Khan's Squirrels

[Khan]

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

love the white squirrel. i've never seen one. didn't know they existed until your posts.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

love the white squirrel. i've never seen one. didn't know they existed until your posts.

LG4NB, they've gottem around here too, but I can't remember if it's Sanibel or one of the other parks. I remember someone explaining how it much more likely on islands and other closed habitats, to enforce the albino trait through a little inbreeding.

And, let's pay homage to the black squirrels up in Wi and Mn. The were all over the place, especially golf courses.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Beautiful, Kahn.

 

[Shawn]

And, let's pay homage to the black squirrels up in Wi and Mn.

There's a black squirrel living near me (northern California). Every once in a while I see him along the fence line or in the neighbors tree. Until seeing this guy, I didn't know squirrels came in any color except brown. I didn't know they came in white until Khan's pictures.

 

[mh]

caption possibilities for the first pic..

"what are you doing *inside* my jungle jim?"
or ..

"give me that peanut already! "

 

[Notmuchlonger]

I Googled white squirrels. Since I never seen one in my life before. NEAT! thanks for sharing.

White Squirrels, Albino Squirrels. Roadside America

 

[TromboneAl]

I'm not sure they're albino, since they seem to have pigment in their eyes.

 

[Khan]

I'm not sure they're albino, since they seem to have pigment in their eyes.

I adjusted the photos to remove 'redeye' from the camera flash, they do have pink eyes.

 

[HFWR]

I'm not sure they're albino, since they seem to have pigment in their eyes.

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy squirrel's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

 

[Khan]

caption possibilities for the first pic..

"what are you doing *inside* my jungle jim?"
or ..

"give me that peanut already! "

That's pretty much what he was 'saying'.

 

[Purron]

Great pics Khan - BTW, love your avatar - you promised the great and powerful Khan would return and you didn't let us down

 

[cantlogin]

There are a few squirrels around here too but they all have the standard paint jobs. None of those fancy white or black types.

 

[Sarah in SC]

So cute! We have zillions of squirrels but I never seem to have the camera ready when they are still. I'm jealous of your squirrel savvy!

 

[happy2bretired]

Love your squirrels Khan. I don't have any trees in my yard and all the neighbor's trees are too small yet for squirrels. There is a neighborhood not far away that has black ones. Yesterday I saw a black one only about a half mile away from my house. I'm hoping by the time my neighbor's trees are big enough that some will move on down and take up residence in my neighborhood. I used to love watching them when I lived in another house many years ago. I break for squirrels.

 

[simple girl]

Love the squirrel pics!

We had red squirrels and flying squirrels where I grew up in western PA. It was really cool watching the flying squirrels glide from one tree to another. Unfortunately, I hear that the northern flying squirrel is now an endangered species in PA.

 

[cantlogin]

I have never seen a wild flying squirrel! I used to watch Rocky on TV all the time though.

 

[Khan]

Love the squirrel pics!

We had red squirrels and flying squirrels where I grew up in western PA. It was really cool watching the flying squirrels glide from one tree to another. Unfortunately, I hear that the northern flying squirrel is now an endangered species in PA.

I grew up in Upstate New York. When I was 12 or so Mother noticed something on the bird feeder one winter night. There was a flying squirrel chomping down bird food. He didn't seem perturbed by being watched by humans. After a while he glided off into the woods.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

here's one of my coconut stealing garden squirrels.

this is right outside my florida room picture window where he likes to sit on the staghorn fern behind vines hanging down from the monstera which climbs up a slash pine tree.


(wiki photo of monstera)

about a year ago he and his kind discovered my coconut palm tree. while the fruit is green, they gnaw a round hole into the upper side and then scrape out coconut from within. i guess they must also drink the milk because when the hollowed out nuts fall there's nothing left of them.

i have to clean them up right away or the rain fills them with water and they become little mosquito manufacturing plants.

this problem might be self-regulating. don't know how healthy it is to eat all those coconuts.

 

[harley]

this problem might be self-regulating. don't know how healthy it is to eat all those coconuts.

Leave an open bottle of rum and a couple of radio controlled cars out there with the coconuts. That should take care of it.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

lolololol

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

kahn, meet halftail; halftail, this is kahn. hadn't seen halftail around in a while. thought the neighborhood cats must have gotten the rest of him. but while gardening yesterday i look up and there he is in my face, about three feet away on the hawaiian fern tree, right near the coconut palm. so of course i went to get him his walnuts and then he follows me around for the rest of the afternoon while i yell at him to leave me alone and go be a squirrel.

today i hear him squawking at something in a neighbor's yard, i'm guessing cat. he's up in the palm tree. i have found my culprit. it was halftail all along. no wonder he hasn't been bugging me for nuts, he's discovered the coconuts.

got pics of him. fascinating. he opens them up from the bottom so that the milk drains out, makes the whole big enough for himself and then actually goes inside the coconut while it is in the tree and eats the coconut meat from inside. i had a whole batch up there and he's only left about three for me. greedy little squirrel, and after i gave him all those walnuts.

here's halftail on a palm frond

here he is having dinner

and here's halftails past meals

oh, and while i was shooting pics, here's gladys who likes to hang out by the fishtail palm.

 

[Khan]

kahn, meet halftail; halftail, this is kahn. hadn't seen halftail around in a while

Two of the local squirrels are halftails, and I think the cat is the reason.

Last year the squirrels decided the bamboo was edible.

This year the menu was expanded to include geraniums.

 

[Puzzley]

Thanks for the squirrel pics. White ones? Coconut eaters? Great stuff....

 

[omni550]

Squirrel at play

I thought I'd share my squirrel story. This afternoon, I was in my backyard and noticed a squirrel (the normal brownish-gray variety) in my neighbor's yard. He was rolling around and just having a great time playing with a small tree branch that was laying on the ground. The branch was very thin and sort of curled. The squirrel would sort of jump-and-roll with the branch, often holding the branch with his feet up in the air while on his back, having a blast. He was having a ton of fun for the 2-3 minutes that I watched. Then another squirrel came by and started chasing him, and they both ran off out of sight. I have never seen a squirrel frolicking like that before. It reminded me of a kitten who will play with most anything. I wonder if he was born this year and is still a juvenile? omni