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National Geographic : 1947 May
Contents
"Flying" Squirrels, Nature's Gliders I have discovered that flying squirrels enjoy grasshoppers, the seventeen-year locust, moths, butterflies, meal worms, corn borers, wood borers, and a few other insects I have offered them. White grubs, so plentiful in acorns, they find particularly delicious and often select wormy acorns merely for the sake of opening the nut to get the grub. No doubt wild squirrels consume vast numbers of these and other insects. Some Nuts Hard to Crack Pecans are about the hardest nuts my pets can open. Frequently, while they may be very hungry for pecan meat, they do not at tempt to open the nut, apparently aware that it is too hard for their tiny teeth. At other times they will work on a pecan at intervals for several days and finally find a weak place in the shell, through which they cut. Handling a pecan is a big problem for such a little fellow. It is much as if a person were to try to carry and eat a large watermelon without resorting to equipment or force to break it. A flying squirrel's first act upon coming upon a pecan is to grasp it in both hands and turn it until the point, or blossom end, faces him. Then he works the nut into such a posi tion that he can cut a slight groove and notch in the two slightly flattened depressed areas on either side of the tip of the nut. This requires four or five quick bites (page 670). Gripping the groove and notch in his teeth, he can carry the nut by the small end. To get the meat from a hazel nut, the squir rel cuts a small round hole in the shell, usually near the rough stem end of the nut, and then cuts the meat into bits and removes it from the shell with his teeth or tongue, or both. The dormice of Europe open filberts similarly. My pets cache nuts and other food in many different locations-on the top of a window casing, in the folds of a shower curtain, in my pockets, in the tops of my socks, inside my collar, on my arm, or in the angle of my elbow. They search out locations and tamp the nuts into place with their teeth. They use their long, slender hands to reach for objects too far away to pick up with their teeth, and to handle nuts and other food. They are accurate and dexterous. Their hands and feet are remarkably strong to enable them to check momentum from leaps and glides and to hang, sometimes, by a single finger or toe. They regularly hang head downward by their toes, using their hands to hold food. I believe they sometimes sleep hanging head downward. I have seen them sleep hanging by their fingers, head up. Almost any hole, crevice, or crack that is as much as 1 2 inches in diameter will provide refuge for flying squirrels. The squirrel hous ing shortage in Washington, D. C., where very few old trees with cavities remain, forces both flying squirrels and gray squirrels to seek shelter in attics of dwellings. Apparently some of the human occupants of the buildings do not appreciate such delight ful neighbors, for in the office of the National Zoological Park we receive many questions about ways to eliminate them. I usually sug gest putting plenty of nest boxes in trees. Insatiable curiosity sometimes gets them into traps set for other animals, to the disgust of the trapper and to their own sorrow. My pets have never bitten my hand severely enough to draw blood. Occasionally they will set their teeth on my finger and pinch gently in protest against my picking them up or disturbing them when they wish to do some thing else; but ordinarily it is not necessary to pick them up. They leap to me and try to stay with me as long as they can, and they especially enjoy going into my pocket to explore or to sleep. My little male often takes a notion that he wishes to sleep in my pockets. They show affection in many ways. One will stand on my shoulder and gently bite the rim of my ear or put his nose into my ear and sniff rapidly. This seems to be a way for many animals to express affection. Almost all animals show affection and com panionship by grooming their companion's coat. My pets do this to each other and fre quently to me, using their hands, teeth, and tongue. Once Beautiful, the female, began cutting gently with her teeth at a rough spot on the skin of my bald head! While still sluggish upon arising from sleep in the evening, the squirrels enjoy being in my hands. As I stroke them, or rub them behind the ears and on the cheeks and chin, they turn their heads to make those parts easily accessible. They also enjoy having me rub their backs along the spine, and offer no objection when I lift their gliding membranes or manipulate their tails. Sure-footed and Agile Later, when they are thoroughly awake, they are so active that they do not care to sit quietly so long. Their extremely long arms and long legs are used to good effect when climbing. It is in credible how rapidly they can climb and how sure-footed they are on smooth surfaces. They 669
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