We’re taking a bit of a side trip here to another branch of the order Rodentia, from the suborder Sciuromorpha (wherein squirrels dwell) to the suborder Castorimorpha, Genus Castor, to our friend the American beaver.
This article from The Atlantic magazine (June 2012), includes a tale from the 1940s when Idaho’s Department of Fish and Game dropped parachuted crates of beavers to repopulate the wilderness and — quite progressively — improve the ecological balance thereby. (Current application: think climate change.)
That’s the number of squirrels counted in the tally by volunteers at New York’s Central Park.
Read this great article from Smithsonian.com which includes a succinct history of the creatures, from the 1800s on, including a mob gawking at an escaped pet squirrel in 1856.
A thoughtful article on a squirrel-harvesting trend that’s gaining ground, especially in England where the grey squirrel is encroaching on the native red squirrel (championed by the Red Squirrel Survival Trust — who have the support of Prince Charles, among others). Culling without wasting food..?
Ragu, yes? Or perhaps a pie with sweet pickled onion relish..?
This guy walks by our 1st floor window and produced half a cheese sandwich stashed on the window ledge Then sat there and ate it whilst watching our TV! … https://t.co/WqXvjXsMcnpic.twitter.com/eJQv1Q3ujl
Now is a really important time for red squirrels. They're working hard to stock up seeds, berries, and bark to help them through winter. pic.twitter.com/BOeOL2EQWb
When you follow squirrels with a camera for an hour, people look at you weird. But then you discover you captured things like this. pic.twitter.com/03W42UhibE
Well, it looks like only Canadians (and perhaps only in southern Ontario) can enjoy this