at all unless you have taken the rabies vaccine. They don't have any particular protocols around working with local gray squirrels, so I interpret that to mean that there is little risk. There were only 243 cases of bubonic plague globally in 2018. According to the CDC, there are no known cases of hantavirus from squirrels. The only rodent species that have been seen to harbor it are deer mouse, white-footed mouse, rice rat, and cotton rat. (Neither of the latter are rat species you are likely to encounter, which are Norway and roof rats.) "<common cute urban animal> causes <horrific thing>" is a very pervasive meme because it combines a familiar thing we're drawn to with a high risk negative outcome. That means the meme will spread dramatically out of proportion with its actual likelihood.
- NikolaeVarius 5y agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTvS9lvRxZ8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTvS9lvRxZ8