...and it already knows all of the tricks of how to feed itself.
It is an Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), also known outside of the US, as the grey squirrel. This one is here in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.
Since squirrels landed her in the 1900s, they have proliferated at such a pace, that they were classified as vermin. At one stage, in the past, a bounty was placed on squirrels and if one shot a squirrel with proof then a bounty was paid. But squirrels outlasted that, and they are still very active here in the Western Cape Province.
Agile little beings, that can move through the trees at high speed. We had many squirrels in our garden at our old house, and they even bred there in the trees. It was fun to watch how clever the squirrels are when they steal each other's nuts. They will watch the squirrel bury his nut, and as soon as the squirrel goes then one of them will pop down to steal the nut.
Sometimes, they pretend to bury a nut in order to throw the potential "thieves" off track.
This one, though, remembered where he buried his nut, and my camera had fun watching him.
I made a slight noise, and he popped up to give me the eye.
Would you believe it? This guy popped down to have a wee.
So, I made another noise and check how he gathers himself on his hind legs to take off at speed.
I thought that he was going to go straight up the tree, and so I stood still.
Looked how he popped over to have a look at me.
The fun was over, and I went on my way. We also have squirrels here at the current house, but not as many as we had at the old place. One that we called "Squirry" even took nuts from my wife's pocket and hung upside down on her back to eat it. Sadly, Squirry disappeared and since then there are now no more close friendships. Spring season is over, and the new little ones are starting to grow during Summer in order to prepare for Winter.
Such is a squirrel's life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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