heathkit tv
Brillyint jeanyus
ACK!
Let's post weird and unusual pictures here!
- Thread starter THOR
- Start date
heathkit tv
Brillyint jeanyus
Worth reading
heathkit tv
Brillyint jeanyus
Vote for me and I'll set you free, if you're a rich white guy that is.
mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
It's a mutation of the regular grey kind... but it's dominant, so, if you get one black squirrel, you get a bunch. Acton, MA (just a hoot 'n' a holler from here) has a population of 'em by their school complex. Otherwise, most of 'em in NE tend to be grey (or red squirrels, but that's a different strain or maybe even species).
Bauhausler
Rational Subjectivist
Originally posted by THOR
I've never seen a black squirrel or a picture of a black squirrel or even heard of a black squirrel my whole entire life
Black was very scarce around here until the late '80s. They've been spreading across MI slowly but steadily. I have 5 squirrel varieties in the yard.
Black
Grey
Striped Ground (common Chipmunk)
Fox (common brown)
Red (mean little bastards)
They pay no attention to the bird of prey at all, as you can see from the pic above.
Bauhausler
Rational Subjectivist
Some people say the black squirrels are more agressive than the others. For my money the red squirrels win the meanness category hands down. There might be a SLIGHT evolutionary advantage at these high laitiudes for small mammals with darker coloration when there's no predators to hide from. The normally colored squirrels blend in better, which would help them avoid predators. In urban areas there aren't any predators, though, and arguably the more visible black squirrel might avoid a few more car collisions. Mostly I think they can pick up a little more heat from the sun in extremely cold weather with their very dark fur. That means they should be coming to Maine sooner or later if I'm right.
Black squirrels are very common in the Windsor/Detroit area. About 50 years ago I hand raised a black pup. He was a hoot. Very friendly and affectionate but he had one hello of a short fuse
It didn't take much to set him off and when he blew his stack he was trouble with a capital T. I remember him chasing a cat for a block after he caught it sniffing around his food dish. That cat was really motoring because he had tangled with Petey before and had wound up getting stitches at the vet clinic. He clearly was not interested in a return engagement.
"Feets don't fail me now!"
The funny thing was Petey and the cat were ordinarily pals but that poor cat had to learn to give Petey a wide berth if he was in an owly mood.
When we first moved to High River Alberta in 1979 there were no squirrels here but about 10 years ago they started to appear and now they are a common sight. Most of them are black but there are also a few greys in the mix.
I chuckled at the reference to squirrels raiding the bird feeder because we have one little pirate that raids our feeders from time to time.
A few days ago he was on the lawn under the feeder and a small hawk swooped past him ( no harm done as it was a very small variety of hawk and I suspect he buzzed the squirrel out of pure devilment). The squirrel ran up into our apple tree and let fly with a string of what I can only assume were obscenities. It was clear that the little guy was really steamed.
It didn't take much to set him off and when he blew his stack he was trouble with a capital T. I remember him chasing a cat for a block after he caught it sniffing around his food dish. That cat was really motoring because he had tangled with Petey before and had wound up getting stitches at the vet clinic. He clearly was not interested in a return engagement.
"Feets don't fail me now!"
The funny thing was Petey and the cat were ordinarily pals but that poor cat had to learn to give Petey a wide berth if he was in an owly mood.
When we first moved to High River Alberta in 1979 there were no squirrels here but about 10 years ago they started to appear and now they are a common sight. Most of them are black but there are also a few greys in the mix.
I chuckled at the reference to squirrels raiding the bird feeder because we have one little pirate that raids our feeders from time to time.
A few days ago he was on the lawn under the feeder and a small hawk swooped past him ( no harm done as it was a very small variety of hawk and I suspect he buzzed the squirrel out of pure devilment). The squirrel ran up into our apple tree and let fly with a string of what I can only assume were obscenities. It was clear that the little guy was really steamed.
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In our neighbourhood, here in Windsor, it seems that the different varieties (species?) of squirrel are rather friendly. Fraternization among them has produced all the combinations of colours. Body colour and tail colour differences can look a little humourous. Picture a black-bodied squirrel with red (or grey) tail, and similarly, the other two colours. Often, the greys, or other colours with grey tails, will have thin tails. They don't seem to 'fly' as well as the others, which can easily sail from one tree to the next. The greys often come up short on the leap to the next tree. My dog enjoys chasing them around the yard, trying to get them to run up the trees, just to watch them scramble, and sometimes fall into the next yard. When that happens, she struts back to the house, tail flying like a flag. "See what I did! Idjit squirrel is no match for me". It is another story when the mama blue jay sets her sights on my dog, however. Gracie comes running for shelter. Even my neighbour got driven in the house when mama blue jay was waiting for her eggs to hatch.
jt1stcav
Up and Coming Bottlehead
The lil' grey squirrels in our yard could care less about our cats...they know that plate glass window will protect the cats from THEM! I've seen the squirrels come right up to the sliding glass doors with their little paws up against the glass like they're taunting them, but our cats are too knucklebrained to realize that a large sheet of glass seperate them, so they charge the glass door with all their might and WHAM!
No wonder all our cats have brain damage!
No wonder all our cats have brain damage!
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Wedweb
Active Member
Ok three comments:
1. Olney Illinois has white squirrels. They are mostly albino.
2. A moose once bit my sister.
3. heathkit tv, if you remember, it was Clinton who pardoned many of his rich white friends prior to leaving office and after receiving big donations from parties involved with the interest of having those folks pardoned.
I will have to try and find some funny photos, this thread has been great.
Bo
1. Olney Illinois has white squirrels. They are mostly albino.
2. A moose once bit my sister.
3. heathkit tv, if you remember, it was Clinton who pardoned many of his rich white friends prior to leaving office and after receiving big donations from parties involved with the interest of having those folks pardoned.
I will have to try and find some funny photos, this thread has been great.
Bo
heathkit tv
Brillyint jeanyus
Am not going to defend Clinton, but what I was referring to was Bush's tax cut and all his oil baron cronies. Let's not start this argument, neither of us is gonna win.
Anthony
Anthony
