Talk:Squirrel/Archive 1

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Article Needs Section on Range and Species

This article should have a section on the range of each type of squirrel and also each species.

It is otherwise well written and iunteresting. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.101.251.116 (talk) 19:19, 15 October 2008 (UTC)

Red Squirrels

This article is lacking any description of the Red Squirrel and account of its displacement by the Grey Squirrel, particularly in the UK. There needs to be a picture too. Recent changes in the law in the UK now classify the American Grey Squirrel as vermin and it is now an offence, if one is caught, to re-release it into the wild. It is a pity the same does not apply to human beings (Americans in England, I mean). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.132.62.202 (talk) 14:05, August 29, 2007 (UTC)

I've now added a mention. The red / grey situation is probably worth an article in itself, but I'm busy with other stuff. --GwydionM (talk) 21:13, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

As pets

I just heard that squirrels were popular pets in the late 18th century, at least in England and America. Pet squirrels appear in portraits from the period. I don't know if they were popular as pets at other times as well. It'd be great if someone who knows more added a mention of this phenomenon. 67.189.219.32 01:58, 24 January 2007 (UTC) I have had as many as 17 grey squirrels in my front yard, I have never seen squirrel poop, what gives! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.22.236.230 (talk) 20:05, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Pictures

These are some squirrel pictures (some not used in the article, but I don't know if there should be a squirrel gallery :)

		File:Northern flying squirrel.jpg
File:HarrissAntelopeSquirrel.jpg

Fox Squirrel

Here is another one (in fact, a fox squirrel):

I took this photo myself, so I will not just put it here on the main article. If, however, you also find that the anatomy of the animal is displayed rather nicely on the picture (mind the claws!), then feel free to use it instead of the current picture. I also like the current main picture, but the features of the squirrel are not so clear. --Markus Krötzsch 00:42, 14 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Of course, even more pictures are available at Eastern Gray Squirrel. --Markus Krötzsch 00:48, 14 Jul 2004 (UTC)

That is a fine photo! I have a squirrel's nest in my backyard, and I've snapped a few pictures, but none with quite that clarity. -- Funnyhat 06:38, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)

This new photo is far better. Put it up, I say. Lib3rtine 21:24, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

Eastern Gray Squirrel

in Oak Park, Illinois

Use them if you want.
--Kalmia 10:28, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

one syllable

The claim that squirrelled is one syllable in American english slanderously promotes the position that all Americans sound like cowboys, decidedly non-NPOV. Oh, and squirrels are cute.

Um, I say it as one syllable and I'm no cowboy. I think to say it as two syllables sounds more like a cowboy or a southern accent. I mean, I'm from Southern California and everyone I know says it as one syllable. Don't be so ignorant.

Everyone I know here in Mississippi says it with one syllable, as well. Squirrel is a one syllbable word. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.222.124.230 (talk) 18:04, August 20, 2007 (UTC)

rabies?

I've been told by multiple sources that squirrels can't carry rabies. I have been unable to get anyone to explain why, although I speculate that either they don't catch it, or it kills them before it becomes contagious. I found a quote on the CDC website (which I will link into the article eventually) which indicates they are low risk, but again, does not explain why. --ssd 03:26, 27 Apr 2004 (UTC)

They can carry rabies, they just don't represent a frequent source for transmission of the disease to humans. From a CDC page: "Rabies is seldom reported in smaller rodents, presumably because of the high degree of mortality and severe trauma that usually result from an attack by a rabid carnivore; however, Wyoming reported a case of rabies in a ground squirrel (Spermophilus sp) in 2000." [1]. Another interesting article, though it doesn't directly address the question: Woman bitten by rabid squirrel - Nunh-huh 03:36, 27 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Well, it's certainly something we don't have to worry about in Ireland, or Britain for that matter. Nice that. Tetanus is the only thing to worry about if you get bitten by some creature.

Zoney 07:52, 27 Apr 2004 (UTC)

What's that about them carrying plague? Honestly Squirrels in general carry no more desese than any other wild animal... the artical makes it seem, that they are swarming with desese... as Zoney said, we don't get that sort of thing here in Britain.

Zikar

I've discussed the rabies issue with a number of rehabbers, who seem to agree that the only way a squirrel could live long enough from the wounds involved in contracting rabies for the disease to fully gestate is if the animal in question is bitten by a bat. Which is pretty unlikely in its own right, considering squirrels are diurnal and bats are nocturnal. In any case, if they article hadn't confirmed that the animal had rabies I'd be crying foul. A squirrel will bite anyone that touches it if its wounded. As for other diseases, I agree. Squirrels are hardly the disease carriers this article seems to portray them as. Still, if bitten by a squirrel, a tetanus shot is a damn good idea. It's in these guys nature to dig in the dirt all day long.--Arkcana 03:42, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

I provided some text and a link today 11-15-08 for the main article. It is a mystery since all mammals can get rabies. In the text for the article I simply said they do not carry rabies, this could be altered to 'offer extremely low risk of rabies' if there is protest. However, if you think about it to say they don't carry rabies is not the same as saying they can't get rabies... they simply pose no risk of transmitting for reasons not understood. See the link. 'Don't carry' is thus accurate IMO. Carlw4514 (talk) 15:42, 15 November 2008 (UTC)

Squirrel Rat

Is it possible for a squirrel and rat to reproduce?

exceedingly unlikely. They are very different taxonomically (and therefore, unless we have the taxonomy wrong, genetically). Almost all hybrids occur within a single genus; squirrels and rats aren't even in the same family, the next level of classification up. So while it's always rash to say something could never happen, if it did happen, it would require us to rewrite an awful lot of biology that looks very well established. seglea 20:17, 9 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Behaviors

Since squirrels are quite common creatures it might be nice to have a section on behavioral patterns so it would be easy to identify certain actions. Here is a page that has some info, maybe permission could be obtained for use. jvstein 20:59, 13 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Mating

It would be cool to get some info on the mating rituals of squirrels. I've tried to find the information from online sources, but as everyone thinks they are right, there is a lot of conflicting information. jvstein 20:59, 13 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Well, I've spent a lot of time observing fox squirrels mating in our back yard. They seem to pair bond for a while during mating; I've seen a male and female foraging for food together. One couple would visit our feeder box and sit in it together. I've also seen squirrel couples licking and grooming each other, before and after sex. On one occasion the male's attentions were rejected, but the couple groomed each other for a while, then lay together in the sun on top of a tree branch. Metamatic 22:22, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Can squirrels swim in swimming pools?? I found a dead one in my pool and I was just curious to know if they can survive or not. 65.191.120.40 17:27, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

Human consumption

I was watching something on TV and it presented squirrel for regular dining. It's actually being served in a few restauraunts in London actually. --Madchester 22:27, 18 November 2005 (UTC)

Squirrel is a cooking ingredient in cajun recipes, common in Louisiana. In fact, the US supermarket brand Zatarain has a recipe for squirrel sauce on their web site. I live in Austin, TX, and a local cajun restaurant does "squirrel melts". Metamatic 15:32, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Feeding squirrels

- If you have a squirrel looking for food in your backyard, you can only feed the squirrel(s) if you can feed the squirrel(s) as long as you are living. This is because the squirrel(s) will become dependant on you, and they will not look for their own food. They will just come to you. If you are feeding a squirrel, I suggest white bread with a very, very thin layer of peanut butter. The squirrels like that. However, do not feed the squirrel by hand. Make sure that the squirrel sees the piece of bread, and throw it out. Feeding squirrels by hand is not recommended.

Deleted from article page. Palmiro | Talk 21:45, 24 November 2005 (UTC)

Too add to that I changed the "Feeding squirrels is not recommended" to "Hand feeding squirrels is not recommended". I did this because there is no physical danger of tossing a squirrel a peanut then standing back to watch it nibble away. It's also because I personally like feeding squirrels and am amused by their nibbling. Evan-Los Angeles-CA, USA

Well no physical danger to you... Studies are showing that peanuts contain a trypsin inhibitor that if they get too much of will cause MBD. It's a fairly frequent problem in the rehabber world. Well meaning people find an "abandoned" baby squirrel and feed it cows milk and peanuts... Either the squirrel dies from malnutrition or it gets to the rehabber in a sad state and months are spent trying to save the animal. If you like watching them nibble on those, try throwing them walnuts. Especially ones in the shell, throw them on a hard surface like a sidwalk so that it makes a lot of noise. They go crazy over that. I got one that will see me two blocks away and come running because they know what I'm carrying on me.--Arkcana 03:50, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

We've raised about 50 orphaned squirrels. All our squirrels are easily and safely hand fed, even after they've been released. They are actually very careful about feeding from hand, and can easily tell the difference between food and hand.

However, I would not attempt to hand feed a wild squirrel who has never lived with humans. In that case, just tossing the food down at your feet will accomplish the same connection, and more safely. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.171.43.201 (talk) 00:57, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Fear the terrible blood-squirrels!

In Soviet Russia squirrels eat dog: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4489792.stm

I read that this morning. Easily one of the best news stories of the year, even though it doesn't seem to have been reported anywhere else so I'm yet unsure on its truth. Still, it is the BBC. Glad to see it's been placed in the article, though I doubt it'll stay long with just the one (possible) case. Jellypuzzle 22:02, 5 December 2005 (UTC)

"In Soviet Russia squirrels eat dog:" LOL Oh well, at least they weren't referred as "bloody communist squirrels" LOLOLOL 195.98.64.69 03:07, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

Russian squirrels have also occasionally hospitalized people. Stay away from Russian squirrels! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.101.251.116 (talk) 19:24, 15 October 2008 (UTC)

Do squirrels hibernate?

Seriously, do they or do they just squirrel away food?

They don't hibernate. (10 January 2006)

Ground squirrels do hibernate, but not tree squirrels. 61.230.78.158 10:15, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

Hibernation? I don't know....

Somebody told me that squirrels hibernate, but I really don't think they do. I have heard other people say they hibernate and some say they don't. So if you would, tell me the truth about this!

Ground squirrels hibernate, tree squirrels don't. Ground squirrels include chipmunks while tree squirrels include grey squirrels and variants. (January 16, 2006)

Smell not Memory

Recent studies have shown that squirrels use sense of smell not memory to find food that they have earlier buried. Researchers showed that squirrels found nuts that humans had buried just as often as the nuts that the squirrels had buried themselves. This should be reflected and changed in your main article. http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=89

In Bellingham's Western Washington University there is also a colony of black squirels, can these be western greys?

As far as I know, there are no melenistic versions of the Western gray, just the eastern gray. That, and Westerns are so rare in Washington you're not likely to see them in an urban area. Those are the domains of the easterns.--Arkcana 03:55, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

Dennis Owca of Apple Valley Minnesota has a concise and factual website to add from: http://www.squirrels.org/t_faq.html

cleanup: diet & feeding behaviour?

This section is rather large and seems poorly organized. I added some material to it, (notably about what squirrels can digest, and some more details about food sources) but then I noticed a lot of stuff in this paragraph that maybe deserves a category of its own? Anyone have any ideas of how we could break this up? There is a lot of good stuff in this section and I feel it's too much information for one section, but I'm not exactly sure how to proceed. One thought I had would be a "squirrels as a pest" heading. Also, we could separate something about squirrels intelligence, ability to be trained, adapt, etc. into another paragraph? Cazort 17:58, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

Are you who said squirrels cannot digest cellulose yet need carbohydrates? Cellulose is carbohydrate. I've seen them eating twigs. Aren't buds cellulose? Do you have a reference? Here is a U of I page that says theory is that they do eat bark. http://www.extension.org/pages/Barkstripping Mykkl (talk) 06:24, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Sleeping

Where do squirrels sleep? How come pictures never show a squirrel in any sort of "nest" or "burrow", or a sleeping squirrel anywhere else? Do male squirrels sleep in the same places as female squirrels? I’ve lived around squirrels my entire life, but nobody ever seems to mention where squirrels go at night.

For example, birds sleep in trees. I can look up into the tree and see bird nests, but I have never seen a squirrel nest.

Good question. Squirrels sleep in their burrows (for ground squirrels, chipmunks, prairie dogs, and marmots) and nests (for tree squirrels and flying squirrels).

Burrows are typically hollowed out or natural holes in sheltered ground areas. Ground squirrels and especially prairie dogs tend to be more social than other types of squirrels and more than one adult may share burrows (along with offspring). Prairie dogs actually live in complicated underground "towns" with multiple tunnels and exits.

Tree squirrels will use pre-existing knots in large trees as nests, but it is more typical for tree squirrels to build their own nests by knitting together branches. If you watch tree squirrels closely, at certain times of the year they rush around collecting branches and then hauling them up high. Tree squirrels prefer nests that are quite high. If you wander around an area with multiple squirrels, look very high up in large trees and you'll eventually spot one of their nests. The nests are larger than typical bird's nests, and they are enclosed, unlike bird's nests. I used to know whether they built their nests with one or two exits, but I can't remember exactly now. Shortly after birthing season (around now in many areas of the country), you can sometimes spot young squirrels peeking out of squirrel nests in tree knots, with the mother squirrel returning every so often. It's cute. For some videos of mother and baby squirrels inside their nests, this site is probably the best on the web: http://www.squirrelhouse.com/ --Chris Thompson 07:14, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

Around people they often live in the attic. They can easily climb a power pole and readily walk a power line to a house roof. With their sharp teeth they can enlarge a small hole until they can get into the attic. I have had several eperiences trying to eradicate them.

I'm pretty sure that a squirrel 'nest' is called a drey. Has anyone else heard of the term? I came across it in a book on red squirrels, but that was a while ago and I don't have the reference anymore... 84.176.114.107 21:01, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Where do squirrels get water?

I have been researching many sites and can't seem to find any information on how squirrels stay hydrated. Obviously rain water comes to mind but what if theres been no rain or any other obvious source? Do they ever die of dehydration? Is this a stupid question? Should I be putting water out along with the seeds and nuts I feed them? Any info or opinion would be appreciated.65.30.180.210 14:29, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[User:Britt La Galbo]17 June 2006

I don't know about squirrels in general but I've seen them drinking out of the pond in my backyard daily. They seem to be attracted to running water. It probably rains enough in their range that they're alright, not to mention puting out water is going to attract many other creatures- cats coming to drink will mean alot of dead squirrels. -HKMarks 04:00, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes, squirrels need a source of fresh water. Here in Texas you see clusters of squirrels living near rivers and lakes; you don't see them in drier areas. Even around the UT campus, squirrel density is focused on areas with water nearby. Personally, I bought a water dispenser from a pet store and attached it to a tree in our yard. The squirrels can make the trek to the nearby creek if they have to, but in hot weather they appreciate having water near the food. Metamatic 15:37, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Life expectancy

I came here to learn the life expectancy of a grey squirrel. Could someone please add this information to the article? —Theo (Talk) 08:29, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

About 10-12 years in captivity, but no more than only 4 years in the wild (from russian wiki page on grey squirrel). 195.98.64.69 03:10, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

  Please include also stages from birth, youth, adolecence, and maturity.  Thanks

Funambulus palmarum specific statement in article

I've removed the following statement from the mess of a trivia section in this article as it pertains to a specific species instead of squirrels in general. When the species article is created it may be applicable there. --Aranae 16:01, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

The Three-Striped Palm Squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) has three distinct stripes on its back. As per the Hindu epic, Ramayana, the squirrel acquired these stripes when Lord Rama stroked a squirrel's back with affection as it helped him build a bridge to Sri Lanka when he was in exile.

Just to note there is this controversy.

I am not taking sides either way. But it should be addressed here on the talk page, what are the reasons for thinking squirrels have poor memories, and which studies (if any) indicate they do remember specific hoards. -- Cimon Avaro; on a pogostick. 11:04, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

I think the only validity to this argument has nothing to do with the quality of their memory but how they deal with nut catches. I can argue till I'm blue in the face about the inteligence of these animals. I have one here that was raised in the wild and is starting to respond to her name. As for how they find the nuts they bury, I've heard this "they have scent glands in their feet that they use to mark where they bury their nuts," and "they have great spatial memory." I've heard studies done that found that squirrels aren't indescriminate, they will dug up nuts that were burried by humans just as they would their own or other squirrels. I've actually witnessed a squirrel watch another squirrel bury a nut, and when that squirrel left to find another, the first squirrel went up, dug up the nut and ate it. Funny as hell to watch, but I don't know that it proves anything. I think the only thing that can be said is that if there is food, they'll eat it. (or bury it)--Arkcana 07:54, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Pets?

Can squirrels be kept as pets or bought in pet shops?—Preceding unsigned comment added by [[User:{{{1}}}|{{{1}}}]] ([[User talk:{{{1}}}|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/{{{1}}}|contribs]])

Some people do keep them as pets, but I don't think it is legal in many areas, but I am not sure. I think they would need to be familiarized with humans early in life. There are some semi-feral squirrels that are almost like pets where they live outdoors, but interact with people and are fed by people. Look at the pictures that I posted of the gray squirrels. They are very tame. I noticed this in a park when they were coming up to me. I later saw a man hand-feeding the squirrels. --Kalmia 09:05, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

In many states in the US keeping a squirrel, or any wild animal for that matter is illegal. I have heard of squirrels being sold in shops, but there are still a lot of problems with owning one. For one, they get especially territorial and established with specific people, and if "tamed" will attack strangers who enter their territory. The best way to keep one as a pet is to raise one from early babyhood, which is not easy either. If you're looking for a running list of states where its illegal/legal to keep them as pets, check out [[2]].--Arkcana 04:04, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

malissa

I also believe (but am not entirely sure) that with the proper legal documents it is possible to own a squirrel as a pet. I know for a fact this applies to skunks and domesticated skunks have to get tjeir scent glands removed. This may or may not apply to squirrels. But it is never wise to take an animal from the wild and attempt to domesticate it. 67.72.98.46 05:51, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

Recipes

Why can't we have external links to squirrel recipes on this page? If we can have links to pages about rehabilitating delinquent squirrels and so on, then it's only fair to have links to pages about how to properly cook them. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.11.72.4 (talk) 07:05, 7 December 2006 (UTC).

First of all, look up cow and explain to me why you don't see a bunch of recipes for beef. Second, this is the 21st century and most people find that sick and offensive. Third, it's illegal in 44 states. Fourth, I've seen the edit history and I think there's enough consensus to say that this topic doesn't belong at all on this page.--Arkcana 08:03, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

I find nothing wrong with eating squirrels depsite the facts it's illegal in 44 states. The only people who are going to find it offensive is PETA people, and anyone who is uneducated when it comes to survival of the fittest. That's my opinion. 67.72.98.46 06:06, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

Survival of the fittest? How do you figure that? We've got probably several dozen game species available for hunting here in the US, that as you would so affectionally put it, only PETA people would have problem with (a group with which I have no affiliation, nor sympathy to). And you've got a problem with people who think it's disgusting to eat a rodent that is thought of as a diseased pest in most states? I mean come on. How many recipes for rat do you see out there. I mean I know, my uncle catches sidewinders and rattlesnakes and eats those. Swears they taste like chicken. But tell me how that fits into a serious wikipedia article. My point is, your only intention here is to compromise the validity and quality of the article by taking it completely off topic. I mean if you want to start another article on unorthodox wild game hunting, and archive a list of recipes there, maybe theres an idea. But this is an encyclopedia, not a cook book.--Arkcana 01:41, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Re: the US squirrel hunting laws - You know Wikipedia is international, the entire world doesn't live in the US. --Seifried (talk) 07:22, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

Eating squirrel is illegal in 44 states? Why is it when I search that this is the only page I come up with making that claim and I searched over 10 states to verify they have squirrel hunting and since I lived in many of them I know people ate the squirrels they hunted? Not that it has anything to do with the topic because I agree, this is not a cookbook and Wiki is international. But don't claim facts when they aren't.Mykkl (talk) 06:44, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Sounds like b.s. to me. I have eaten squirrel without being arrested in the U.S. Quite delicious! Referneces for it being illegal? Edison (talk) 06:49, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

I do not believe that it is illegal to eat anything in the US, including wildlife, narcotics, etc. although it may be illegal to kill, torture or possess various items or wildlife. Many US states have laws against killing and/or harassing native wildlife, but again, squirrels might be considered "varmints" or "pests" for which different laws might apply. Nonetheless, personal experience of killing or eating squirrels, while interesting, is worthless for Wiki since it is OR. If someone finds specific references about the legality of killing squirrels for food in any jurisdiction, they might make a useful addition to this article.Bob98133 (talk) 14:48, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

I thought this was an article about the squirrel as wildlife not as food. Including the food aspect of squirrel might lead to mission creep for the article. Soon after introducing the "squirrel as food" info we may wish to include the cooking methods and, why not, some recipes. We can then invite business who specialise in extermination and food preparation to adorn the external links of the article. In the process we may wish to revisit our stringent WP:SPAM rules. Pretty soon after that we can publish a Wikipedia cookbook and then the corresponding How To Manual. Dr.K. (talk) 20:41, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Plus almost anything has been reported as a food consumable depending on the culture and the circumstances. Snakes, buffalo, cats, dogs, hippo, horses, monkeys (even their brain), gorillas, larvae etc. Are we to also introduce food related sections in any conceivable article of any species extant? Dr.K. (talk) 21:39, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Unusual squirrel colors?

Xpehbam 20:33, 11 December 2006 (UTC)Anybody notice a link between unusually colored squirrels and university campuses?

Only if you belong to a university!

No, the melanistic variety I assume you are talking about are pretty frequent on the northern east coast and Canada. I know of a couple of rehabbers in New York that have taken in pure black grays from all over. If anything I would say there is more of a link between university campuses and editing on Wikipedia.--Arkcana 06:05, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

More photos

I happened to get a lot of photos of a squirrel who wandered onto my deck this afternoon. Contact sheets are [3] [4] [[5] [[6]; all images are 3888x2592 in the original. Drop a note on my Commons talk if anybody thinks any of these would be useful. (The leaping one on the fourth sheet is not well-focused, unfortunately.) Kelly Martin (talk) 03:59, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

removed excessive links

Guten Tag! In ordinance with Wikipedia:External links, I have removed some uniformed resource locators.

Here are the URLs I removed:

Cheers

--Starionwolf 06:03, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Good work. I removed the rest of the external links. This article doesn't need any. Please go through the text and cite references for each fact. Please try to cite the most WP:RS reliable source you can find, most likely that will NOT be a commercial wildlife control web site. I think there are plenty of academic works and news articles about squirrels. Please help us control spam, join WP:WPSPAM. Jehochman (^Talk/_Contrib) 12:50, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure why this article needs to be external link free. That's a rather strong stance to take. Since when did wikipedia commons and wikispecies qualify as linkspam? --Aranae 17:49, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

One of the best reasons to include external links in Wikipedia articles is when video content is available that is relevant to the article. Wikipedia doesn't seem to make very good use of video, imho, and external sources can fill the gap.

Example, these videos will give visitors a much clearer idea of what raising squirrels is like, than a text description alone can. http://squirrels-for-you.com/data/html/video/37.cgi

Whether this set of videos is the best video selection available is a decision best made by others. I'm not suggesting Wikipedia should link to ANY or ALL videos on a topic, clearly the editing function is still important. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.171.43.201 (talk) 01:05, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

"Clijster?"

I recently removed:

Although squirrels are not social animals and do not live in groups, the word "clijster" (pronounced "cly-ster") is in general use as the American colloquial term for a group of squirrels.

I can't find any reference to this term in any English dictionary or on the Internet, but the editor who added it (Special:Contributions/68.174.123.113) has made a couple of constructive edits, so perhaps it isn't vandalism. Has anyone ever heard of the word? -Three white leopards 18:09, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

Lead in a landfill?

What does lead in a landfill have to do with squirrel meat? Just would be helpful to have it pointed out.

Dunno...

This whole project seems a bit hopeless.

There's a big emphasis on providing expert info and citing sources and such, but how many of those editing this page, deleting links, yelling spam etc, have actually lived with squirrels, raised them and so on?

So many pages on Wikipedia seem like a pointless power struggle between folks who don't actually know much about the topic, except what they've maybe read on the Internet somewhere.

Those who do have the real experience are unlikely to enlighten the discussion, as they will soon learn that contributing just fuels the ego agendas of the ignorant.

Sorry, this is directed at the Wikipedia concept, not any specific individual.

Positive suggestion, if you haven't lived with squirrels, remove yourself from this page, and ask experienced people to manage it instead:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/index.php

Lived with squirrels? Arguably, any squirrel behaviour noted whilst living with a human would be quite different from their actions in the wild. Or did you mean people who have gone to live with squirrels, as opposed to bringing squirrels to live with them? This concept intrigues me...

Fox squirrel?

Hi! I snapped these photos at the elephant seal sanctuary in San Simeon. I want to put them in the right subcategory at the Commons, so just to be sure, are these fox squirrels? Thanks. --Bagginz 21:03, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

Nope. It's a ground squirrel of some kind. --Aranae 22:24, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

You're right. It's a California Ground Squirrel. Thanks! --Bagginz 23:09, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

Etymology

Just wanted to note that the Middle English aquerna immediately looks like the origin of the Norse (Nordic) ekorn which is our word for squirrel. Sigg3.net (talk) 16:13, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Kent Ohio?

Hello, didn't Kent State University have a lot to do with he rehabilitation & relocation of the black (grey?) squirrel? We have more of them here than people, and the pride can be seen on our city's car bumper stickers with a symbol of a (black Squirrel)?

I scanned through the article and didn't see any mention of the fact and I’m almost positive that was a fact I learned while attending Kent State.

At any rate, the creatures are nesting right now and I’ll send some pictures of nests and babies if that helps. (They are all over and they seem to multiply ever five years (this year is one) more than any other around here because the trees drop acorns all over the place once every four to five years it seems.)

Jason B. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.25.105.149 (talk) 15:45, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

From what I understand, the black squirrel was having trouble because of being hunted and was brought from Canada by Larry Woodell in 1961. In September, we have a Black Squirrel Festival in honor of the event. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.25.105.149 (talk) 15:52, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Video link

I added the link to a video I put together from footage I shot so that users of wikipedia could see the squirrel in live action, but it was removed. . . for some reason. I set it to polka music, because I think that's more enjoyable, but I can upload and link to a version with the natural sounds if that is preferred. Please explain the issue as I completely do not understand why we'd want to keep people from a valuable resource. Help me understand please. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.208.88.191 (talk) 01:52, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

Here's one attempt to answer your question.

Wikipedia editors are generally very careful about, wary of, external links. If they weren't, these pages would be quickly over run by thousands of webmasters hoping to get free promotion.

This quite understandable concern about link spam has evolved to an exaggerated level where even external links to very relevant video content, that Wikipedia itself can not display very well, are routinely rejected for no other reason than they external links.

To put it more bluntly, Wikipedia isn't ready for the multimedia Net, and is thus becoming a bit less relevant with each passing day. Wikipedia can't display video content within it's own pages very well, and the editing culture of Wikipedia makes it quite difficult for articles to make use of external resources that are prepared to display relevant quality video content.

Best advice from here, if you wish to share video content, you should probably invest your time in to a site like YouTube.com, that is fully prepared to accommodate your contribution. Of course, on YouTube you will find the opposite problem, no editing at all, and thus your video will likely soon be lost under a mountain of very low quality content.

If you wish to present both quality text content, AND quality video content, you may have to do this on your own site. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.228.98.71 (talk) 22:44, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Squirrel vs Sciuridae - Contradiction in the article and regionalism

It seems to me that this page is more about common squirrels in the USA than members of the Sciuridae. The introduction says that A squirrel is any one of the many small or medium-sized rodents in the family Sciuridae which is in contradiction to the next sentence: squirrel commonly refers to members of this family's genera Sciurus and Tamiasciurus Sciuridae has 4 living subfamilies: Ratufinae, Sciurillinae, Sciurinae, Callosciurinae and Xerinae. Apart from certain species in the Xerinae subfamily, they are all mostly tree squirrels with a bushy tail. If this focus of the article is only common squirrels found in the USA, it should be clearly said so, but this goes against the Wikipedia guidelines of being universal. In most parts of the world 'Squirrel' is used for any member of Sciuriade. Maybe a warning could be made at the beginning of the article, like in the French version, saying that "Squirrel" is not a well defined term. AtikuX (talk) 10:52, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

I noticed there is also an article for Sciuridae. It seems like these articles are about the same animals and should be merged.220.76.15.231 (talk) 04:35, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

I wouldn't object to that. I have always found the separation awkward. I think it should merge to squirrel. --Aranae (talk) 05:27, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

Sciuridae definitely includes species that are not squirrels (like woodchucks) and I think the article's more narrow description of squirrels as the family's genera Sciurus and Tamiasciurus is a more accurate representation of what most English speakers consider a "regular" squirrel, as opposed to flying squirrels, or ground squirrels (though I think Tribe Sciurini would be even better narrowing). Either of those two more narrow ways of putting it encompasses far more than United States species (like the Red Squirrel which would be what most British have historically considered considered a garden variety squirrel--I say historically in light of the Eastern Gray Squirrel supplanting them in much of Britain recently). I would strike or rephrase the first sentence ("any...in the family Sciuridae"), and perhaps soften the narrower description with wording to the effect that other members of the family Sciuridae are also considered squirrels. Perhaps titling the article "Tree Squirrels" would also help? I actually as there is already an article by that title, it might make sense to merge this with that.

I think there is also a separate issue, which is that there are parts of this article, especially regarding behavior, that seem to specifically be about the Eastern Grey Squirrel and do not apply to all other tree squirrels (even some which are the most common tree squirrel species in parts of the U.S., such as American Red Squirrel which dominates northern New England). My feeling is that all such sections should be removed and possibly merged into the articles for the specific species to which they apply.--Ericjs (talk) 19:31, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

Sciuridae, according to ^[1], is the Family of Rodents whose Sub-families include Sciurinae: Chipmunks - genus Tamias, Marmots - genus Marmota, Prairie Dogs - genus Cynomys, and a very large number of Squirrel genera and species; and Pteromyinae: which contains Flying Squirrel genera and species. The format and layout of the Sciuridae article should mimic Mustelidae, IMHO. DesertJules (talk) 07:00, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Common species

The species mentioned in the first paragraph of the Background section are all native to North America. Surely that's not representative? The eurasian red squirrel's abundant in my nook of the world and I assume inhabitants of other continents have their own idea of what's a "common" squirrel. Furiku (talk) 11:54, 29 October 2008 (UTC)

Acorns

Should something be said about how they eat a lot of acorns? I'd put it, but I don't know where it would go. KenFehling (talk) 17:35, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

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^ http://www.itis.gov

[1] ttp://www.itis.gov

[1]