Evening star., 1945-05-19
This and That
By Charles E. TrdcetDeH.
"CHILLUM HEIGHTS,

Dear sir:
Having gained much knowledge from
your excellent writings, ask your ad-
vice, and, if it is due me, also your
consolation in the following:
For years I have fed and watered
the birds both summer and winter
and have 20 different varieties around
the house. Along with these, a pair
of gray squirrels took up their abode
in large tree which touches my house.
They have grown very tame, and
take peanuts from my fingers ever so
gently
This morning the male was frisking
around and before knew it my two
dogs had killed him.
They had killed rats in several in
stances which had pestered the neigh
borhood, much to my delight. I suppose
the squirrel was nothing more than
rat to them.
Nevertheless, am broken-hearted
and whipped my pets severely. I was
sorry afterward, as they have been
lovable and loyal companions for seven
years.
"The squirrel left will soon have her
babies and I wonder if she can and
will care for them, or is that job left
to the male?
This worries me, and any advice
offered will be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely, r. v. D."
x& 4
We do not think our hearted
correspondent need worry too much
about this.
1t was just one Of the episodes which
happen.
There is no getting away from such
tragedies, no matter how much one
tries. They will arise, from time to
time, and nothing can be done about
them. Dogs cannot be held responsible
for catching cats or squirrels any more
than cats can be held responsible for
catching birds now and then. These
actions are practically automatic with
them. They are part of their nature.
If there is any blame, it goes back too
far for man to judge. Man has done
too much killing in his time to sit in
judgment on any Of the creatures.
AS for the mother squirrel, she will
be able to take care of her young. She
does it, anyway, whether the father
is around or not. Usually he is not Of
much help in this respect. He will aid
in building the large leafy nest, some-
times called the summer nest, but ordi-
narily all of this is done by the mother.
A real aid to her will be food put
out, such as various nuts, including
peanuts, and sunfower seeds.
1t will be necessary, however, to keep
the dogs out of the yard, and that is
certainly severe on the dogs.
But if the mother is allowed a clear
field, she will come down to get the
food, and the babies will see her, and
in about month or six weeks after
they are born they will begin to come
down the tree with her, and learn to
sample the food.
If the dogs cannot be kept in, the
food might be placed on a shelf of
some sort built in the tree at a con-
venient height.
This aid to the mother and baby
squirrels is real help, since three or
four hungry babies will cause the
mother to put in much time in search
Of food. The father squirrel might
have helped, in this, but there was no
guarantee about this. Some squirrels
are helpful, and others are not.
In the main, the feeding is done
by the mother, who is always delighted
if she can find some ready food easily
accessible to the babies also. They
learn by watching. When they see the
mother go down and begin to eat, they
long to follow her example, but usually
it is several weeks, from four to six
or more, before they get up enough
nerve to leave the tree. This is q
great moment in the young squirrels
life. He will get about 10 feet from
the ground literally hundreds Of times
before he actually touches the ground.
Once he has done this, his life as q
Suuirrel really be0ins.