Spunky's Secrets

Spunky's strange story continues. If you've been following along, you know there's been quite a mystery about what's going on with Spunky. Today things got even stranger.  Just to recap, shortly after Spunky was discovered to be having hair problems, she disappeared. I was afraid she had died and then miraculously, she appeared two days ago, just as Bernie and I were leaving the park after the second of two feedings that day.
http://thenewyorksquirrel.blogspot.com/2012/03/spirit-of-spunky-squiggy.html

 We could hardly believe our eyes, but it was definitely her! She ate exactly one grape and one nut, then ran away, back up into her tree. This seemed like strange behavior. The next day when I went there again, and Spunky was the first squirrel to come over to me. It was almost like old times: she hopped up on the bench and ate like she used to. But she only ate a few nuts before hopping down and running back up her tree. Bernie suggested that her strange behavior along with the sudden strange hair loss, might indicate that she'd had babies. I agreed, although I had not noticed that she looked pregnant.

But things got curiouser and curiouser. When I arrived today there was no sign of Spunky on the ground. I went over to her tree and kept calling her name. Then I thought I saw her up there by the hole looking down at me. Or was she sleeping? I took a picture and when I got home I was able to clearly see the face of a squirrel. See if you can see it (click to enlarge):

I must have played with the other squirrels a good 45 minutes before Spunky finally came down. She ate a few nuts.

Her back looked better, I thought -- no open sore this time. I decided to give her a special treat: a peanut butter cracker! In typical squirrel fashion, she ran off with her treasure: back up the tree.

I could see her sitting by the hole eating her cracker. It was then that I noticed that the squirrel  I'd seen earlier was still sitting there. So it hadn't been Spunky and it hadn't moved. If you look carefully you can see Spunky sitting in the back and the other squirrel sitting in the front.

That squirrel had been there all along, and had never moved. I watched it for a while: the tail never moved. In contrast, the black squirrel behind it (Spunky)would move from time to time. I was thinking that the motionless squirrel was either sleeping or dead. Now I wondered if it was blocking the entrance to the hole, and Spunky's access to her babies. She did not seem particularly agitated but she sat there constantly, as if keeping watch.  I could not get her to come down again.

This little tableau was the way I left them when I eventually had to go. By then I was pretty sure that the front squirrel was a dead squirrel. But was it keeping Spunky from getting to her babies? That was the question. Tomorrow we will go back and to see if the "sleeping squirrel" is still there.

these are a few of my favorite things

Favorite news of the week:  Stinky Way to Start the Day

One of our Jersey Shore readers sent this in from the Little Silver-Oceanport, NJ Patch:   http://littlesilver.patch.com/articles/stinky-way-to-start-the-day

Hey we've covered hawks and  ducks here -- why not skunks? They remind me a little bit of squirrels although skunks are not related to squirrels. They are mustelids (small carnivores) related to badgers, mink and weasels.

My All-time favorite video: The Pampered Squirrel

Wach this totally zoned out squirrel enjoying all the attention (hey, wouldn't you?) http://www.dogwork.com/pgrsq9/

Stuck on Bernie: an afternoon in the park

Bernie Goetz with his power pet Creme Puff

 What's a power pet? Well ask yourself: what pet will sit quietly and peacefully on your shoulder while you engage in any manner of undecipherable actions?
Maybe a boa constrictor. Certainly not your average cat or dog. What pet wouldn't panic if a car suddenly sped by, or a barking dog passed? What pet would just sit there on your shoulder? And have the patience to stay put for hours,  not making a fuss, even if it got bored or sleepy? Why that would be a squirrel! And  not just any squirrel, but a well brought up squirrel like Creme Puff , who is the perfect pet -- a power pet!

Creme Puff is stuck on Bernie

Creme Puff  (CP for short) is attached to Bernie in more ways than one. He likes to ride around on Bernie's shoulder, and is also emotionally bonded; he gets mad when Bernie leaves him behind these days. 

Everyone knows that squirrels are high strung. When I'm feeding them just the slight rustling of the plastic bag of peanuts is enough to send them skittering up the tree. So it's amazing to see how CP stays so cool, calm and collected when he and Bernie go out for a walk in the great outdoors.

ho hum - just another walk in the park.  

Creating a Buzz in PCV

Here come the papparazzi!  Some people think a PCV squirrel has just hopped onto Bernie. He has to explain to them that CP is his pet.

uh oh, and here comes the fuzz!

Are we getting a ticket?

No way!

The guard merely wants to chat. He tells about how they used to catch squirrels when he was living in Trinidad, and take them out for walks on a chain. Bernie says that he doesn't use chains or any kind of leash. You don't need one with a power pet! CP is free to jump down any time. The first few times he did go exploring on the ground, but now he prefers to stay on Bernie's shoulder.

Bernie is a master at exposing his pet squirrels to the outdoors. Many squirrel owners are afraid to take their squirrels outside, much less let them  run free. Bernie used to have a pet named Haystacks who would go out to play with other squirrels in Union Square Park, and then in the evening Bernie would come by to pick him up and take him home. This worked fine for a long time, until one day Haystacks decided that he'd rather stay outside 
permanently. It was his call. Bernie's squirrels have freedom of choice.



Time for a snack

 

The outdoors stimulates a squirrel's appetite

  



Tea for Two: breaking out the avocado

  

Go ahead, Dad... enjoy! I'll wait...



Now for a little kiss

 

Getting drowsy...

 

siesta time?

 CP zones out... he goes into an alpha state and becomes totally relaxed. 

he can even fall asleep



Zzzzz



OK - all are fed now... time to go

Getting CP into his carrier proves to be a bit of a challenge...

squeak... squeal... growl!

Easy does it..

Detaching from the command module

in you go (that's a good little squirrel)

Done!

Anyone who wants suggestions on how to feed, raise, or treat squirrels can email Bernie at mailto:berniepie@aol.com

My Left Foot - One Year Later

We recently saw Bad Foot and he looks healthy and moves beautifully. He is able to compensate so well that it would be hard to notice that he's missing his left foot. Here he is, showing his perfectly fine right foot:

healthy and happy

Here's how Bad Foot looked on March 16 of last year:

Bernie took Bad Foot to Dr. Pilney, who had to amputate his foot. It was well done, and he had a quick recovery and was soon returned to PCV in much better shape (he would have died otherwise). Ever since then we've been on the lookout for him, and are pleased to report that he's doing very well one year later.

Spirit of Spunky - Squiggy the Squirrel

It's possible that we've lost Spunky. We saw her last on March 2, when she didn't look that good, and now she's been missing for a couple of days.  Here's the progression:

Feb 22



Feb 23 - still eating well



March 2 - scab was more prominent and appetite was poor

When squirrels get sick they often disappear for a while. Hopefully they come back better, but it's frustrating when we're unable to help.

If Spunky has left us I'll be very sad indeed, because she has been a good friend for a very long time. Within a year we have lost our two friends Tubby and Mr. Operator. He died last winter after the killer ice storm, and Tubby died in late spring, perhaps just of old age. A squirrel in the wild ages quickly. Most only live a few years. Tubby lived a long time - I'd known her for 4 years.

But Spunky's spirit lives on in the form of  two little Spunkys that we are just getting to know. They look and act like their mother -- same inquisitive expression, and impish personality. The littlest one is so very tiny and at the moment, fearless. I call him Squiggles - Squiggy for short -- because there is something squiggly about the way he squirms and wiggles. Actually I don't know if it's a him or a her yet, but until I know, I'll refer to Squiggles as "him".

Squiggy - Spunky on Steroids
Yesterday Squiggy jumped onto Bernie and ran right up his leg. Bernie was  flabbergasted!   And today he jumped up on my coat.  I was sitting on the bench hoping that Spunky might make an appearance, so I'd know she was ok. She'd take nuts from me on the bench while I tossed them to other squirrels on the ground. We had a regular routine going: I'd put a nut on the railing and she'd reach up or pull herself up to get it. She enjoyed that bit of gymnastics, and I did too. If I'm ever in doubt as to whether it's Spunky, I know for sure it's her when she jumps up on the bench and does that routine.
Well the last time I saw Spunky she didn't do it, and I thought maybe she didn't feel well enough to jump up. Oh dear.

Today I wasn't seeing her, so I thought I'd do the Spunky test. So there I am sitting on the bench with my bag of nuts.  And who should jump up and start performing? Squiggy!



Look! I'm here and I'm BAD!

He acts like an old hand at it - I'm sure he watched his Mama do it many times before. But he takes it one step further -- he actually goes right into the bag and gets himself a nut. I mean he literally crawls all the way into my big green bag, so only his tail is visible. Other squirrels would never do such a thing, fearing a trap. But Squiggy the Squirrel is fearless-- at the moment! 


what do we have here...

it's in the bag



Good, a walnut



snooping around



found a pecan

Then when I walk away from the bench, Squiggy grabs the whole bag  and runs off with it! 

I'm so clever -- nobody will find me here...

I can see that peanut...
I can feel that peanut...
I can almost taste that peanut

still workin' it
(darn this is a tough nut to crack!)

Postscript - March 6

Spunky is alive! We were just standing around today after feed all the squirrels in the area for a second time, and were set to leave when suddenly Spunky walked up! We fell all over her with glee! We fed her a grape and a brazil nut, and then she took off.  We think she went back into her tree.  We waited about a half hour but she never came back. I think she's sick, but at least she's alive! I was so nonplussed that I neglected to get a picture (and she didn't stay very long) but her back looked a little better than the last time we saw her on March 2, and was certainly not worse. It's been four long days.

Lady and Red

I like to visit the West Flagpole to feed two of my favorite squirrels, Lady Squirrel and Little Red.


Red in her favorite tree

 Lady Squirrel is very polite and proper, which is how she got her name.  She'd always hang out in the rose garden, where she liked to eat whenever I threw her a nut. Now that the rose bushes have been pruned, well... it's called "making do". Squirrels know all about that sort of thing.



Lady in her rose garden



making do