robbie11daug
03-23-2021, 10:57 PM
Hey all,
I've been busy since my last time here.
The wild squirrels in the back have introduced three babies on my balcony last fall. I suppose the mother brought them here knowing i would feed her young, I thought that was nice.
Two of them were, are gentle (normal), but one of them is a nutcase and i can't figure out if it's crazy and dangerous, or just playful and will outgrow this really bizarre behaviour which i will describe.
Out of the three young ones, this one would perch itself on the side of my balcony and doze off (it seems). When i opened the sliding patio door, it stayed there. I held up a butter knife with peanut butter on the tip and the squirrel would move its head watching me. When i got close enough to its head with the peanut butter, it snapped like an elastic and literally attacked the peanut butter with both hands grabbing the butter knife. It did not approach the food slowly and very gently take the food away like squirrels do - it attacked it. It startled me.
I feed a few squirrels and i can't tell who they all are but i know this one young one has been coming back and dominating the balcony to keep the others away. I wasn't sure if it was the same one when i held out my hand to feed one of them, this day, but i knew it was him when he attacked my hand and bit into the food, and with both of his hands clutching onto my fingers. He came at me so fast from a very still position, it was like he was hunting.
When i felt him grabbing my fingers after realizing how quickly he rushed at me, and i saw how close his mouth was to my skin and in so little time - i instinctively flicked the squirrel off of my hand by quickly raising my hand (raising the squirrel up with my hand) and then throwing my hand down. The squirrel did a flip and landed on its feet.
When he landed, now get this, it looked at me, and quickly spread out his front legs and threatened me - rushing at me about 4 inches in my direction while "growing" or snarling at me. I thought, "Whoa! What's this?"
I never saw any of teh squirrels in these trees acting like this one does.
There's more.
I see it in the yard, sometimes, and it is literally rolling around with some piece of trash in the grass. It will attack it, then roll with it, jump up, run in the other direction for 12 inches and then attack the bag again and do this over and over again for a few times.
Late last fall, i shoved many several small plastic shopping bags into one shopping bag and put that "bag of bags" right next to my sliding patio door. As soon as i slide the door open a crack, that bag is right there, okay?
During the night, after sunset - it's DARK outside - i am at my PC and i have the patio door open.
I'm hearing something like plastic bags being moving around or something. I go to the sliding door and i open it about 1o inches and i hear something come out of the bag - and then it's quiet. I stick my head out to see what i can see and on about 5 nights in a row, that squirrel was the one there - at night. He scampered up the wall or past my feet when i would go out to investigate the noises i kept hearing. I had no idea what he was doing on my balcony way past dark. When he would scamper away, i would watch it run off into the night. What a daredevil, i thought. He was coming for food at night, i thought.
One time, i was on my balcony, and i took a closer look at that bag of bags and i noticed something (a hole the size of a squirrel had been burrowed into the bags and was made into a sleeping compartment.
I am not sure what to do with this squirrel. He might attack some child in the back if they should try to feed it. I tell you, what it does is not normal, or IS it?
What if it grows up and teaches its young this aggressive behaviour and then we have three or four more aggressive squirrels twice per year?
Tell me please, what to do?
Do i get rid of this one very different squirrel to protect everyone in the area, or will it outgrow this aggressive behaviour? He is still acting the same way since autumn-time, it's now almost spring-time.
Thanks
I've been busy since my last time here.
The wild squirrels in the back have introduced three babies on my balcony last fall. I suppose the mother brought them here knowing i would feed her young, I thought that was nice.
Two of them were, are gentle (normal), but one of them is a nutcase and i can't figure out if it's crazy and dangerous, or just playful and will outgrow this really bizarre behaviour which i will describe.
Out of the three young ones, this one would perch itself on the side of my balcony and doze off (it seems). When i opened the sliding patio door, it stayed there. I held up a butter knife with peanut butter on the tip and the squirrel would move its head watching me. When i got close enough to its head with the peanut butter, it snapped like an elastic and literally attacked the peanut butter with both hands grabbing the butter knife. It did not approach the food slowly and very gently take the food away like squirrels do - it attacked it. It startled me.
I feed a few squirrels and i can't tell who they all are but i know this one young one has been coming back and dominating the balcony to keep the others away. I wasn't sure if it was the same one when i held out my hand to feed one of them, this day, but i knew it was him when he attacked my hand and bit into the food, and with both of his hands clutching onto my fingers. He came at me so fast from a very still position, it was like he was hunting.
When i felt him grabbing my fingers after realizing how quickly he rushed at me, and i saw how close his mouth was to my skin and in so little time - i instinctively flicked the squirrel off of my hand by quickly raising my hand (raising the squirrel up with my hand) and then throwing my hand down. The squirrel did a flip and landed on its feet.
When he landed, now get this, it looked at me, and quickly spread out his front legs and threatened me - rushing at me about 4 inches in my direction while "growing" or snarling at me. I thought, "Whoa! What's this?"
I never saw any of teh squirrels in these trees acting like this one does.
There's more.
I see it in the yard, sometimes, and it is literally rolling around with some piece of trash in the grass. It will attack it, then roll with it, jump up, run in the other direction for 12 inches and then attack the bag again and do this over and over again for a few times.
Late last fall, i shoved many several small plastic shopping bags into one shopping bag and put that "bag of bags" right next to my sliding patio door. As soon as i slide the door open a crack, that bag is right there, okay?
During the night, after sunset - it's DARK outside - i am at my PC and i have the patio door open.
I'm hearing something like plastic bags being moving around or something. I go to the sliding door and i open it about 1o inches and i hear something come out of the bag - and then it's quiet. I stick my head out to see what i can see and on about 5 nights in a row, that squirrel was the one there - at night. He scampered up the wall or past my feet when i would go out to investigate the noises i kept hearing. I had no idea what he was doing on my balcony way past dark. When he would scamper away, i would watch it run off into the night. What a daredevil, i thought. He was coming for food at night, i thought.
One time, i was on my balcony, and i took a closer look at that bag of bags and i noticed something (a hole the size of a squirrel had been burrowed into the bags and was made into a sleeping compartment.
I am not sure what to do with this squirrel. He might attack some child in the back if they should try to feed it. I tell you, what it does is not normal, or IS it?
What if it grows up and teaches its young this aggressive behaviour and then we have three or four more aggressive squirrels twice per year?
Tell me please, what to do?
Do i get rid of this one very different squirrel to protect everyone in the area, or will it outgrow this aggressive behaviour? He is still acting the same way since autumn-time, it's now almost spring-time.
Thanks