Evening star., 1949-07-16
This and That
Bu Charles E. Trdce,Deu

One squirrel walking a telephone wire
is not news. but quartet of them two
feet apart, is at least unusual
Nor was this all
Electr1c cables were swaying that hot
morning, not from the wind, but because
OF ten more squirrels.
They presented an odd sight, as one after
another they moved along the cable.
On the woven cables, squirrels can run,
put on single wires they must take it easy.
Ihey usually compromise, being SQUIRRELS
on a combination Of run and stop. run
and stop
They go about six feet. when they must
stop, often swinging around and down, but
never dropping
When the average person sees this sight
Tor the first time. he thinks he has run onto
something unique.
Actually. the job is done literally thou
sands of times each day.
since the cables and wires run through
trees, the squirrels naturally take to them,
All over the city, and especially in the
suburbs. the bushy tailed rodents have dis
covered that the wires make fine walkways
bros sometimes light on them but only
for little time.
The squirrels now use these walkways
catwalks some might call them. all day long
Ihey use them particularly to cross busy
thoroughfares.
"Catwalk" would not be good name, for
no cat could manage to cross on them.
And, once losing its footing, no cat could
mold on very long. Finally 1t would plummet
to the ground.
The squirrel seldom If ever falls When
ne does. it Is more likely to be from tree
where ne has jumped to too slight branch
to support him.
To have squirrel fall on one would he
disastrous, for no one could blame the crea-
ture for biting, since the experience would
oe as startling to him as to the human.
one New York City policeman was bitten
in this way.
Once we had squirrel fall directly in
front OF us. but fortunately the animal
missed by inches. Before we had recovered
from astonishment, the squirrel had van
ished up tree
With It's sharp claws and even sharper
teeth the gray squirrel might be thought
to be danger to electric wires.
Actually. he causes little trouble When
walking the cables and wires he is 50 busy
getting by without falling that he has little
time to do any gnawing
We have watched them many times on
transformers, and have never seen them at
tempt to do any biting. The material, GER
talnly, Is not to their liking.
1t Is fortunate for houSeholders that
squirrels seem to be normally occupied out
doors with other matters than gnawing
roonng. for instance. There are certain
types OF roofs they might easily damage
Now and then squirrels get into the tun-
nels formed by tile roofing
man was telling us about this the other
day. He pointed to the exposed ends and
said that often squirrels ran into the open
ings and clear back to the house walls
There are clay shoppers that are supposed
to go over the ends, but he had never gotten
any, he said. We had never thought Of this.
but squirrels are not to be blamed-almost
any one. OF the proper size were he up there.
would be tempted to run along the neat
little tunnels.
The gray squirrel is one of the natural
features Of the Washington suburbs. While
there is here and there person who will
not like them. most householders find them
entertaining enough, though blaming them
now and then for eating fresh vegetables or
pulling up tulip bulbs. Considering its
potentialities for damage. the squirrel is
surprisingly easy on mans constructions and
does very little damage. The worst it does
Is when It gets shut up in house. Then
1t can gnaw at doorways and window cas-
ings until hundreds and even thousands
of dollars of damage has been done. It is
always good fdea. before going on vacation,
to see that no squirrels are In the house,
and that the nHeplacs dsmper u closed.