Makeup Day 10: As a rural homeowner, there is no fondness in my heart for Sciurus carolinensis. Cute though he may be when he comes bouncing along to mooch peanuts and popcorn in city parks, he is a holy terror if he gets into your attic where his passion for chewing on coated electrical wires quickly becomes apparent. Too, this immigrant from the east coast has displaced the native Western Grey Squirrel to the point that it is believed to be extirpated in many locations on the Pacific Coast. If you see a grey-colored squirrel in western Washington, it is almost certainly an Eastern Grey.
Our meeting today was in an open campus-like environment where squirrel-feeding humans are abundant. So brazen was this little demon that he mounted the stairs to meet me at the top, and for a moment, I thought he was going to continue his ascent up my leg. It was obvious that he thought the camera contained food of some sort. After all, it was in my hands, so what else could it be but a bag of treats? He was supremely offended when I stamped my foot, but he only retreated to a low crotch in a nearby tree, there to glare at me as I captured his portrait.
Ah. Come on. Surely the cuteness factor must kick up a little compassion.
ReplyDeleteVery little, because they have driven out our native Grey Squirrel. Even if they weren't so destructive, that alone makes them just as much an environmental peril as Purple Loosestrife or Japanese Knotweed.
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