Clipmarks | abailart's 'squirrels' clips

Cunning squirrels make bogus burials of 'nuts and seeds' to fool onlookers

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 04:59:30 GMT

clipped by: michellezm

Their quick intelligence, razor-sharp memory and ruthless cunning have made them a foe of gardeners everywhere.

Now it turns out that grey squirrels are even more devious than anyone realised.

To protect their winter food stocks from potential thieves, they put on an elaborate show of burying non-existent nuts and seeds, a study has shown.

Scientists say the fake burials are designed to confuse any rival squirrels, birds or humans who might be watching.

The level of deception has astonished animal experts who say it shows a rare form of animal cunning and intelligence.

He found that a fifth of all so-called food burials are fake - and the proportion goes up if they think they are being watched.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to show evidence of behavioural deception by a rodent, and the first to use an experimental approach to studying deceptive behaviour in in the wild," he says.

The squirrels go to elaborate lengths to keep up the pretence of hiding food.

NYC Cloning Historical Trees for Future

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 10:52:13 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: physorg.com

Squat, homely, dwarfed by stately oaks and poplars, and unnoticed by the tourists passing in horse-drawn carriages, it's a tree that only birds and nut-hungry squirrels could love.

But the 100-year-old European beech on Central Park's Cherry Hill was the center of attention Thursday, chosen by city officials as the first of 25 "historical" trees to be cloned as part of a plan to add a million new trees to public spaces over the next decade.

Agriculture students from a Queens high school rode hydraulic-powered tree-trimmers' buckets to upper branches of the 60-foot tree and snipped off 6- to 12-inch sections of new growth, which will be sent to a scientific tree nursery in eastern Oregon. If all goes well, the genetic-match saplings will return in two years to be replanted as part of the "Million Trees NYC" project announced last year.

"We want to break the stereotype of New York as skyscrapers and sidewalks," Parks Commissioner Adrian Benape said. "New York abounds in historical trees."

Tags: cloning

Angry Squirrel attacks Huckabee

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 23:29:53 GMT

clipped by: kkcapricorn
clipper's remarks: Laugh. It's funny.

Clip Source: www.unconfirmedsources.com

The Mike Huckabee campaign is said to be re-examining its southern strategy after the candidate was assaulted by a disgruntled squirrel

The rodent was observed scurrying around light fixtures within the gym at Clemson University and then apparently leapt to attack Huckabee

they were relatively certain that revenge was not a motive in that it was not of a species that Huckabee has admitted to eating in the past.

The squirrel was captured, and wrestled to the ground

suffered a number of scratches to the head and bites to his ears

Security was very tight and we are at a loss to explain how the squirrel was able to get in... he had to have help anyway you figure it

DNC Chairman Howard Dean was contacted for a quote on the incident, and had this to say: "I don't profess to know much about squirrels and their behavior, but they're certainly into survival... and Mike Huckabee is arguably one of the biggest nuts there is."

Tags: satire, unconfirmed sources

Ah, Love!

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:39:54 GMT

clipped by: gingembre
clipper's remarks: "Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain."
--Matthew Arnold, from Dover Beach

Clip Source: internet-pets.blogspot.com

Tags: love, animals, squirrels

How do we replace a friend?

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 16:23:12 GMT

clipped by: lullofish
clipper's remarks: Some days ago, a friend of mine died. Tina was very sick, since many years, but so calm and quite that to stay near her was like to stay under a tree in a summer day. There is no way to replace a friend like her. I'm sad, but today I want to say that I'm grateful I met her.

Clip Source: www.balancedlifecenter.com

How Do You Replace A 2000 Year Old Tree?

We have managed to dwindle the Redwood forest down to 1% of its original size.

When a Redwood takes 2000 years to grow to its magnificent height and girth, can we replace it?

If we can manage to destroy an ecosystem so indigenously resilient, what does that say about our sense of connection? I’m not one to nurture nature at my expense. However, I do see a correlation between our sense of disconnect from each other and our Selves, and our disregard for the environment in which we live.

Just for today, I will pay attention to living things around me - the trees, birds, squirrels, ants, bees, dragonflies. The living things in my environment which I take for granted. Those plants and flowers with the diverse spectrum of colors. The ones that not only enhance my aesthetic life, but also help me to survive without my interference or knowledge.

Today, I am grateful for my natural surroundings. What are you grateful for?

Tags: friendship

Alien Species Invading The British Isles

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:19:04 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.introduced-species.co.uk

Introduced species in the British Isles

mammals	birds	fish	plants	algae
reptiles	amphibians	trees	insects	fungi
molluscs	worms	spiders	crustaceans	others

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Some of Britain's best loved wildlife, including bluebells, red squirrels and water voles, are threatened by invasive species. The red squirrel has suffered since the introduction in the 19th century of the stronger, more adaptable, grey squirrel

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Red-eared terrapins, originally from the US, are foot-long former pets that can terrorise ducklings

Clip Source: ecoworldly.com

the American Signal Crayfish

described as a six inch long killing machine and voracious predator that has already annihilated the native White Claw species, and now threatens to completely overwhelm many fragile aquatic eco-systems

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

British bluebells are threatened because they hybridise with Spanish bluebells

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

American mink

blamed for the collapse in water vole numbers

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Some invaders pose a risk to human health, like this giant hogweed, whose sap causes blistering

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Azolla fern

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

North Pole without Ice

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:08:42 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: I look forward to the comforting data from real scientists which will refute such alarmist liberal mischief that has even fooled the CIA. I suspect these silly rumours began oin a bunker in Berlin.

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

It seems unthinkable, but for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year.

The disappearance of the Arctic sea ice, making it possible to reach the Pole sailing in a boat through open water, would be one of the most dramatic – and worrying – examples of the impact of global warming on the planet. Scientists say the ice at 90 degrees north may well have melted away by the summer.

If it happens, it raises the prospect of the Arctic nations being able to exploit the valuable oil and mineral deposits below these a bed which have until now been impossible to extract because of the thick sea ice above.

Tags: squirrels, mischief

Animal Kingdom's Odd Couples

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:41:19 GMT

clipped by: swampfoxz
clipper's remarks: Can't we all just get along?Are we more savage than these?I think not..

Clip Source: sajha.com

Animal Kingdom's Odd Couples

Three-month-old tiger cub Zoya, rejected by her mother, plays with Alsatian puppy Frida, who's the same age, in a special enclosure at the Warsaw Zoo Aug. 13, 2008. The dog, owned by a zoo employee, was introduced to the tiger so that she could have a companion for the next few months.

Isabella, a yellow lab at the Safari Zoological Park east of Caney, Kan., has adopted three white tiger cubs that were abandoned by their mother in this July 30, 2008, photo.

dog feeds two Siberian tiger cubs and her puppy at a zoo in Hefei, Anhui Province, China. The mother of the cubs was not able to feed them after giving birth, according to local news reports.

Norma, left, a Chihuahua from Cundy's Harbor, Maine, with two of three orphaned squirrels that she is raising along with her own two puppies.

Norma, a Chihuahua from Cundy's Harbor, Maine, snuggles with one of three orphaned squirrels that she's mothering.

Chihuahua pup named Zachary cozies up to his new adopted "sibling"

Tags: animal kingdom

For Skwirl - who seems to have buried his nuts

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 07:39:15 GMT

clipped by: coconutshell
clipper's remarks: There you go Skwirl!

Clip Source: www.thecuteproject.com

Email This! Did You Say You Had MORE Nuts? (2 )

"I don't want to seem greedy or anything here, but my pal here wants some sunflower seeds too, and well...could you possibly spare a few more?" *blink, blink* ;)

Your double dose of chubby chipmunky cuteness submitted by Bettie! (Link)

Tags: humour, cute, squirrels, skwirlinator

Russian Squirrel Pack Kills Dog

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 13:17:09 GMT

clipped by: Harrison
clipper's remarks: Cute, harmless little park animals? Or vicious killers?

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Local people suggest hunger is driving squirrels to extremes

Squirrels have bitten to death a stray dog which was barking at them in a Russian park, local media report.

Passers-by were too late to stop the attack by the black squirrels in a village in the far east, which reportedly lasted about a minute.

They are said to have scampered off at the sight of humans, some carrying pieces of flesh.

A pine cone shortage may have led the squirrels to seek other food sources, although scientists are sceptical.

The attack was reported in parkland in the centre of Lazo, a village in the Maritime Territory, and was witnessed by three local people.

A "big" stray dog was nosing about the trees and barking at squirrels hiding in branches overhead when a number of them suddenly descended and attacked, reports say.

"They literally gutted the dog," local journalist Anastasia Trubitsina told Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.

"When they saw the men, they scattered in different directions, taking pieces of their kill away with them."

Mikhail Tiyunov, a scientist in the region, said it was the first he had ever heard of such an attack.

While squirrels without sources of protein might attack birds' nests, he said, the idea of them chewing a dog to death was "absurd".

"If it really happened, things must be pretty bad in our forests," he added.

Komosmolskaya Pravda notes that in a previous incident this autumn chipmunks terrorised cats in a part of the territory.

A Lazo man who called himself only Mikhalich said there had been "no pine cones at all" in the local forests this year.

"The little beasts are agitated because they have nothing to eat," he added.

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Tags: nature, squirrel, dog, weird

Squirrels unearth ancient artifact in California

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 16:34:32 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Cute little archaeologists, digging the sites

Clip Source: www.stonepages.com

Squirrels unearth ancient artifact in California

An amazing discovery has been unearthed in Placer County (California, USA). Amazing because of its historical significance, and amazing because of how it was found. Archaeologists did not carefully unearth the 8,000 to 10,000 year old artifact, but it appears some curious squirrels dug it up. Now, folks at the Maidu Indian Interpretive Center are trying to preserve what the squirrels unearthed. The center allows people to learn how Native Americans lived thousands of years ago. And it was here that the squirrels made their find in what could be called an ancient compost pile.

Tags: archaeology, california, squirrels

New Squirrel-like Mammal Discovered

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 08:28:19 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: You would have to be pretty odd not to see immediately that this is one of the squirrel mutations they are releasong.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A new species of mammal has been discovered in the mountains of Tanzania, scientists report.

The bizarre-looking creature, dubbed Rhynochocyon udzungwensis, is a type of giant elephant shrew, or sengi.

They are so bizarre-looking and a lot of their behavioural ecology is so unique and interesting, you kind of get wrapped up with them

He said: "Elephant shrews are almost all distinguished by distinctive colour patterns, and this is especially true of the forest-dwelling giant sengis.

It has a grey face, a long, flexible snout, a bulky, amber body, a jet-black rump and it stands on spindly legs.

Despite its name, the creature, along with the 15 other known species of elephant shrew, is not actually related to shrews.

Tags: squirrels

The war has begun

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:35:25 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: www.nj.com

Flaming squirrel ignites car in Bayonne

It's Rocky the Frying Squirrel!

A kamikaze squirrel fell from the sky and detonated a Bayonne woman's car yesterday, police said today.

"The squirrel chewed through the wire, was set on fire, fell down directly to where the car was," Tony Millar said. "The squirrel, on fire, slid into the engine compartment and blew up the car.
"They're always coming around here, chewing through the garbage," he added.

Tags: animals, squirrels

We suspected this all along.

Sat, 30 Dec 2006 00:30:53 GMT

clipped by: dylanseadog
clipper's remarks: no surprises here, squirrels are the true jedi knights

Clip Source: img.photobucket.com

Tags: squirrels, star wars, light sabers, humor, funny, jedi

GPS-equipped Spy Squirrels Arrested By Iranians

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 06:07:13 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: OMG, has anybody seen Skwirl? *LOL*

Clip Source: www.engadget.com

GPS-equipped spy squirrels 'arrested' by Iranians

Posted Jul 21st 2007 11:45PM by Darren Murph

Talk about getting into some hot water. Reportedly, some 14 implike squirrels were recently "arrested by Iranian authorities for espionage," as the critters were apparently found to have various amounts of "spy gear from foreign agencies" on (er, in) their bodies. Some reports even mention that the animals were sporting embedded GPS sensors, but due to the high level of secrecy surrounding the capture, things are still a bit foggy. Nevertheless, Iran has apparently claimed that the "rodents were being used by Western powers in an attempt to undermine the Islamic Republic," and while it doesn't seem that anyone is really aware of the squirrels' fates, it looks like sending in the animals to do a human's dirty work isn't as effective as it once was.

Tags: spy, squirrels, iran, odd, lol