Squirrels at play

[scalyboy]

There’s a main road that goes over a railway near me, on the other side of the bridge are various trees & bushes on the railway embankment where people can’t get to.

This morning as I walked past there I heard a chirruping noise and saw 4 or 5 squirrels evidently playing a game, chasing each other up and down the branches with death-defying leaps.

I’ve only heard them make this sound once before - excited squeaks and chirrups - and that too was in a place where they thought there were no humans and they were playing a game.

I’m convinced it’s a playful excited sound that they wouldn’t make in the presence of humans because then they are on the alert for danger.

I believe other animals or birds have been observed playing - rats squeaking with excitement as they slide down river embankments, same for otters, crows playing on snow-covered roofs and flying upside-down for a laugh…

 

[SpookyFrank]

I fucking love squirrels.

 

[A380]

There’s a main road that goes over a railway near me, on the other side of the bridge are various trees & bushes on the railway embankment where people can’t get to.

This morning as I walked past there I heard a chirruping noise and saw 4 or 5 squirrels evidently playing a game, chasing each other up and down the branches with death-defying leaps.

I’ve only heard them make this sound once before - excited squeaks and chirrups - and that too was in a place where they thought there were no humans and they were playing a game.

I’m convinced it’s a playful excited sound that they wouldn’t make in the presence of humans because then they are on the alert for danger.

I believe other animals or birds have been observed playing - rats squeaking with excitement as they slide down river embankments, same for otters, crows playing on snow-covered roofs and flying upside-down for a laugh…

Crack can do that.

 

[danny la rouge]

I fucking love squirrels.

Same. Well, different word order.

 

[Griff]

Last year we had six fox cubs and their parents in the garden.

Looked out at one point and all six cubs were running around with a full size leather football in their mouths, passing it to one another with one the parents just sitting there watching them.

This game lasted about ten minutes. Great stuff!

 

[Epona]

Squirrels can be really loud when they are fucking btw.
Also I love it when they just sit in a tree and screech at passers-by!

 

[scalyboy]

I fucking love squirrels.

Yes 100%!!
I’m always happy to see them, I like their problem-solving abilities and athletic acrobatics, leaping & climbing skillz.
I am slightly surprised when I meet someone who is indifferent or anti-sqwrl.

Although TBF they tend to be gardeners who get pissed off when the grey nutters dig up their bulbs.

 

[RoyReed]

 

[moose]

The best thing about going to my mother's house is watching the squirrel antics through the window - there are loads of mature trees for them to chase each other around, they're fantastic. There's a guy called Mark Rober on YouTube who makes brilliant obstacle courses to test their problem solving skillz.

 

[Saffy]

I have loads of squirrels come to visit. Here's three from today who heard me fill the bird feeders up.

 

[scalyboy]

I have loads of squirrels come to visit. Here's three from today who heard me fill the bird feeders up.
View attachment 358200

Fantastic furries!

 

[StoneRoad]

scalyboy - the behaviour you describe in your OP could quite easily be several males chasing a sole female [or displaying their agility to her] prior to mating.

It's not far off the season for that !

 

[littlebabyjesus]

The best thing about going to my mother's house is watching the squirrel antics through the window - there are loads of mature trees for them to chase each other around, they're fantastic. There's a guy called Mark Rober on YouTube who makes brilliant obstacle courses to test their problem solving skillz.

That's brilliant. Very impressive how they watch others fail and learn from it, and if he's right that one squirrel inspected the maze from the outside first then nailed it first time, that's probably the most impressive feat of all.

 

[Saffy]

Fantastic furries!

We call them chubs, chunks and nibbles.

 

[Griff]

One of our cheeky squirrels would tap on the window after nuts.

He'd torment Katboy.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

During lockdown, I spent an amusing 20 minutes or so watching a crow playing with a squirrel in a local park. The squirrel was trying to bury some nuts, but the crow would appear just as it started digging, so it had to move on somewhere else. The crow would disappear and make the squirrel think it was safe, only to reappear again when digging started. The crow flew off in the end when it got bored with its game. it had no intention of taking the nuts. It was just enjoying fucking with the squirrel.

 

[Indeliblelink]

 

[UrbaneFox]

View attachment DE9DDAA0-0714-4DC1-8D64-2374DE683683.mov

 

[WouldBe]

View attachment 358228

9/10 artistic merit
2/10 for dismount.

 

[bcuster]

View attachment 358228

I had one of these "Yankee feeders". The squirrels just kept at it and would wear the battery down, time after time. A complete failure... The thing cost around $100...

 

[Puddy_Tat]

View attachment 358228

needs subtitles - "oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, aaaaaaaaaa"

 

[UrbaneFox]

I suspect he's a regular spinner on the bird feeder.