Squirrels & Squee is not just an indie band

April 14, 2017 4:59 PM

From the Department Of Isn't That Cute: A North Carolina Squirrel Eats Tiny Ice Cream Cones Every Day

In other news:

A Good Man Removed a Cereal Bowl From This Blinded Squirrel's Head
Squirrels In Toronto Can't Stop Attacking Christmas Lights

Humans have been obsessed with squirrels through the ages. Some consider them to be North America's version of monkeys. They went through a rough patch in 1918 when California drafted children into a war on squirrels. And prairie dogs murder them for reasons that aren't entirely clear. But enough with them negative waves: enjoy these pictures of squirrels and other small furry creatures.

posted by Johnny Wallflower (17 comments total)

The Washington Post just wrapped up Squirrel Week, and here are the results of the photo contest.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:01 PM on April 14, 2017 [3 favorites]

“It would have been really sad to come out later that day to see a squirrel with a cereal bowl on his head, dead in the street.”

So much amazing information in this one line. It's a tiny novel.
posted by Fizz at 5:01 PM on April 14, 2017 [16 favorites]

Squirrels are my second-favorite non-domesticated animals (only recently losing the #1 spot to otters), and I have been a fan since the early heroic TV adventures of Rocket J.
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:45 PM on April 14, 2017

You give a squirrel an ice cream cone, son, she's going to ask for a glass of milk!
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:16 PM on April 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

I almost and probably should have posted the Squirrel Week article on Benjamin Franklin's squirrel Mungo--Mungo! The only other thing I'll add that if your Friday night plans fell through or never were and you're feeling a bit bummed, spend some time scrolling through the archives of posts tagged "squirrel" and "squirrels".
posted by drlith at 6:29 PM on April 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

If you look at nothing else, view the posters in the War on Squirrels link. He requested that children not send him any more tails, and instructed his county commissioners to bury all tails after tallying them.

I did look into The Hotel California board bill for ground squirrels in 1917 […] was $30,000,000—yet unpaid. and The Eagle's song has nothing to do with this.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 6:56 PM on April 14, 2017

> Squirrels are my second-favorite non-domesticated animals (only recently losing the #1 spot to otters), and I have been a fan since the early heroic TV adventures of Rocket J.

June Foray (the voice of Rocky, previously) will be 100 this September. What an amazing career. Can't resist throwing in this great little 80's piece on June Foray and Bill Scott (4 minutes).
posted by christopherious at 7:53 PM on April 14, 2017 [3 favorites]

And while local wildlife experts are critical of feeding the wild squirrel since it can lead to an inability to fend for itself and an unhealthy comfort around humans, the owner of Fantasy Isle, Scott Martin, told The News & Observer that it’s too late to stop now.

The squirrels I see on a day to day basis are not exactly crippled by their comfort around humans and their reliance on human detritus. Just today I saw one walk right out from under a bench I was sitting on with a big wad of tissue paper crammed in its mouth for nest lining. It calmly looked right at me as if it say "what? YOU guys weren't using it" and then strolled away.
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:04 PM on April 14, 2017 [3 favorites]

I've given June Foray shoutouts a dozen times before. You realize she was doing Tweety's Granny in her 30s and Rocky's "little boy" voice in her '90s, but the greatest thing she could do before her centennial is to officially announce that Rocky's a Girl...

And thanks to Marvel's Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, right now squirrels are a solid female role model.
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:30 PM on April 14, 2017 [2 favorites]

Squirrels are like 1 lb, 10 inch 14 yr old jr high boys on coffee. Its all "whaaa?" and "F*ck you!"---until the ice cream comes out.
posted by shockingbluamp at 9:35 PM on April 14, 2017 [5 favorites]

My friend fell asleep in a lounge chair on a patio in Yosemite once and woke up to squirrels rifling through his pockets. National Parks squirrels fear nothing and no one.
posted by potrzebie at 12:03 AM on April 15, 2017 [3 favorites]

My friend fell asleep in a lounge chair on a patio in Yosemite once and woke up to squirrels rifling through his pockets. National Parks squirrels fear nothing and no one.

That's because nobody wants to mess with Yosemite squirrels in case they're carrying plague.
posted by Nerd of the North at 12:19 AM on April 15, 2017

I think raccoons are much better primate-analogues in North America, but I do spend a lot of time watching squirrels bounce around and socialize and eat stuff when I'm on campus and start pining for the forest.
posted by ChuraChura at 2:35 AM on April 15, 2017

Squirrels are fuzzy tailed tree rats. Cute fuzzy tailed tree rats but still basically the same general role. I know that rats and mice can develop diabetes can squirrels develop diabetes because I'm pretty sure that squirrel's blood is like 50% sugar by now.
posted by vuron at 8:16 AM on April 15, 2017

Seems like a good time to ask: are squirrels not indigenous to Europe? I ask because I work across from a public park and the European tourists are fascinated by the squirrels there. Seriously, I've seen crowds of them standing around calling to a squirrel to try to give it food and take photos. The result of this, of course, is that the squirrels in that park are practically tame, and they'll climb up a fence to push their face right up to you and go, "Hey. You got any peanuts?"
posted by holborne at 10:48 AM on April 15, 2017

This is a squirrel enjoying the Good Life. This is an Actualized Squirrel. This is a squirrel other squirrels will revere through the ages.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 10:56 AM on April 15, 2017 [2 favorites]

Atlas Obcura: When Squirrels Were One of America’s Most Popular Pets

In 1722, a pet squirrel named Mungo passed away. It was a tragedy: Mungo escaped its confines and met its fate at the teeth of a dog. Benjamin Franklin, friend of the owner, immortalized the squirrel with a tribute.

“Few squirrels were better accomplished, for he had a good education, had traveled far, and seen much of the world.” Franklin wrote, adding, “Thou art fallen by the fangs of wanton, cruel Ranger!”

posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:24 PM on April 28, 2017