Reader questions and feedback on the behavior of humans and animals. Also refer to emotional, anti-social, uncontrolled, group, mob mentality, rules, laws, motivations, addiction, anger, fear, joy, sorrow, Ron Kurtus, School for Champions. Copyright © Restrictions
Answers to Readers' Questions on Behavior:
Squirrel Defenses
The following 15 comments and questions have been sent in. They are listed according to date.
List of first 10 items
- Saw mother squirrel put her baby in her mouth
- Do hawks have anything to do with squirrels losing their tails?
- Squirrel seems to have a death wish
- Squirrel seems distressed
- Disagree with answers on squirrels
- Squirrels when after my chihuahua
- Young squirrel has a white spot behind each ear
- Pet squirrel lost part of its tail
- Why do some red squirrels have stubby tails?
- Squirrel shredded her flag
Saw mother squirrel put her baby in her mouth
Question
April 21, 2010
I just saw a nest of squirrels get attacked by a cat and to save one of her babies she put it in her mouth and ran to a nearby tree an started making a noise like a duck. Then we saw a dead baby on the ground one frozen in shock in a tree and on on a wall we threw rocks near the cat to scare it of when it went after on and it worked.My question is do mother squirrels normally put their babies in their mouth like nuts?
- USA
19574
Answer
It is too bad about those poor baby squirrels.
Yes, mother squirrels will sometimes put a baby squirrel in her mouth to carry and protect it.
Do hawks have anything to do with squirrels losing their tails?
Question
November 29, 2009
We have many hawks and many squirrels without tails. Before the hawks moved in we never saw a squirrel without a tail.
Paul - USA
18758
Answer
On occasion, a squirrel will lose part or all of its tail to escape a predator.
Hawks are known to try to catch squirrels. It is unusual to see many hawks in one area, since the available food for them is limited.
I guess the squirrels that lost their tails where the lucky ones.
Squirrel seems to have a death wish
Question
July 26, 2009
We have a fairly young squirrel in the yard that either seems to have a death wish, isn't very smart, or is not healthy. Over the last couple of weeks it has allowed my large dog to get rather near to it on two occasions. Today's incident was scary as I worried about the dog getting bit and/or the squirrel getting hurt. The squirrel was directly under a tree and rather than run up it, it went into some bushes. Once my dog found it in the bushes, it made a slow move across the lawn. By the time I could get to my dog and the squirrel-they had faced off (appeared to be smelling each other rather than threatening each other)and then the squirrel rolled over on its back (looked like a submissive posture). I held my dog back and the squirrel walked away rather slowly. Does this sound like unusual squirrel behavior? thanks
- USA
18062
Answer
City squirrels can become so accustomed to dogs on a leash and people, that they lose their natural cautiousness. One of the squirrels near us will come to the patio door to beg for peanuts, going almost right up to our dog. On the other hand, the same squirrel will scamper up a tree in the yard, if the dog is near.
It seems that animals have some sort of code of conduct (which is probably a very unscientific observation). I've seen a cat and dog pass each other on the sidewalk, each going about its business.
But if the squirrel or cat starts to run, then it is time to chase, as if it is prey.
I know that some people have has squirrels as pets and let them play alongside their dog with no problems.
The submissive posture of the squirrel certainly was interesting. But it is also risky for the squirrel. So, I hope your little friend is more careful.
Squirrel seems distressed
Question
September 21, 2008
We have a squirrel that comes up and feeds out a squirrel feeder while I sit less than a foot away usually reading or enjoying the fresh air. She is usually very defensive of other squirrels and will chase other squirrels away unless they are her own. She allows her own younger brood to eat the scattered corn and seeds that I sweep off our patio. Recently she climbed up on the doorscreen and began this gutteral sound from her throat which later turned into an almost whimpering cry. I looked around and tried to find the source of her distress but couldn't see anything. She would continue this while hanging upside down from the screen until I went to open the door to get a better view outside and see if I could get a better view. She would come down from the screen and stop whimpering when I would come and open the back door a little and attempt to find out what was wrong. This has happened a couple of times and I don't have a clue to what is causing her such distress. Is there anything I can do or any advice that you can give me.
Randy - USA
16527
Answer
We have a few older squirrels who are aggressive and don't let others near our feeder while enjoying the food. Both are females.
Squirrels do make a funny noise that some call chattering but sounds more like a gurgling sound. Usually, they are up in a tree making the noise.
We get squirrels that will look in the window or even jump on the screen to let us know that the feeder is empty. But it sounds like you had enough food that this wasn't the reason for the behavior.
Perhaps its mate or one of its litter was injured, and the squirrel is showing distress to you as a "friend". There really isn't much you can do about it, since such things happen in nature. Hopefully, soon her distress will pass.
Disagree with answers on squirrels
Question
December 5, 2007
The person answering questions regarding the rapid movement or the flicking of the squirrel tail claims that it is to "distract". This answer couldn't be further from the truth. Squirrels use their tails to communicate wither it’s to warn other squirrels of their territory, of danger and for attracting a mate. Anyone who was raised in the country or who is a hunter knows this to be true. Next time you go to the park look for yourself. Also this same person with all the answers claims that squirrels tails will detach like that of a lizard. This also couldn’t be any more wrong!! This explanation makes about as much sense as claiming that one of Humans defenses are that our arms or legs detach when attacked by a shark. I am very curious what the answer might be if the topic was not squirrels but maybe monkeys or cats? Do their tails detach to serve as a defense mechanism too? Absolutely ridicules answers coming from someone who obviously doesn’t know. Their tails do not naturally detach to serve as some “decoy” that wiggles around like the tails on lizards.
- USA
14913
Answer
The answers to the questions are based on scientific research by various agencies.
Squirrels aren't very social animals> Although they may flick their tails to warn others of danger, they also flick their tails to tell other squirrels to stay away from their food supply. See Nature Expert at: http://www.enature.com/expert/expert_show_question.asp?questionID=24257
Squirrels also flick their tails to distract and ward off snakes. See scientific article in Nature magazine at: http://www.nature.com/news/2004/040614/full/news040614-3.html
The Squirrel Sanctuary Inc. states that squirrel tails can break off to escape a predator. See: http://www.squirrelsanctuary.org/behave_yourself.htm
Squirrels when after my chihuahua
Question
September 16, 2007
This morning I took my dog out and he turned around the corner of the house and found himself face to face with a squirrel. My dog is a small chihuahua mix, usually squirrels avoid him like they do all dogs. But this morning the squirrel held his ground and then started to approach. I picked up my dog and saw another squirrel nearby. Both walked towards us and were almost at my feet. I went inside my house quickly and managed to close the door before they came in. After a few minutes I went out again and they were gone. Why would they do this? Would they bite my dog or me?
cheri - USA
14401
Answer
At a distance, squirrels will run away when threatened, but since your dog was so close, they may have thought it was time to fight. Also, they may have sensed that your dog was showing some fear. Another reason the squirrels may have been aggressive is the possibility that their young were nearby.
Since you were by your dog, it is surprising that they did not back off.
You probably won't have this problem again, since usually the squirrels will not be surprised by you and your dog. A squirrel would not attack and bite unless put in a situation where it would have to defend itself. Even when squirrels fight among themselves, they seldom bite each other.
Young squirrel has a white spot behind each ear
Question
May 3, 2007
We have observed in a group of 5 gray squirrels that 4 of them which were a bit smaller (maybe the young born apprx January?) had a white dot on the back of each ear. Is that some type of camouflage for the young that goes away with maturity?
Thank you for all the great info on your website. We enjoyed it!
Terry & Sharon Kuder
Plant City, FL
Sharon - USA
13694
Answer
I haven't heard of one having such as spot, but it is possible. Since there are some rare cases of pure white squirrels, this might be a related genetic marking.
If the youngster stays around for a while, you can see if the spot remains. Of course, it is often difficult to tell one squirrel from another.
Pet squirrel lost part of its tail
Question
November 20, 2006
Dear Sir,
I am writing from Delhi India.
I need help on an orphaned squirrel in our home
we have raised the squirell since it was one week old. it is now 2 month old.
but today when we were trying to catch it, it tried to run and we were left with its tail in our hand.
one fourth of its tail is gone and there was lot of blood.
the squirrel is an indian squirell.
will its tail grow back again.
if there is any one els who can help me on this please reply
regards
sanika
sanika - India
12437
Answer
A squirrel's tail will sometimes breaks off when it is trying to escape. The tail will heal, and the injury should not cause much harm. But perhaps your squirrel would like to have its freedom. If you would wait much longer, it might not be able to adjust to being on its own.
Some people will let their squirrel loose outside, and it will often come back for food. But soon it will go to raise its own family.
Why do some red squirrels have stubby tails?
Question
November 5, 2006
why do some red squirrels have stubby tails?
gary - USA
12317
Answer
Red squirrels have shorter tails than other tree squirrels. A stubby one may be a result of a fight or being attacked and losing part of the tail. But if you've seen several red squirrels with stubby tails, then I wonder if it is some sort of genetic defect.
Squirrel shredded her flag
Question
August 8, 2006
We have a tree squirrel that recently has climbed our flag pole and shredded the flag. We removed the flag and now it has repeatedly "attacked" and shredded the awning on our patio swing. We thought it was because of flapping of the material but yesterday, there was no wind and no flapping but he returned to continued shredding the awning. I believe this is the same squirrel that I saw being chased and terrorized by a large rat along my fence line and then a day or two later I saw it being attacked and terrorized by a Blue Jay. Could this bizarre behavior from the squirrel be rabies? The squirrel acts "mad". Please let us know what to do. Thank you.
Donna - USA
11662
Answer
The squirrel may have been taking out its frustrations of being chased and terrorized by the rat and bird by then attacking some inanimate object. You've seen dogs get hold of something like a paper bag and give it a good shake and then rip it apart. Or it is similar behavior to a kid who is always being picked on. He may then take out his frustrations by doing some vandalism.
I don't think this squirrel has rabies. Also note that squirrels can do some strange things. We've had a reader that reported that a squirrel was constantly chewing on her window screen and trying to get into the house.
You might try putting some food out for the squirrel and then moving it further and further from the house.
Summary
Hopefully, this reader feedback has helped provide information about Behavior issues.
Always do your best
Resources
The following are some resources on this topic.
Websites
Books
What do you think?
Do you have any questions, comments, or opinions on this subject? If so, send an email with your feedback. We will try to get back to you as soon as possible.
Feel free to establish a link from your website to pages in this site.
Where are you now?
Answers to Readers' Questions on Behavior