Evening star., 1946-05-16
This and That
By Charles E. TraceaUeU.
"TILDEN STREET.

Dear Sir:
I have wondered about the difference
In the squirrels coming to our yard.
Most OF them are very timid, but there
is one that walks right up.
He is not afraid, at least very little.
He does not scamper away, as all the
rest do, the moment any one opens
door.
This one stays put. He looks at YOU
wisely, as If giving you a good survey;
he stands his ground, and even comes
closer
Yesterday he came right up on the
porch, and actually intimated that he
would ike to come in. He did not do
1t. and finally lost his nerve and left.
but am sure that with little coaxing
he will come in.
Can you tell me why he should be
this way, when all the others are ex-
tremely timid? And what course should
L adopt If he comes in? l am not very
well acquainted with squirrels at close
hand. I know some persons regard
them as nothing but rats, but l am sure
that II they could watch this little
fellow for even a short time they would
come to have different opinion.
Yours, F. p. L."
The best answer is the most natural
answer.
There is simply no reason why some
one squirrel should not be friendly.
Ihe wonder is, in yards where feeding
Is carried on, that all of them are not.
Squirrels have as much right to indi-
vlduality as any breed OF animal,
Close observation of many of them,
over long period of time, reveals this.
The common belief that animals lack
individuality, are all cast in the same
mold and act and think alike, is wrong
Many unobservant persons feel this
way about cats. The truth is that cats
are as individual as can be. No two
OF them are alike. Each one has it's
own character.
squirrels may look alike but each one
mas Its own way of doing things. Anv
home owner can test this out by put
ting bird-feeding station in a dificult
position. Difficult, That is, for a four
legged creature to get at.
Squirrels will sit back on their
haunches to study the problem. They
Will never give up. And the point is
that no two of them will try the same
way OF achieving the desired end.
Even though each squirrel sees the
others solution, he will go right ahead
trying to reach the station through his
own chosen way.
This may show a certain. lack of rea-
sonlng power and it does, but it must
pe remembered that animals do not
reason as We do. For good or worse,
man is the reasoning animal par excel
lence, although not the only one Often
IN animals what seems reasoning is
really super instinct. One has to be
very careful in saying that they reason
a thing out. Maybe they just smell it
out!
squirrels are not hard to handle If
one WILL keep In mind the cardinal rule.
that no quick motions of any kind must
be made by the human element in the
scene
This, after all, is just commonsense,
because squirrel is much faster than
human. He can bite to the bone
before his would-be friend knows he
has started.
Another rule is to let the animal do
the moving, If possible, at least to make
all the first moves. Do not reach out
your hand to guest squirrel but Simply
hold 1t still and let the animal come
up to it. This is always a good rule
With strange, four footed things, even
with dogs. No attempt shold ever be
made to touch a squirrel. Let him do
the touching until you are thoroughly
convinced that he is friendly. Offer
him food, for instance, but let him do
the taking in his own way.