Squirrel pups 2.0!

September 12, 2014 • 12:54 pm

The second squirrel litter of the year has appeared at last. Well, I know that N is greater than or equal to 1, as there is a juvenile who appeared today at feeding time. (Gray squirrels around here have two broods per year.)

This morning he/she was incompetent at nomming. Offered walnuts, shelled almonds, peanuts, and sunflower seed, the youngster didn’t seem to recognize any of them as food. A few hours later, though, it gingerly nibbled on sunflower seeds and discovered that they were good. I timed it: it took the n00b 30 full seconds to eat a single seed, while an experienced adult does it in less than three seconds. Eventually the cache was discovered by an older squirrel, who drove away the n00b.

This little guy is also a lot tamer than the adults; he’ll stay on the ledge when I open the window. Adults scurry away.

Isn’t it cute? Look at those big eyes and that huge, fluffy tail.

What should I name it?

Sqrl

46 thoughts on “Squirrel pups 2.0!

    1. Maybe shortened and americanized to “Ike”, if it turns out to be male. Though it is not exactly a cutesy name. How about “Tamy” from tame-y.

      If all else fails, “Bob” is always a good name for everything for no reason in particular, as the moleatthecounter suggests.

  1. That one needs to start eating faster if he/she wants to get through the winter. I wonder what the first winter mortally rate differential is between the fist and last babies of the season. The snow will be falling in Chicago before you know it.

  2. In honor of the great storyteller of my boyhood, Thornton Burgess, I suggest naming this squirrel “Happy Jack.” Or Jacquelyn.

    1. I thought something similar. “Heli” from Helianthus, the genus for sunflowers. Might be a bit too close to “Hili” though.

  3. thats an Eastern Grey Squirrel, I assume?
    per Wiki
    “The genus, Sciurus, is derived from two Greek words, skia, meaning shadow, and oura, meaning tail. This name alludes to the squirrel sitting in the shadow of its tail.”

    So, I like the sound of the biblical Hebrew name Tsillah, which also means shadow.

    That’s if it’s a girl. I can’t tell.

  4. Mrs./Mr. Stevens

    Only because Ceiling Cat can then exclaim “look Mrs. Stevens is on the windowsill outside again!” to his bewildered colleagues.

    Yeah, that one won’t make it. 😉

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