Tree squirrel
Encyclopedia
Tree squirrels include over a hundred species that are found on all continents except Antarctica, and are the members of the squirrel
family (Sciuridae) most commonly referred to as "squirrels". They do not form a single natural, or monophyletic
, group, but instead are related to the various other animals in the squirrel family, including ground squirrel
s, flying squirrel
s, marmot
s, and chipmunk
s. The defining characteristic that is used to determine which of the various species of Sciuridae are tree squirrels is therefore not so dependent on their physiology, but their habitat
. Tree squirrels live mostly among trees, as opposed to other squirrels that live in burrows in the ground or among rocks. However, there is one exception to this rule, as physiological distinction does make a difference in regard to flying squirrels, who also make their home in trees, but have unique physical characteristics that separate them from their tree squirrel cousins (specifically, special flaps of skin that act as glider wings, allowing them to "fly").
The most well-known genus
of tree squirrels is Sciurus
, which includes the eastern gray squirrel
of North America (and which was introduced
to Great Britain), the red squirrel
of Eurasia, and the North American fox squirrel
, among many others. Since many tree squirrel species have readily adapted to human-altered environments (including intensely-cultivated farms and urban cities), and because they are mostly diurnal (active during the daytime), when most people are outdoors to see them, they are perhaps the most familiar members of the rodent family to most humans. Indeed, in some larger cities, they are often the only wild animals (not counting birds) that most people ever see. It is no surprise, then, that tree squirrels and humans have had a very complex and long-lasting relationship.
, one of the world's leading experts on rodents, and the Archbold Curator Emeritus of Mammalogy
at the American Museum of Natural History
in New York City, clarifies the usage of "squirrel" and related terms:
Current taxonomy
, based on genetic data, splits the tree squirrels into several subfamilies. The following genera
of the squirrel family are classified as tree squirrels.
s and basement
s. Squirrels use their keen sense of smell to locate buried nuts and can dig extensive holes in the process. Birds, especially crow
s, will sometimes watch a squirrel bury a nut, then dig it up as soon as the squirrel leaves. Although they are expert climbers, and primarily arboreal, squirrels also thrive in urban environments, where they have adapted to humans.
because of their propensity to chew on various edible and inedible objects. This characteristic trait aids in maintaining sharp teeth, and because their teeth grow continuously, prevents over-growth. Homeowners in areas with a heavy squirrel population must keep attics and basements carefully sealed to prevent property damage caused by nesting squirrels. A squirrel nest is called a "drey". Some homeowners resort to more interesting ways of dealing with this problem, such as collecting and planting fur from pets such as domestic cats and dog
s in attics. This fur will indicate to nesting squirrels that a potential predator roams and will encourage evacuation. Fake owl
s and scarecrow
s are generally ignored by the animals, and the best way to prevent chewing on an object is to coat it with something to make it undesirable: for instance a soft cloth or chili pepper
paste or powder. Squirrel trapping
is also practiced to remove them from residential areas. However, otherwise squirrels are safe neighbors that pose almost zero risk of transmitting rabies
.
Squirrels are often the cause of power
outages. They can readily climb a power pole and crawl across a power line. The animals will climb onto transformer
s or capacitor
s looking for food. If they touch a high voltage conductor and a grounded portion of the device at the same time, they are then electrocuted
and cause a short circuit
that shuts down equipment. Squirrels have brought down the high-tech NASDAQ
stock market twice and were responsible for a spate of power outages at the University of Alabama
. To sharpen their teeth they will often chew on tree branches or even the occasional live power line. Rubber plates (‘squirrel guards’) are sometimes used to prevent access to these facilities.
Squirrels are blamed for economic losses to homeowners, nut growers, forest managers in addition to damage to electric transmission lines. These losses include direct damage to property, repairs, lost revenue and public relations. While dollar costs of these losses are sometimes calculated for isolated incidents, there is no tracking system to determine the total extent of the losses.
es in cities have learned that humans are typically a ready source of food. Urban squirrels have learned to get a lot of food from generous humans. A commonly given food is peanut
s, but recent studies show that raw peanuts contain a trypsin
inhibitor that prevents the absorption of protein
in the intestine
s. Therefore offering peanuts that have been roasted is the better option. However, wildlife rehabilitators in the field have noted that neither raw nor roasted peanuts nor sunflower
seeds are healthy for squirrels, because they are deficient in several essential nutrients. This type of deficiency has been found to cause metabolic bone disease
, a somewhat common ailment found in malnourished squirrels.
Squirrels are occasionally kept as household companions, provided they are selected young enough and are hand-raised in a proper fashion. They can be taught to do tricks, and are said to be as intelligent as dog
s in their ability to learn behaviors. Pet squirrels are usually kept without cages, but a large cage and a balanced diet with good variety will keep a pet squirrel healthy and happy. The pet owner must beware of "spring fever" at which time a female pet squirrel will become very defensive of her cage, considering it her nest, and will become somewhat aggressive to defend the area.
. Squirrel meat can be exchanged for rabbit
or chicken
in recipes, though it may have a gamey taste if handled improperly. In the book White Trash Cooking (which contains recipes for squirrel dishes), one of the contributors describes squirrel meat:
Although squirrel meat is low in fat content, unlike most game meat it has been found by the American Heart Association
to be high in cholesterol
.
In many areas of the U.S., particularly areas of the American South
, squirrels are still hunted for food, as they were in earlier years. During the 2008 U.S. election
, Republican
presidential candidate
and Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee
mentioned his experiences eating squirrel during an interview with Meet the Press
anchor Tim Russert
. The following is a brief excerpt from the transcript of that interview:
As with other wild game and fish species, the consumption of squirrels that have been exposed to high levels of pollution
or toxic waste
poses a health risk to humans. A recent example of this took place in 2007 in the northern New Jersey
community of Ringwood
, where the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
issued a warning to anyone who eats squirrel (especially for children and pregnant women) to limit their consumption after a lead-contaminated squirrel was found near the Ringwood Mines Landfill, which had been the location of illegally-dumped toxic waste for many years before authorities cracked down on this practice in the 1980s. This especially affects the local Ramapough Mountain Indians
, who have hunted and consumed squirrels from before European contact
. The hunting and eating of squirrels is considered to be one of this people's time-honored tradition
s, linking them through a process of cultural identity
to their ancestors, and to each other. On learning of the ban on squirrel meat consumption, one member of the Ramapough Tribe told a reporter that: "I feel my ancestry is disappearing, my heritage".
, squirrel has been a meat not commonly eaten, and even scorned by many.
But in the early 21st century, wild squirrel has become a more popular meat to cook with, showing up in restaurants and shops more often in Britain as a fashionable alternative meat. Specifically, U.K. citizens are cooking with the invasive gray squirrel
, which is being praised for its low fat content and the fact that it comes from free range
sources. Additionally, the novelty of a meat considered unusual or special has added to the spread of squirrel consumption. Due to the difficulty of a clean kill and other factors, the majority of squirrel eaten in the U.K. is acquired from professional hunters, trappers, and gamekeeper
s.
Some Britons are eating the gray squirrel as a direct attempt to help the native red squirrel
, which has been dwindling since the 19th-century introduction of the gray squirrel, resulting in dramatic habitat loss for the indigenous red squirrels. This factor was marketed by a national "Save Our Squirrels" campaign that used the slogan, "Save a red, eat a gray!"
squirrel that carries messages by running up-and-down the world tree
Yggdrasil
. The Ratatoskr myth dates back to the Early Middle Ages
, and possibly earlier. The title character in Miriam Young
's 1964 children's book Miss Suzy is a squirrel
Literary
references to squirrels include the works of Beatrix Potter
, Brian Jacques
' Redwall
series (including Jess Squirrel and numerous other squirrels), Pattertwig in C. S. Lewis
' Prince Caspian
, Michael Tod's Woodstock Saga of novels featuring squirrel communities in the style of Watership Down
, and the Starwife and her subjects from Robin Jarvis
's Deptford novels.
Squirrels are also popular characters in cartoon
s, such as Scrat from Ice Age
, Slappy Squirrel of the Animaniacs
, Sandy Cheeks
from SpongeBob SquarePants
, Hammy from Over the Hedge
, Benny in The Wild
, Rodney and Leon and Darlene from Squirrel Boy
, Secret Squirrel
, Screwy Squirrel, Nutty from Happy Tree Friends
, and Rocky
, Bullwinkle
's adventuring
partner
. Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls
cartoon has the superhero
ability to communicate with squirrels, which she does by saying "Chee, chee, che-chee, chee, chee...".
Video games include squirrel characters such as Rare's Conker series starring Conker the Squirrel, as well as Ocean Software
's Mr. Nutz
. There is even a squirrel-themed super-heroine, Squirrel Girl
. The popular Pokémon
game includes a squirrel character by the name of Pachirisu.
There are also numerous references to squirrels in the music industry, including the North Carolina
group Squirrel Nut Zippers
, the electronica
group Techno Squirrels
, the now-defunct Florida
band called For Squirrels
(who claimed that they performed their music for squirrels), a children's music
group called The Nutty Squirrels, and even a record label with the name Blank Squirrel Musics. There is also a student-run radio station at Kent State University
called Black Squirrel Radio
.
is inspired by the fascination that people seem to have over local populations of white squirrels (often misidentified as being albino). This manifests itself by the creation of social group communities
that form from a commonly-shared interest in these rare animals. These groups demonstrate classic sociological
group dynamics, including personal identity by belonging to a group, as well as hierarchical competition
between white squirrel groups with each other over which has the best local white squirrel population. Other impacts on human society inspired by white squirrels include the creation of organizations that seek to protect them from human predation
, and the use of the white squirrel image as a cultural icon
.
Some examples of this cultural impact include:
In addition to the various towns that boast of their white squirrel populations, a number of university campuses in North America have white squirrels, including:
Although these squirrels are commonly referred to as albinos, most of them are likely non-albino squirrels that exhibit a rare white fur coloration known as leucism that is as a result of a recessive gene found within certain Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) populations, and so technically they ought to be referred to as white squirrels, instead of albino. Dr. Michael Stokes, a biology professor at Western Kentucky University, commented that the probable cause for the abundance of white squirrels on university campuses was due to them being originally introduced by someone:
A list of white squirrel sightings around the world is maintained by the White Squirrel Research Institute, a group based in Brevard, North Carolina.
shapeshifts
into a white or albino squirrel, is killed by a hunter, and magically transformed into meat equal to 8,000 cart
loads figures prominently in the folklore
of rocket festival tradition
s and the origin of Nong Han Kumphawapi Lake in Northeast Thailand.
A decline of the red squirrel
and the rise of the eastern gray squirrel has been widely remarked upon in British popular culture. It is mostly regarded as the invading grays driving out the native red species. Evidence also shows that gray squirrels are vectors of the Squirrel parapoxvirus
for which no vaccine is presently available and which is deadly to red squirrels but does not seem to affect the host. Currently the red squirrel only resides in a few isolated areas of the UK, notably in Scotland, and in England Formby
, the Lake District
, Brownsea Island
, and the Isle of Wight
. Special measures are in place to contain and remove any infiltration of gray squirrels into these areas.
Under British law, the eastern gray squirrel is regarded as vermin
, and at one point it was illegal to release any into the wild; any caught had to be either destroyed or kept captive. In 2008 the law was altered, allowing those with the proper license to release captured gray squirrels.
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
family (Sciuridae) most commonly referred to as "squirrels". They do not form a single natural, or monophyletic
Monophyly
In common cladistic usage, a monophyletic group is a taxon which forms a clade, meaning that it contains all the descendants of the possibly hypothetical closest common ancestor of the members of the group. The term is synonymous with the uncommon term holophyly...
, group, but instead are related to the various other animals in the squirrel family, including ground squirrel
Ground squirrel
The ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family of rodents which generally live on or in the ground, rather than trees. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known as marmots or prairie dogs, while the smaller and less...
s, flying squirrel
Flying squirrel
Flying squirrels, scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini, are a tribe of 44 species of squirrels .- Description :...
s, marmot
Marmot
The marmots are a genus, Marmota, of squirrels. There are 14 species in this genus.Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. Those most often referred to as marmots tend to live in mountainous areas such as the Alps, northern Apennines, Eurasian steppes, Carpathians, Tatras, and Pyrenees in...
s, and chipmunk
Chipmunk
Chipmunks are small striped squirrels native to North America and Asia. They are usually classed either as a single genus with three subgenera, or as three genera.-Etymology and taxonomy:...
s. The defining characteristic that is used to determine which of the various species of Sciuridae are tree squirrels is therefore not so dependent on their physiology, but their habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
. Tree squirrels live mostly among trees, as opposed to other squirrels that live in burrows in the ground or among rocks. However, there is one exception to this rule, as physiological distinction does make a difference in regard to flying squirrels, who also make their home in trees, but have unique physical characteristics that separate them from their tree squirrel cousins (specifically, special flaps of skin that act as glider wings, allowing them to "fly").
The most well-known genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of tree squirrels is Sciurus
Sciurus
The genus Sciurus contains most of the common, bushy-tailed squirrels in North America, Europe, temperate Asia, Central America and South America.-Species:There are 30 species.Genus Sciurus - Tree squirrels*Subgenus Sciurus...
, which includes the eastern gray squirrel
Eastern Gray Squirrel
The eastern gray squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus native to the eastern and midwestern United States, and to the southerly portions of the eastern provinces of Canada...
of North America (and which was introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
to Great Britain), the red squirrel
Red Squirrel
The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia...
of Eurasia, and the North American fox squirrel
Fox Squirrel
The fox squirrel is the largest species of tree squirrel native to North America...
, among many others. Since many tree squirrel species have readily adapted to human-altered environments (including intensely-cultivated farms and urban cities), and because they are mostly diurnal (active during the daytime), when most people are outdoors to see them, they are perhaps the most familiar members of the rodent family to most humans. Indeed, in some larger cities, they are often the only wild animals (not counting birds) that most people ever see. It is no surprise, then, that tree squirrels and humans have had a very complex and long-lasting relationship.
Classification
Guy G. MusserGuy Musser
Guy Graham Musser is an American zoologist. His main research field is the subfamily Murinae, in which he has described many new species.Musser was born in Salt Lake City, Utah...
, one of the world's leading experts on rodents, and the Archbold Curator Emeritus of Mammalogy
Mammalogy
In zoology, mammalogy is the study of mammals – a class of vertebrates with characteristics such as homeothermic metabolism, fur, four-chambered hearts, and complex nervous systems...
at the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
in New York City, clarifies the usage of "squirrel" and related terms:
The squirrel family includes ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots, prairie dogs, and flying squirrels, but to most people squirrel refers to the 122 species of tree squirrels, which belong to 22 genera of the subfamily Sciurinae.
Current taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
, based on genetic data, splits the tree squirrels into several subfamilies. The following genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of the squirrel family are classified as tree squirrels.
- Subfamily Ratufinae
- Genus Ratufa (Asian giant squirrels)
- Subfamily Sciurillinae
- Genus Sciurillus (South American pygmy squirrel)
- Subfamily SciurinaeSciurinaeThe Sciurinae is a subfamily of squirrels in the . It unites the flying squirrels with certain related tree squirrels. Older sources place the flying squirrels in a separate subfamily and unite all remaining sciurids into the subfamily Sciurinae, but this has been strongly refuted by genetic...
- Tribe SciuriniSciuriniSciurini is a tribe that includes about forty species of squirrels, mostly from the Americas. It includes five living genera—the American dwarf squirrels, Microsciurus; the Bornean Rheithrosciurus; the widespread American and Eurasian tree squirrels of the genus Sciurus, which includes some of the...
(mostly American tree squirrels)- Genus MicrosciurusMicrosciurusMicrosciurus or dwarf squirrels is a genus of squirrels from the tropical regions of Central and South America.There are four recognized species, however, recent DNA analysis has shown that there is some confusion regarding the traditional classification of the Microsciurus species:Genus...
(American dwarf squirrels) - Genus Rheithrosciurus (Borneo tufted ground squirrel)
- Genus SciurusSciurusThe genus Sciurus contains most of the common, bushy-tailed squirrels in North America, Europe, temperate Asia, Central America and South America.-Species:There are 30 species.Genus Sciurus - Tree squirrels*Subgenus Sciurus...
(American and Eurasian tree squirrels) - Genus Syntheosciurus (Central American mountain squirrel)
- Genus Tamiasciurus (American red squirrels)
- Genus Microsciurus
- Tribe Sciurini
- Subfamily CallosciurinaeCallosciurinaeCallosciurinae is an Asiatic subfamily of squirrels. It contains about 60 species, most of them in South East Asia. It is named after the Callosciurus genus, which means 'Beautiful Squirrels'.-Classification:*Family Sciuridae...
(Asian tree squirrels)- Genus CallosciurusCallosciurusCallosciurus is a genus of squirrels collectively referred to as the "Beautiful squirrels". They are found mainly in Southeast Asia, though a few species also occur in Nepal, northeastern India, Bangladesh and southern China. Several of the species have settled on islands. In total, the genus...
(Oriental tree squirrels, introduced into Europe and South America) - Genus ExilisciurusExilisciurusExilisciurus is a genus of rodent in the Sciuridae family.It contains the following species:* Philippine Pygmy Squirrel * Least Pygmy Squirrel * Tufted Pygmy Squirrel...
(Asian pygmy squirrels) - Genus FunambulusFunambulusFunambulus is a genus of rodent in the Sciuridae family.It contains the following species:* Genus Funambulus** Subgenus Funambulus*** Layard's Palm Squirrel *** Indian Palm Squirrel...
(Asian palm squirrels, introduced into Australia) - Genus Glyphotes (sculptor squirrel)
- Genus Nannosciurus (Asian dwarf squirrel)
- Genus ProsciurillusProsciurillusProsciurillus is a genus of rodent in the Sciuridae family, found in Indonesia.It contains the following species:* Secretive Dwarf Squirrel * Whitish Dwarf Squirrel...
(Sulawesi dwarf squirrels) - Genus Rubrisciurus (Sulawesi giant squirrel)
- Genus SundasciurusSundasciurusSundasciurus is a genus of rodent in the Sciuridae family.It contains two subgenera with 15 species:*Genus Sundasciurus**Subgenus Sundasciurus*** Brooke's Squirrel...
(Sunda squirrels) - Genus Tamiops (Asian striped squirrels)
- Genus Callosciurus
- Subfamily XerinaeXerinaeXerinae is a subfamily of squirrels, many of which are highly terrestrial. It includes the tribes Marmotini , Xerini , and Protoxerini .-References:* Thorington, R. W. and R. S. Hoffmann. 2005. Family Sciuridae. Pp 754-818 in Wilson, E. D...
- Tribe ProtoxeriniProtoxeriniProtoxerini is a tribe of squirrels found in Africa. There are thirty species in six genera.-Genera:Epixerus Funisciurus Heliosciurus Myosciurus Paraxerus...
(African tree squirrels)- Genus EpixerusEpixerusEpixerus ebii, also known as Ebian's Palm Squirrel, Temminck's Giant Squirrel, or the Western Palm Squirrel, is a species of rodent in the Sciuridae family...
(African palm squirrels) - Genus Funisciurus (rope squirrels)
- Genus Heliosciurus (sun squirrels)
- Genus Myosciurus (African pygmy squirrel)
- Genus Paraxerus (bush squirrels)
- Genus Protoxerus (African giant squirrels)
- Genus Epixerus
- Tribe Protoxerini
Relationship with humans
Squirrels are generally intelligent and persistent animals. In residential neighborhoods, they are notorious for discovering clever methods to circumvent obstacles in order to eat out of bird feeders. Tree squirrels also create minor annoyances by digging in planting pots and flower beds to pull out bulbs which they chew on, to either bury or recover seeds and nuts, and for building nests within human domiciles, including atticAttic
An attic is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building . Attic is generally the American/Canadian reference to it...
s and basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
s. Squirrels use their keen sense of smell to locate buried nuts and can dig extensive holes in the process. Birds, especially crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
s, will sometimes watch a squirrel bury a nut, then dig it up as soon as the squirrel leaves. Although they are expert climbers, and primarily arboreal, squirrels also thrive in urban environments, where they have adapted to humans.
As pests
Squirrels are generally considered pestsPest (animal)
A pest is an animal which is detrimental to humans or human concerns. It is a loosely defined term, often overlapping with the related terms vermin, weeds, parasites and pathogens...
because of their propensity to chew on various edible and inedible objects. This characteristic trait aids in maintaining sharp teeth, and because their teeth grow continuously, prevents over-growth. Homeowners in areas with a heavy squirrel population must keep attics and basements carefully sealed to prevent property damage caused by nesting squirrels. A squirrel nest is called a "drey". Some homeowners resort to more interesting ways of dealing with this problem, such as collecting and planting fur from pets such as domestic cats and dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s in attics. This fur will indicate to nesting squirrels that a potential predator roams and will encourage evacuation. Fake owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
s and scarecrow
Scarecrow
A scarecrow is, essentially, a decoy, though traditionally, a human figure dressed in old clothes and placed in fields by farmers to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.-History:In Kojiki, the oldest surviving book in Japan...
s are generally ignored by the animals, and the best way to prevent chewing on an object is to coat it with something to make it undesirable: for instance a soft cloth or chili pepper
Chili pepper
Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
paste or powder. Squirrel trapping
Trapping (Animal)
Animal trapping, or simply trapping, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, wildlife management, hunting, and pest control...
is also practiced to remove them from residential areas. However, otherwise squirrels are safe neighbors that pose almost zero risk of transmitting rabies
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
.
Squirrels are often the cause of power
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
outages. They can readily climb a power pole and crawl across a power line. The animals will climb onto transformer
Transformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...
s or capacitor
Capacitor
A capacitor is a passive two-terminal electrical component used to store energy in an electric field. The forms of practical capacitors vary widely, but all contain at least two electrical conductors separated by a dielectric ; for example, one common construction consists of metal foils separated...
s looking for food. If they touch a high voltage conductor and a grounded portion of the device at the same time, they are then electrocuted
Electric shock
Electric Shock of a body with any source of electricity that causes a sufficient current through the skin, muscles or hair. Typically, the expression is used to denote an unwanted exposure to electricity, hence the effects are considered undesirable....
and cause a short circuit
Short circuit
A short circuit in an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path, often where essentially no electrical impedance is encountered....
that shuts down equipment. Squirrels have brought down the high-tech NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
stock market twice and were responsible for a spate of power outages at the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
. To sharpen their teeth they will often chew on tree branches or even the occasional live power line. Rubber plates (‘squirrel guards’) are sometimes used to prevent access to these facilities.
Squirrels are blamed for economic losses to homeowners, nut growers, forest managers in addition to damage to electric transmission lines. These losses include direct damage to property, repairs, lost revenue and public relations. While dollar costs of these losses are sometimes calculated for isolated incidents, there is no tracking system to determine the total extent of the losses.
As pets
Squirrels can be trained to be hand-fed. Because they are able to cache surplus food, they take as much food as is available. Squirrels living in parks and campusCampus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
es in cities have learned that humans are typically a ready source of food. Urban squirrels have learned to get a lot of food from generous humans. A commonly given food is peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s, but recent studies show that raw peanuts contain a trypsin
Trypsin
Trypsin is a serine protease found in the digestive system of many vertebrates, where it hydrolyses proteins. Trypsin is produced in the pancreas as the inactive proenzyme trypsinogen. Trypsin cleaves peptide chains mainly at the carboxyl side of the amino acids lysine or arginine, except when...
inhibitor that prevents the absorption of protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
in the intestine
Intestine
In human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...
s. Therefore offering peanuts that have been roasted is the better option. However, wildlife rehabilitators in the field have noted that neither raw nor roasted peanuts nor sunflower
Sunflower
Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...
seeds are healthy for squirrels, because they are deficient in several essential nutrients. This type of deficiency has been found to cause metabolic bone disease
Metabolic bone disease
Metabolic bone disease is an umbrella term referring to abnormalities of bones caused by a broad spectrum of disorders.Most commonly these disorders are caused by abnormalities of minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium or vitamin D leading to dramatic clinical disorders that are commonly...
, a somewhat common ailment found in malnourished squirrels.
Squirrels are occasionally kept as household companions, provided they are selected young enough and are hand-raised in a proper fashion. They can be taught to do tricks, and are said to be as intelligent as dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s in their ability to learn behaviors. Pet squirrels are usually kept without cages, but a large cage and a balanced diet with good variety will keep a pet squirrel healthy and happy. The pet owner must beware of "spring fever" at which time a female pet squirrel will become very defensive of her cage, considering it her nest, and will become somewhat aggressive to defend the area.
As food
The hunting and consumption of squirrel goes back to the beginning of the human race.In the U.S.
Squirrel meat is considered a favored meat in certain regions of the United States where it can be listed as wild game. This is evidenced by extensive recipes for its preparation found in cookbooks, including older copies of The Joy of CookingThe Joy of Cooking
Joy of Cooking, often known as "The Joy of Cooking" is one of the United States' most-published cookbooks, and has been in print continuously since 1936 and with more than 18 million copies sold. It was privately published in 1931 by Irma S. Rombauer, a homemaker in St. Louis, Missouri, who was...
. Squirrel meat can be exchanged for rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
or chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
in recipes, though it may have a gamey taste if handled improperly. In the book White Trash Cooking (which contains recipes for squirrel dishes), one of the contributors describes squirrel meat:
- Squirrel is one of the finest and tenderest of all wild meats. Its flavor is mild, rarely gamey. There is no need for soakingMarinationMarination is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. The origins of the word allude to the use of brine in the pickling process, which led to the technique of adding flavor by immersion in liquid...
, and seldom any need for parboiling. They should be cleaned as soon as possible after shooting, but skinningSkinningSkinning, a gerund from the verb to skin, commonly refers to the act of skin removal.The process is usually done with animals, mainly as preparation of the meat beneath and/or use for the fur...
may wait until they're ready to be cooked...This is a real sweet meat.
Although squirrel meat is low in fat content, unlike most game meat it has been found by the American Heart Association
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
to be high in cholesterol
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a complex isoprenoid. Specifically, it is a waxy steroid of fat that is produced in the liver or intestines. It is used to produce hormones and cell membranes and is transported in the blood plasma of all mammals. It is an essential structural component of mammalian cell membranes...
.
In many areas of the U.S., particularly areas of the American South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, squirrels are still hunted for food, as they were in earlier years. During the 2008 U.S. election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
, Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
presidential candidate
Mike Huckabee presidential campaign, 2008
Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, announced his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination for the 2008 presidential election in the United States on January 28, 2007...
and Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
mentioned his experiences eating squirrel during an interview with Meet the Press
Meet the Press
Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...
anchor Tim Russert
Tim Russert
Timothy John "Tim" Russert was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Washington bureau chief and also hosted the eponymous CNBC/MSNBC weekend interview...
. The following is a brief excerpt from the transcript of that interview:
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
or toxic waste
Toxic waste
Toxic waste is waste material that can cause death or injury to living creatures. It spreads quite easily and can contaminate lakes and rivers. The term is often used interchangeably with “hazardous waste”, or discarded material that can pose a long-term risk to health or environment.Toxic waste...
poses a health risk to humans. A recent example of this took place in 2007 in the northern New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
community of Ringwood
Ringwood, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there are 12,396 people, 4,108 households, and 3,446 families residing in the borough. The population density is 491.0 people per square mile . There are 4,221 housing units at an average density of 167.2 per square mile...
, where the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of New Jersey.New Jersey's State Board of Health was established in 1877. Its administrative functions were vested in the Department of Health, which was created in 1947. In 1996, the latter was...
issued a warning to anyone who eats squirrel (especially for children and pregnant women) to limit their consumption after a lead-contaminated squirrel was found near the Ringwood Mines Landfill, which had been the location of illegally-dumped toxic waste for many years before authorities cracked down on this practice in the 1980s. This especially affects the local Ramapough Mountain Indians
Ramapough Mountain Indians
The Ramapough Mountain Indians, also known as Ramapo Mountain Indians or the Ramapough Lenape Nation, are a group of approximately 5,000 people living around the Ramapo Mountains of northern New Jersey and southern New York. Their tribal office is located on Stag Hill Road on Houvenkopf Mountain in...
, who have hunted and consumed squirrels from before European contact
European colonization of the Americas
The start of the European colonization of the Americas is typically dated to 1492. The first Europeans to reach the Americas were the Vikings during the 11th century, who established several colonies in Greenland and one short-lived settlement in present day Newfoundland...
. The hunting and eating of squirrels is considered to be one of this people's time-honored tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
s, linking them through a process of cultural identity
Cultural identity
Cultural identity is the identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as one is influenced by one's belonging to a group or culture. Cultural identity is similar to and has overlaps with, but is not synonymous with, identity politics....
to their ancestors, and to each other. On learning of the ban on squirrel meat consumption, one member of the Ramapough Tribe told a reporter that: "I feel my ancestry is disappearing, my heritage".
In the U.K.
For most of the history of the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, squirrel has been a meat not commonly eaten, and even scorned by many.
But in the early 21st century, wild squirrel has become a more popular meat to cook with, showing up in restaurants and shops more often in Britain as a fashionable alternative meat. Specifically, U.K. citizens are cooking with the invasive gray squirrel
Eastern Gray Squirrel
The eastern gray squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus native to the eastern and midwestern United States, and to the southerly portions of the eastern provinces of Canada...
, which is being praised for its low fat content and the fact that it comes from free range
Free range
thumb|250px|Free-range chickens being fed outdoors.Free range is a term which outside of the United States denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals are allowed to roam freely instead of being contained in any manner. In the United States, USDA regulations apply only to poultry and...
sources. Additionally, the novelty of a meat considered unusual or special has added to the spread of squirrel consumption. Due to the difficulty of a clean kill and other factors, the majority of squirrel eaten in the U.K. is acquired from professional hunters, trappers, and gamekeeper
Gamekeeper
A gamekeeper is a person who manages an area of countryside to make sure there is enough game for shooting, or fish for angling, and who actively manages areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland for the benefit of game birds, deer, fish and wildlife in general.Typically, a gamekeeper is...
s.
Some Britons are eating the gray squirrel as a direct attempt to help the native red squirrel
Red Squirrel
The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia...
, which has been dwindling since the 19th-century introduction of the gray squirrel, resulting in dramatic habitat loss for the indigenous red squirrels. This factor was marketed by a national "Save Our Squirrels" campaign that used the slogan, "Save a red, eat a gray!"
In culture
Despite periodic complaints about the animal as a pest, general public opinion towards the animal is favorable, thanks to its agreeable appearance, intelligence and its eating styles and habits. Squirrels are popular characters in many forms of media. Perhaps the first cultural reference to a specific-named squirrel is Ratatoskr, a mythological NorseNorse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
squirrel that carries messages by running up-and-down the world tree
World tree
The world tree is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European religions, Siberian religions, and Native American religions. The world tree is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens, thereby connecting the heavens, the earth, and, through its...
Yggdrasil
Yggdrasil
In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is an immense tree that is central in Norse cosmology. It was said to be the world tree around which the nine worlds existed...
. The Ratatoskr myth dates back to the Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
, and possibly earlier. The title character in Miriam Young
Miriam Young
Miriam Young was an American children's book writer. Of her more than thirty published works, Books include Miss Susie, A Witch'es Garden, She has also written many adult books...
's 1964 children's book Miss Suzy is a squirrel
Literary
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
references to squirrels include the works of Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
, Brian Jacques
Brian Jacques
James Brian Jacques was an English author best known for his Redwall series of novels and Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series. He also completed two collections of short stories entitled The Ribbajack & Other Curious Yarns and Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales.-Biography:Brian Jacques was born...
' Redwall
Redwall
Redwall, by Brian Jacques, is a series of fantasy novels. It is the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, the name of the Abbey featured in the book, and the name of an animated TV series based on three of the novels , which first aired in 1999...
series (including Jess Squirrel and numerous other squirrels), Pattertwig in C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
' Prince Caspian
Prince Caspian
Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia is a novel for children by C. S. Lewis, written in late 1949 and first published in 1951. It is the second-published book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, although in the overall chronological sequence it comes fourth.-Plot summary:While standing on a...
, Michael Tod's Woodstock Saga of novels featuring squirrel communities in the style of Watership Down
Watership Down
Watership Down is a classic heroic fantasy novel, written by English author Richard Adams, about a small group of rabbits. Although the animals in the story live in their natural environment, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language , proverbs, poetry, and mythology...
, and the Starwife and her subjects from Robin Jarvis
Robin Jarvis
Robin Jarvis is a British children's novelist, who writes fantasy novels, often about anthropomorphic rodents and small mammals – especially mice – and Tudor times...
's Deptford novels.
Squirrels are also popular characters in cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
s, such as Scrat from Ice Age
Ice Age (film)
Ice Age is a 2002 American computer-animated film created by Blue Sky Studios and released by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge from a story by Michael J. Wilson. The story follows three Paleolithical mammals attempting to return a lost human baby to its parents...
, Slappy Squirrel of the Animaniacs
Animaniacs
Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
, Sandy Cheeks
Sandy Cheeks
Sandra Olivia "Sandy" Cheeks is a character in the series SpongeBob SquarePants and is voiced by Carolyn Lawrence. She is a squirrel native to Texas, and the fact of her being a land animal is often pointed out. She is friends with Patrick, Squidward, and SpongeBob.-Personality:Sandy is SpongeBob &...
from SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...
, Hammy from Over the Hedge
Over the Hedge
Over the Hedge is a syndicated comic strip written and drawn by Michael Fry and T. Lewis. It tells the story of a raccoon, turtle, a squirrel, and their friends who come to terms with their woodlands being taken over by suburbia, trying to survive the increasing flow of humanity and technology...
, Benny in The Wild
The Wild
The Wild is a 2006 computer-animated film directed by Steve "Spaz" Williams, produced by Clint Goldman, assistant produced by Jim Burton and C.O.R.E...
, Rodney and Leon and Darlene from Squirrel Boy
Squirrel Boy
Squirrel Boy is an American animated television series produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The series, created and executive-produced by Everett Peck, who was also the creator of the more adult-humored Duckman, ran from May 27, 2006 until September 27, 2007 on Cartoon Network...
, Secret Squirrel
Secret Squirrel
Secret Squirrel is a cartoon created by Hanna-Barbera. Secret Squirrel was one of two co-stars of The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show, which debuted in 1965. He was given his own show in 1966, but was reunited with Atom Ant for one more season in 1967...
, Screwy Squirrel, Nutty from Happy Tree Friends
Happy Tree Friends
Happy Tree Friends is an American Flash cartoon and made by Mondo Mini Shows, created and developed by Aubrey Ankrum Rhode Montijo Kenn Navarro and Warren Graff. The show has become a popular Internet phenomenon and it's since debut and has also won a cult following.As indicated on the official...
, and Rocky
Rocky the Flying Squirrel
Rocket J. Squirrel, usually called by the nickname "Rocky", is the name of the flying squirrel protagonist of the 1959-1964 animated television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show , produced by Jay Ward. Rocky's sidekick is the cartoon moose, Bullwinkle...
, Bullwinkle
Bullwinkle J. Moose
Bullwinkle J. Moose is a fictional character in the 1959–1964 animated television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, often collectively referred to as Rocky and Bullwinkle, produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott...
's adventuring
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
partner
Friendship
Friendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association are often thought of as spanning across the same continuum...
. Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls
The Powerpuff Girls
The Powerpuff Girls is an American animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera for Cartoon Network...
cartoon has the superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
ability to communicate with squirrels, which she does by saying "Chee, chee, che-chee, chee, chee...".
Video games include squirrel characters such as Rare's Conker series starring Conker the Squirrel, as well as Ocean Software
Ocean Software
The British company Ocean Software was one of the biggest European video game developers/publishers of the 1980s and 90s...
's Mr. Nutz
Mr. Nutz
Mr. Nutz is a side scrolling, 2D platformer video game published by Ocean Software. It was first released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993, then later released for the Mega Drive in 1994, followed by Game Boy, Game Boy Color, then Game Boy Advance ports.The player controls the...
. There is even a squirrel-themed super-heroine, Squirrel Girl
Squirrel Girl
Squirrel Girl, real name Doreen Green, is a fictional character and superhero in the . Her first appearance was in Marvel Super-Heroes #8 , in a story plotted and drawn by Steve Ditko and scripted by Will Murray. Her ability to control squirrels is surprisingly powerful and has allowed her to...
. The popular Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
game includes a squirrel character by the name of Pachirisu.
There are also numerous references to squirrels in the music industry, including the North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
group Squirrel Nut Zippers
Squirrel Nut Zippers
The Squirrel Nut Zippers are a band formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina by James "Jimbo" Mathus , Katharine Whalen , Chris Phillips on drums, Don Raleigh on bass and sideman Ken Mosher....
, the electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
group Techno Squirrels
Techno Squirrels
Formed in 2005, Techno Squirrels is a band made up of Ryan Harlin and Lisa Eriksson . Both Eriksson and Harlin are sound engineers and producers for Techno Squirrels. Their music has been used in MTV's The Real World , The Real World , The Real World vs...
, the now-defunct Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
band called For Squirrels
For Squirrels
For Squirrels was an alternative rock band based out of Gainesville, Florida, active between the years of 1992–1996 prior to changing their name to Subrosa, eventually disbanding in 2001...
(who claimed that they performed their music for squirrels), a children's music
Children's music
Children's music is used here to refer to music composed and performed for children by adults. In European influenced contexts this means music, usually songs, written specifically for a juvenile audience. The composers are usually adults. Children's music has historically held both entertainment...
group called The Nutty Squirrels, and even a record label with the name Blank Squirrel Musics. There is also a student-run radio station at Kent State University
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
called Black Squirrel Radio
Black Squirrel Radio
Black Squirrel Radio is an online radio station run by students of Kent State University, broadcasting exclusively on campus television and the Web. Black Squirrel Radio is overseen by faculty from Kent State University's Journalism and Mass Communication program...
.
Albino and white squirrels
One of the ways that squirrels impact human societySociety
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
is inspired by the fascination that people seem to have over local populations of white squirrels (often misidentified as being albino). This manifests itself by the creation of social group communities
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
that form from a commonly-shared interest in these rare animals. These groups demonstrate classic sociological
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
group dynamics, including personal identity by belonging to a group, as well as hierarchical competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
between white squirrel groups with each other over which has the best local white squirrel population. Other impacts on human society inspired by white squirrels include the creation of organizations that seek to protect them from human predation
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
, and the use of the white squirrel image as a cultural icon
Cultural icon
A cultural icon can be a symbol, logo, picture, name, face, person, building or other image that is readily recognized and generally represents an object or concept with great cultural significance to a wide cultural group...
.
Some examples of this cultural impact include:
- Olney, IllinoisOlney, IllinoisOlney is a city in Richland County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,631 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Richland County.-History:...
, known as the "White Squirrel Capital of the World," is home of the world's largest known white squirrel colony. These squirrels have the right of way on all streets in the town, with a $500 fine for hitting one. The Olney Police Department features the image of a white squirrel on its officers' uniform patches. - Along with Olney, there are four other towns in North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
that avidly compete with each other to be the official "Home of the White Squirrel", namely: Marionville, MissouriMarionville, MissouriMarionville is a city in Lawrence County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,113 at the 2000 census. On March 12, 2006, a tornado hit the town, destroying houses and killing two people...
; Brevard, North CarolinaBrevard, North CarolinaBrevard is a town in Transylvania County, North Carolina, United States. The 2005 population estimate by the United States Census Bureau was 6,643. It is the county seat of Transylvania County....
; Exeter, OntarioExeter, OntarioExeter is a Canadian community in the municipality of South Huron, in the southern portion of Huron County, Ontario, located approximately 50 kilometres north of London. The community proclaims itself the "Home of the White Squirrel", owing to the presence of the unusually-coloured mammals...
; and Kenton, TennesseeKenton, TennesseeKenton is a town in Gibson and Obion counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 1,281 at the 2010 census, a decline of 25 from the 2000 census...
, each of which holds an annual white squirrel festival, among other things designed to promote their claim of "White Squirrel Capital". - Other towns that have reported white squirrel populations in North America (although not necessarily at war with other towns to be the "official" white squirrel capital) include Columbia, MississippiColumbia, MississippiColumbia is a city in Marion County, Mississippi, United States, which was formed six years before Mississippi was admitted to statehood. Columbia was named for Columbia, South Carolina, from which many of the early settlers had migrated. The population was 6,603 as of the 2000 census. It is the...
, Dayton, OhioDayton, OhioDayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, DeForest, Wisconsin, Stratford, ConnecticutStratford, ConnecticutStratford is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. It was founded by Puritans in 1639....
, and some of the snowbeltSnowbeltSnowbelt is a term describing of a number of regions near the Great Lakes in North America where heavy snowfall in the form of lake-effect snow is particularly common. Snowbelts are typically found downwind of the lakes, principally off the eastern and southern shores...
cities in the WesternWestern New YorkWestern New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...
, CentralCentral New YorkCentral New York is a term used to broadly describe the central region of New York State, roughly including the following counties and cities:...
and Finger LakesFinger LakesThe Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...
regions of New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
state (BuffaloBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, RochesterRochester, New YorkRochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, and SyracuseSyracuse, New YorkSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
).. White squirrels have also been spotted in the Broad Ripple neighborhood in Indianapolis, IN.
In addition to the various towns that boast of their white squirrel populations, a number of university campuses in North America have white squirrels, including:
- The University of North TexasUniversity of North TexasThe University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...
has an Albino Squirrel Preservation SocietyAlbino Squirrel Preservation SocietyThe Albino Squirrel Preservation Society is an international collegiate organization dedicated to "fostering compassion and goodwill" toward albino squirrels...
, founded in 2001. In 2006, the University of North Texas held a student referendum to name their white squirrel as the university's secondary mascot, however the vote was narrowly defeated by the student body. - Michigan Technological UniversityMichigan Technological UniversityMichigan Technological University is a public research university located in Houghton, Michigan, United States. Its main campus sits on on a bluff overlooking Portage Lake...
in Houghton, MichiganHoughton, MichiganHoughton is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and largest city in the Copper Country on the Keweenaw Peninsula. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,708. It is the county seat of Houghton County...
is home to frequently-sighted white squirrels that live on and around the campus. A FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
group dedicated to these squirrels, called I've Seen the Albino Squirrel of Michigan Tech, was created for people to post photographs and anecdotes of their encounters with the white squirrels, and includes some stories from Michigan Tech alumni that recall seeing white squirrels in Houghton dating back to the 1930s. - The University of LouisvilleUniversity of LouisvilleThe University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
in Kentucky has established its own chapter of "The Albino Squirrel Preservation Society", which maintains contact with its members and interested parties through a Facebook group by that name. The university has an open policy to give away a free t-shirt to anyone who brings a photograph to the administration offices that was taken of an albino squirrel on campus grounds. - Other university campuses that have albino squirrel populations include Oberlin CollegeOberlin CollegeOberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
in Ohio, Ohio State UniversityOhio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
in Columbus, OhioColumbus, OhioColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, Western Kentucky UniversityWestern Kentucky UniversityWestern Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. It was formally founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier....
in Bowling Green, KentuckyBowling Green, KentuckyBowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
(which has had a population of albino squirrels since the 1960s), and Youngstown State UniversityYoungstown State UniversityYoungstown State University, founded in 1908, is an urban research university located in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. As of fall 2010, there were 15,194 students and a student-faculty ratio of 19:1. It is recognized as being one of the premier schools in the country, comparable to Ivy League...
in Youngstown, OhioYoungstown, OhioYoungstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
.
Although these squirrels are commonly referred to as albinos, most of them are likely non-albino squirrels that exhibit a rare white fur coloration known as leucism that is as a result of a recessive gene found within certain Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) populations, and so technically they ought to be referred to as white squirrels, instead of albino. Dr. Michael Stokes, a biology professor at Western Kentucky University, commented that the probable cause for the abundance of white squirrels on university campuses was due to them being originally introduced by someone:
We're not sure how they got here, but I'll tell you how it usually happens...When you see them, especially around a college campus or parks, somebody brought them in because they thought it would be neat to have white squirrels around.Dr. Albert Meier, another biology professor at Western Kentucky University, added that:
... white squirrels rarely survive in the wild because they can't easily hide. But on a college campus, they are less likely to be consumed by other animals.
A list of white squirrel sightings around the world is maintained by the White Squirrel Research Institute, a group based in Brevard, North Carolina.
Albino and white squirrels in folklore
A story in which a NāgaNaga
Naga or NAGA may refer to:* Nāga, a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.-People:* Nayan / Nayar/Nair people of Kerala Society* Naga people, a diverse ethnic identity in Northeast India...
shapeshifts
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
into a white or albino squirrel, is killed by a hunter, and magically transformed into meat equal to 8,000 cart
Cart
A cart is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people...
loads figures prominently in the folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
of rocket festival tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
s and the origin of Nong Han Kumphawapi Lake in Northeast Thailand.
Red and gray squirrels in the UK
Red Squirrel
The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia...
and the rise of the eastern gray squirrel has been widely remarked upon in British popular culture. It is mostly regarded as the invading grays driving out the native red species. Evidence also shows that gray squirrels are vectors of the Squirrel parapoxvirus
Squirrel parapoxvirus
Squirrel poxvirus is a virus that causes a fatal disease "squirrelpox" in UK red squirrels. The virus is often carried by grey squirrels from North America, which rarely die from the disease...
for which no vaccine is presently available and which is deadly to red squirrels but does not seem to affect the host. Currently the red squirrel only resides in a few isolated areas of the UK, notably in Scotland, and in England Formby
Formby
Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It has a population of approximately 25,000....
, the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
, Brownsea Island
Brownsea Island
Brownsea Island is the largest of the islands in Poole Harbour in the county of Dorset, England. The island is owned by the National Trust. Much of the island is open to the public and includes areas of woodland and heath with a wide variety of wildlife, together with cliff top views across Poole...
, and the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. Special measures are in place to contain and remove any infiltration of gray squirrels into these areas.
Under British law, the eastern gray squirrel is regarded as vermin
Vermin
Vermin is a term applied to various animal species regarded by some as pests or nuisances and especially to those associated with the carrying of disease. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included will vary from area to area and even person to person...
, and at one point it was illegal to release any into the wild; any caught had to be either destroyed or kept captive. In 2008 the law was altered, allowing those with the proper license to release captured gray squirrels.
Literature cited
- Nowak, Ronald M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1936 pp., ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
- Young, Miriam. 1964. Miss Suzy, Purple House Press, ISBN 1930900287
External references
- The Squirrel Lovers Club - an international club of dedicated squirrel enthusiasts.
- Squirrel-Rehab.org - includes advice and links for helping orphaned baby squirrels.
- Hector the Squirrel's Webpage - a British-based web page that includes articles (supposedly) written by, for, and about squirrels.
- Sugar Bush Squirrel - Sugar Bush is a working model (claimed to be the world's most-photographed squirrel), who was rescued as an orphaned baby Eastern Gray Squirrel and raised by her human family, who live in Boca Raton, FloridaBoca Raton, FloridaBoca Raton is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, incorporated in May 1925. In the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,764; the 2006 population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 86,396. However, the majority of the people under the postal address of Boca Raton, about...
. The web page includes thousands of photographs of Sugar Bush wearing a very large assortment of clothing from her enormous wardrobe collection. - Twiggy the Waterskiing Squirrel - more than just a collection of video clips of Twiggy's performances on waterskis, there are articles dedicated to wildlife, water safety, and games for children, as well as the list of Twiggy's upcoming performances.