"Squirrel waves" - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 02:56:51 am
content: Just a little piece of fairly off topic trivia.Every time I see the "show us your square wave" thread emerge on my list, I think of squirrels. Where I live I am surrounded by squirrels and often hear them chattering away. They always struck me as fairly intelligent, it seems to me. As our local animals go.A few months ago I read something interesting- that it appears that squirrels communicate both by means of sounds, and with wave like patterns with their voluminous tails.Anyway, since learning this I've seen them do it a number of times. If you peruse videos about squirrels on YouTube you'll see lots of examples of it but none that I have seen specifically talk about it.I don't think you have squirrels in Australia. One of the only places where they are not present.

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 05:00:02 am
content: I can confirm this.Actually on serious note I have read about that too, they use their tail a lot to communicate. Ironicly I rarely ever see squirrels here but used to see them all the time when I used to camp more. Used to feed them from my hand and stuff, they are pretty fun. Same with chipmunks.

author: Ash
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 05:22:46 am
content: Quote from: cdev on November 16, 2017, 02:56:51 amNo, we don't.. Spiders ate them all I guess..We have lots of pretty mischievous and smart birds though.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 05:23:24 am
content: The only squirrel I've seen ran along a fence as I was walking down a street in Dunblane, Scotland many years ago.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 05:42:41 am
content: Quote from: Ash on November 16, 2017, 05:22:46 amThe Sydney funnel web makes the Black Knight look innocuous...Piss them off and they will stand up to you - with a stance that says "Come-on! Just try it, ya mug!"This one is just annoyed. If he were really ticked off those fangs would be swung out more - close to the horizontal...And those fangs are solid and can be more than1/4" long..

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 06:45:34 am
content: Quote from: Ash on November 16, 2017, 05:22:46 amThe ones the dropbears didn't get to first?

author: DeanA
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 08:13:48 am
content: No Squirrels in Oz, we've got lots of possums though, very common in urban areas of Sydney.They like to make their homes in the roof cavity of houses. We had an entertainment room when I was a kid and there were possums in the roof, a false ceiling panel collapsed one night and the possums basically destroyed the pool table, record player and furniture, pissing and shitting everywhere.They make a horrible noise too, like they're vomiting or something, lol.

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 01:08:02 pm
content: Yes, I can get them to eat out of my hand. Sometimes when I have been posting here I've been outdoors on my front steps (too cold now though) and they come up to me if I tear up some bread or something to feed them.They are almost tame. Which I am sure is not good for them. The stuff people feed them probably leads to major problems for them, with things like tooth decay. (Children feed them candy, etc, and they just gobble it up.)In NYC's parks, especially Central Park, the squirrels are so bold that they will basically hound you forever if you start feeding them something. They also sometimes try to steal objects of human attention, even cell phones (I saw this on YouTube and it makes perfect sense because they likely think people are eating them, not talking on them.)Quote from: Ash on November 16, 2017, 05:22:46 amYes, decades ago while living in a huge apartment building in SF during the last century, I had a neighbor who had a salmon crested cockatiel named Sophie who was almost as smart as many humans, (maybe even smarter!) who I would pop in on when my friend was traveling, just to make sure she was okay.I love parrots. They really are very intelligent.The only place I know of in the US where there is a large colony of large feral parrots is actually in SF in the vicinity of the Filbert Steps and Telegraph Hill.http://www.markbittner.net/There when I lived here they were fairly well established and would forage in the surrounding area for food. However, they didn't make friends with me nor did I ever see anybody successfully feed them out of their hand although in the movie about them ("The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" see web page of Mark Bittner, above) they do make friends with some humans (including him) who helped them, but they prefer to be independent, and we should not try to domesticate them. The same applies to squirrels, deer, etc.On the other hand, I did live near a very large group of wild parakeets who are well known and well documented online. They range over the (SF neighborhoods) Inner Mission all the way up to Tank Hill. Its my understanding that a lot of US cities have feral parakeet populations, they manage to survive even in some fairly cold areas. They find places where humans provide them with heat.For example, there are also parakeets in Brooklyn, but I have never seen them. (I've never really gone looking for them, usually when I am in Brooklyn its for some reason and I don't have the time to go on parakeet-hunts, although I would love to.)http://brooklynparrots.com/why-are-they-here

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 01:15:22 pm
content: This is a deadly spider, right, as in 'can kill you' deadly?Not as big as the one that captured Frodo in LOTR! (One of my favorite books as a child)When I used to live in/near the redwoods in CA. there were lots of very large spiders around there but I don't think that many of them were so venomous as to be capable of killing a human.You get used to them. They are actually valuable in that they kill and eat a lot of smaller insect pests.Quote from: Brumby on November 16, 2017, 05:42:41 amI have gotten nasty spider bites in the past. You have to take care that they heal up and don't get infected.

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 03:31:32 pm
content: I've heard that each person on this planet eats an average of 8 spiders while he/she sleeps at night. Those look like big spiders. I wonder if you are hungry enough to eat breakfast the next morning!

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 03:38:12 pm
content: "Per night" [!?] or "per life"? (the first sounds excessive unless you camp out a lot or never clean, the second sounds quite plausible, perhaps even a big underestimate.)They are probably mostly the very small baby spiders that people swallow.Some animals will just gobble up insects they see.Quote from: Falcon69 on November 16, 2017, 03:31:32 pmA number of years ago when I was leaving a national park near Nageezi, NM, I witnessed the most amazing thing, a huge tarantula migration.

author: Mjolinor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 03:53:09 pm
content: I was once working in Florida and in the street transformers, along with nasty ants and all sorts of other wildlife were these really small red dots that were spiders. When they bite you it is really painful and swells up. I don't know what they were but would be happy never to work in their proximity again.

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 03:57:55 pm
content: Ouch.All sorts of animals and illnesses from warm climates are migrating northward and southward due to climate change.Dave is smart to get up to a higher elevation. Preferably where it freezes frequently.

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 04:47:39 pm
content: Quote from: cdev on November 16, 2017, 03:38:12 pmDunno, I've woken up in the night and found spiders in my chest hair, I'm hopeful it works as some kind of obstacle course and prevents them reaching my mouth.

author: Scrts
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 04:57:10 pm
content: Quote from: Falcon69 on November 16, 2017, 03:31:32 pmThis myth was created by scientists to understand how fast the fake news split over the web.

author: metrologist
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 05:19:52 pm
content: We have too many squirrels here, an infestation really.Once upon a time there were only gray squirrels in this region, then a university was conducting some experiments and introduced black squirrels, and they now dominate the population. I often see the black and gray squirrels fighting. The gray ones are a little bigger, look nice, and are a bit more fluffy; the black ones look scraggly. Both species are mean and will piss on you.The last two years, we've had crows move in and they have been whittling away at the squirrel population. I'm not sure which is worse though. The crows make a heck of a racket.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 06:29:32 pm
content: Quote from: Mjolinor on November 16, 2017, 03:53:09 pmThey aren't spiders but they are arachnids. They're clover mites, similar to chiggers. Nasty little things.https://www.americanpest.net/pest-identification/profile/clover-mitesEDIT: I'm completely wrong, those don't bite, they're actually red dwarf spiders.https://bugguide.net/node/view/41834

author: ZeTeX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 10:00:45 pm
content: Quote from: cdev on November 16, 2017, 03:57:55 pmDo you live in igloo?

author: retrolefty
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 10:17:09 pm
content: QuoteEven larger Parrot colonies reside in Hollywood, CA.

author: Ash
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 11:25:08 pm
content: My apologies to @cdev, my off-the-cuff joke about spiders seems to have hijacked your thread..Ash.

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 11:28:28 pm
content: Quote from: cdev on November 16, 2017, 03:57:55 pmEven here in northern Ontario we see weird stuff now that we never had before, like deer ticks, and deer. Apparently we even have raccoons now. It's also an issue for bears as they are still out when they should be hibernating and there is not enough food.Our winters are garbage now, too much wetness even at this time of year when it should be nice and dry and frozen.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 11:45:32 pm
content: Quote from: cdev on November 16, 2017, 01:15:22 pmYes, they can kill - but with prompt attention, proper first aid and anti-venom you will likely survive. It might be agonising until the anti-venom kicks in, though.One good thing is that they can't jump - but they can run.

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2017, 11:50:28 pm
content: You can follow the spread of "zoonotic" illnesses in the appropriately named CDC publication "MMWR" (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report)With our long, low elevation river valleys (Mississippi/Missouri/Ohio rivers) here in the US, vector borne illnesses (zoonoses) are expected to become fairly unstoppable as they spread northward, once their hosts get a foothold and temps warm up a few degrees.I bet the drug companies are anticipating making a real killing.Red Squirrel, you're lucky to live in Canada.

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2017, 12:07:18 am
content: Yeah you guys can keep your spiders. LOL. I'll take the bears and moose.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 17, 2017, 12:29:15 am
content: I can capture a spider in a glass jar - or just step on it.Wanna try that with a bear or a moose?

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2017, 12:46:02 am
content: At least you can see a bear or moose for yards. A 22 will take care of any animal that decides to charge, you just need a friend with you.

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2017, 12:57:16 am
content: Male tarantulas migrate in the fall in the US Southwest. They are huge, but don't bite, they are just gentle giants "lookin for love".

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2017, 01:10:50 am
content: Quote from: Brumby on November 17, 2017, 12:29:15 amYou haven't seen our jars!I'd rather deal with a chainsaw homicidal maniac than with a minefield.

author: BradC
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2017, 01:53:12 am
content: Quote from: DeanA on November 16, 2017, 08:13:48 amWe have them. They were introduced and we've been trying to get rid of them since. They are mostly under control, but we still have them in WA.

author: Circlotron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2017, 03:01:47 am
content: Possums are a protected species in Australia, at least where I live. If you catch one destroying your house you are permitted to move it no more than 50 metres. Then of course it finds its way straight back again. Then again, if it’s a brushtail possum it is illegal to do anything with them. They have more rights to your house than you do.https://www.wildlife.vic.gov.au/managing-wildlife/possums

author: jmelson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2017, 11:38:16 pm
content: Quote from: Mjolinor on November 16, 2017, 03:53:09 pmThose are probably chiggers. Yes, really a nasty thing, they itch like crazy.Jon