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Answers to Readers' Questions on Behavior:
Squirrels
The following 117 comments and questions have been sent in. They are listed according to date.
List of first 10 items
- Squirrel carrying another in its mouth
- Squirrel looks at crack in road every day
- Squirrel is a bully and jumped on cat
- Boyfriend wants to shoot cute squirrels
- Squirrel out from BBQ cover
- Squirrel hidng under BBQ cover since yesterday
- Squirrel ate through bedroom screen
- Group of squirrels ran by in one direction
- Has pet squirrel that is afraid of him
- Squirrel 's chewing wakes me up up in the morning
Squirrel carrying another in its mouth
Question
September 12, 2009
I was looking up squirrel behavior and stumbled upon this site, ok today i was out working in the yard and saw a squirrel run by, I did a double take and saw the squirrel had another squirrel in it's mouth with only the back legs and tail sticking out! Bizzare, It was trying to swallow it like a snake would! If I did not see it I would not have believed it! Any way very very odd, I followed him around the neighborhood for a few minutes and he was just running around with the other squirrel hanging out.
Allan - USA
18301
Answer
Others have mentioned seeing squirrels carrying another squirrel it its mouth. Mother squirrels will carry their babies to other places. But also, some squirrels will eat another squirrel, either dead or injured.
Other male animals--such as lions--have been known to kill and eat the young of another male, so that it can mate with the female and spread its own genes. It is possible that squirrels do that too.
If the squirrel being carried is an adult, it may be dead and being carried away to be eaten or hidden.
Squirrel looks at crack in road every day
Question
August 30, 2009
Why would a squirrel be in the middle of the road every morning, looking at a crack in the asphalt? The crack is only about 1/2 inch deep and I see no nut or other food bit in it. This squirrel has been doing this every morning for the past four weeks. When a car comes he scurries to safety. When the coast is clear, he's back looking into the crack.
Maria - USA
18233
Answer
Squirrels do the craziest things. You wonder what goes through their little minds?
I have no idea what why your squirrel is doing that. Perhaps some reader can give an idea about it.
Squirrel is a bully and jumped on cat
Question
June 6, 2009
There are a lot of wild squirrels at my new apartment complex and am lucky enough to have a mama squirrel eat peanuts on my balcony. There is a gray squirrel who I call, "The Bully" as he chases all the others. He sits on the fence and taps his front paws. What does that mean? I feel he is showing off his dominance. If you could answer this for me I would really appreciate it. I have been trying to figure him out for quite a while and couldn't find a site where I could ask someone....until now. This morning he jumped on a stray cat and scared away that poor kitty. Thank you for your site.
Patti - USA
17862
Answer
Some male squirrels become very aggressive--trying to show their dominance--during mating season. I'm not sure what tapping his front paws means. I've never seen that, but it must be some sort of warning signal to the other squirrels.
Sometimes squirrels chatter, but that doesn't seem to have much to do with trying to be dominant. Flicking the tail is more to distract predators. Typically, when I've seen squirrels chasing off others by the peanut feeder, they simply make a rush toward the other one.
I am surprised that The Bully jumped on a cat's back. This guy really is a tough bully.
Enjoy observing your squirrels.
Boyfriend wants to shoot cute squirrels
Question
March 28, 2009
Hi my name is Katie. i live in Michigan and we have some red squirrels coming into are yard. my boyfriend wants to shoot them because he heard they will rip the balls of other squirrels to better there chance at breeding and it bothers him a lot!!!!!!!! I told him that sounds very false can you tell me if that is true or not so i can keep him from killing all are cute little red squirrels.
KATIE - USA
17521
Answer
The story about male squirrels ripping off the balls of other male squirrels is false. It is a story someone came up with to try to explain why many male squirrels don't seem that have testicles. The balls of male squirrels only show up during mating season. The rest of the year, they are very small.
Why would he want to shoot some innocent squirrels? Even if the story was true, how would he know which ones to shoot?
Tell him to leave the squirrels alone and let Nature take care of things.
Squirrel out from BBQ cover
Question
January 16, 2009
Thank you for your reply. We carefully took the cover off and the squirrel took off. So I assume he wasn't sick, perhaps he was stuck, I guess we'll never know. I've seen a squirrel under the cover before, but never for that long a time.
Rosemary - USA
17104
Answer
Well, I'm glad the little fellow isn't stuck there. It is also hard to tell why they do certain things.
Squirrel hidng under BBQ cover since yesterday
Question
January 14, 2009
I'm so glad to have found this website. We have a red squirrel that has been underneath the bbq cover since yesterday afternoon. It squeaks when he's touched on top through the cover. Do you think he is sick? Should I just leave him alone. We have a dog that sniffs around and sometimes barks.
- USA
17097
Answer
It doesn't sound like a natural thing for a squirrel to do. It is unlikely that it created a nest there this time of the year.
Do you think the squirrel is stuck or caught in there? If you can carefully take the cover off, you might see what the problem is. Of course, don't have your dog around when you do that. Also, you don't want to frighten the squirrel so that it panics.
I hope you can find a solution. Let me know what happens.
Squirrel ate through bedroom screen
Question
July 23, 2008
We had a female squirrel and two baby squirrels who broke into our attic this past spring. They made a lot of noise at night tearing out the insulation, and kept us awake for a few nights. The wildlife company came and made sure that they left, and closed the hole they had used to enter (now it is covered with metal, so they cannot get in from there anymore). In the past week, however, twice a squirrel made a hole in our bedroom window-net, something that had never happened before, neither to us nor to our neighbors. Since this squirrel came back twice, I was wondering what was the cause for this. Is it possible that it is one of those who were living in our attic, and is coming back to reclaim his home? The fact that he made a hole in our bedroom makes me think of this, since there is no food there, and since they used to live exactly in the area above our bedroom. What can we do? I would hate having to keep my windows closed whenever we are not in the room.
John - Canada
16259
Answer
Probably, the squirrel was trying to get back into the attic nest. Since the other entrance was blocked, it was looking for another way to get in. Your attic must have been a comfortable nest.
Once suggestion is to place an owl decoy near your window to scare off the squirrels. A fixed decoy costs around $20. Many garden or hardware stores sell them.
There is a new "flying" owl decoy too:
http://www.brandladder.com/Nova-Flying-Owl-Decoy.html
http://www.birdxcanada.com/visual/prowler_owl.html
There is also a squirrel repellent at: http://www.critter-repellent.com/squirrel/squirrel-repellent.php
Squirrels are persistent little fellows, so I hope one of these solutions help.
Group of squirrels ran by in one direction
Question
November 20, 2007
I saw something that amazed me the other day. I was in a very remote wooded area out in the middle of northern Michigan. All of sudden a group of 8 squirrels came running by about 15 yards away. They were fox, red and black squirrels. Then a group of 4 a minute later, then an astonishing group of 14 squirrels. So in a matter of a couple of minutes, 26 squirrels all ran from my right to my left and out of site. What on earth is happening?
Greg - USA
14810
Answer
Others have reported seeing such a "run" of squirrels, although not such a range of squirrel types. I don't know of any specific trait for such behavior. My first guess is that there was some serious threat that they were fleeing. Perhaps there was a wildcat, fox or other predator in the vicinity.
Has pet squirrel that is afraid of him
Question
October 27, 2007
hello my name is john and i am from greece ,one week before i took a squirrel from a pet shop (yes i think it is legal in my country)i love him ver much but i see some problems at his behavior he is very very frightened every time i aproach he run"s and hide inside his nest or or isnide a the tube tha his cage has i am realy disapointed because i had another squirrel one year ago 9dyed)and he didn"t behave like this hhe was making circles around the cage and was very active and when i put him out of the cage he jumped at me and i palyed with him wand was climbing at me also
but this one i have now sit"s in a position and seem"s realy frightened and not so active what should i do
waiting for a reply with best regard"s from greece
john
john - Greece
14654
Answer
Just like children, some squirrels are shy and others are more outgoing. It takes a while for a shy squirrel to learn to trust you. Putting some food in his tray and then staying nearby until he gets brave enough to come out to eat is a way to let him get familiar with seeing you and getting used to his new surroundings.
It may be quite upsetting for the little guy to be in this strange place, so it will take a while to get used to it. Try not to move fast or to make loud noises that will scare him.
Once he gets used to you and knows that you are the source of his food, he should get more friendly. But he may never be as friendly as your other squirrel.
Squirrel 's chewing wakes me up up in the morning
Question
September 25, 2007
A squirrel 's chewing on my neighbor's gutter wakes me up in the morning! I have observed him and he backs off but when he realizes I can't reach him , he goes back to chewing loudly on the gutter. He also awakens the homeowner. What's this all about? Remedy/
Joan - USA
14435
Answer
Squirrels will often chew on things to clean their teeth. Ideally, they will chew on small tree branches. Unfortunately they sometimes chew on power lines, home decorations and such.
You might try something like Ropel, which is a long lasting, extremely bad tasting repellant and will stop squirrels chewing things. It is available at many garden centers. Smearing an an onion-chili pepper paste on the are is also supposed to work.
Spreading something like that on the gutter may discourage the squirrel and prevent damage.
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Answers to Readers' Questions on Behavior