San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
You think squirrels are pests? Nuts to that.
For starters, the ubiquitous tree dwellers are clever and charming, their fans say
Welcome back to S.A.’s Common Critters, our weekly look at the animals we see more of in San Antonio as we hunker down during the pandemic. This week, we go nuts for those squirrels that dart up, down and all around our trees, yards and rooftops.
That is, when they’re not grabbing a bite at one of Kate Boysen’s mini picnic tables.
“I do love squirrels. They’re hilarious to watch,” said Boysen, a San Antonio missions park ranger. “And I think they kind of get a bad rap, especially by people who feed birds. So I thought a squirrel picnic table would be perfect.”
Boysen started building squirrel picnic tables in May and has crafted several for her friends and family. One little wooden wonder outside Boysen’s front window seats at least two bright-eyed and bushy-tailed regulars, who perch at the picnic spot to munch on birdseed and sunflower seeds.
“(The first squirrel) actually sat at the table like it was supposed to and ate seeds from a seated position,” Boysen said.
Squirrels often irritate bird lovers with their attraction to bird feeders. Dog owners know they delight in taunting their pets, which can lead to a merry chase outdoors or a loud barking battle from behind a window.
But the way Lynn Cuny sees it, these squirrels are our original neighbors who deserve our respect.
“This was their world before it was ours,” said Cuny, founder and president of Kendalia-based Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation, which takes in injured and orphaned animals with the goal of releasing them back into the wild. “What you consider your yard, your alley, your neighborhood is their home.”
Some folks love watching those cutesy fur balls scamper about. Others can’t abide the rascally varmints — especially those that scurry across their homes or neighborhood streets and, of course, around their bird feeders.
“We have got to understand that the world we have created (often) confuses and terrifies them,” Cuny said. “Try to see this world through their eyes.”
Clever as (and named after) a fox. The fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) is the most common squirrel in San Antonio and most of North America. It’s a tree squirrel that thrives in the eastern and central United States and ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico.
Fox squirrels get their name for their reddishbrown coat and coppercolored chest, which favors a red fox. They’re quite the sly rodents, too. Cuny noted fox squirrels are especially intelligent, gregarious and curious. Hence their continued ability to crack just about any bird feeder.
“They figure out how to beat it,” Cuny said.
Squirrels are indigenous everywhere except Down Under. More than 200 squirrel species live all over the world, though humans introduced them to Australia. Fox squirrels usually nest in tree hollows, but they will build their leafy nests high up in trees.
Squirrels see around a decade of daylight. Fox squirrels are diurnal (active in the daytime) and spend a lot of time on the ground for such an arboreal creature. They live for seven to 10 years in the wild, Cuny said, but can live as long as 15 years in captivity.
Squirrels are very chatty. “Humans relate so well to squirrels because they’re very animated,” said Camille Shelton, volunteer coordinator at Animal Care Services. Chances are you’ve seen, as well as heard, squirrels chattering it up in the park or in your yard. Shelton noted squirrels have sophisticated social patterns, which include barking and other vocalizations, usually to warn of predators.
Squirrels also communicate through tail movements, Shelton said, such as a low wagging tail versus a high wagging tail, along with tail twitches, again usually to warn of danger.
Squirrels sure are a lot more social than we are these days. Shelton noted squirrels live in their own communities, which in urban areas can number up to 15 to 20 squirrels per 1 to 2 square miles.
Squirrel teeth never stop growing. Like most rodents, squirrels must gnaw constantly to wear down their teeth, or else their teeth grow into their skulls. Squirrels eat acorns, nuts, seeds, fruits and berries.
Shelton said you can help squirrels keep their chompers in check by leaving them walnuts and other nuts in the shells. She recommends skipping peanuts because they’re legumes and not part of a squirrel’s normal diet.
Just don’t get too close, because though squirrels pose little to no health risk to humans, the wee creatures have been known to bite.
“Squirrels are not pets. No wild animal is a pet,” Cuny said. “They want to be left alone by our species.”
Squirrels overcompensate in the food and offspring department. Shelton noted that unlike most native wildlife, squirrels can have up to two litters a year instead of one. Each litter averages two to four kittens. Yep, baby squirrels are called kittens. D’awww.
Squirrels also go overboard on hoarding food for the winter. Cuny said they’ll stash acorns and other munchies high in fat in dozens of places, often stockpiling more than they’ll ever need like nature’s little doomsday preppers.
Patience reduces roadkill.
Squirrels may be smart and adaptable, but they’re still like a deer in the headlights when it comes to automobiles. Some squirrels freeze at the sight of an oncoming car, Shelton said, while others dart back and forth to the curb, so be patient when you spot a squirrel while driving.
“Generally (it’s) just being cautious and driving slow in residential areas,” Shelton said. “For the most part you’re not going to see a squirrel on the freeway.”
About the only real “flying” squirrel is Rocky. Technically, a flying squirrel glides from tree to tree, thanks to a parachutelike membrane called a patagium that extends from wrist to ankle. Flying squirrels use their limbs and tail to guide their glide.
Rocket J. Squirrel, best known as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, first soared into pop culture in 1959 as the title star of “Rocky and His Friends” on ABC. Rocky and his cartoon pal Bullwinkle J. Moose hit the big screen in 2000. Rocky lost top billing to Bullwinkle when the show was renamed “The Bullwinkle Show” in 1961 for its move to NBC.
Other famous fictional squirrels include Sandy Cheeks, the proud Texas squirrel of “SpongeBob SquarePants” fame; and Scrat, the acorn-obsessed saber-toothed squirrel from the “Ice Age” franchise.
But a real squirrel can water ski. The legend of Twiggy the water-skiing squirrel started in 1978, when Chuck and Lou Ann Best in Florida rescued a baby squirrel blown from her nest during a hurricane. As a joke, Chuck trained the squirrel to water-ski behind a remote control boat he bought for his daughter.
The Sanford Herald shared the story in May 1979. Soon, media and masses across the country got Twiggy fever.
Since then, according to Twiggy’s website, twiggysinc.com, the family has made sure to always have a water-skiing squirrel named Twiggy, and these squirrels have enjoyed appearances around the world and on television shows, including “Good Morning America” and “Late Night with David Letterman.”
All Twiggys are rescue squirrels, and the Best family currently is on Twiggy IX and Twiggy X.
Evict unwanted squirrels with metal flashing or chili
powder. These critters sometimes end up in attics and other nonideal places in our homes. To get rid of squirrels humanely, Cuny recommends covering any present or possible holes around your home with metal flashing. Squirrels can’t gnaw through it.
Shelton also recommends using chili powder or cayenne pepper. Generously sprinkle it wherever you see squirrels coming and going, be it on the roof, around trees that give access to the attic, and even in your bird feeder. “It’s not going to hurt the birds at all,” Shelton said.
Just remember squirrels are as much a part of the neighborhood as those birds, and are just as content to share the surroundings if you are. Take it from Boysen. She also shares her front yard squirrel picnic tables with a bird feeder.