Squirrel Facts: The Groundhog

This coming Thursday, February 2, is Groundhog Day, that annual celebration when we all find out whether to expect an early spring or an extended winter. What many people don't realize is that the groundhog, also known as woodchuck and--believe it or not--"whistle-pig," is really a large ground squirrel.

WTF, do I look like a pig to you?

The groundhog is native to most of eastern and central North America, from Alabama in the south to as far north as parts of Alaska. It is one of the largest ground squirrels, measuring 16-26 inches in length including the tail, and weighing about 5-9 pounds. In some areas where there are few predators and plentiful food some individuals can grow even larger. It has two coats of fur, a shorter dense gray undercoat, and a longer brown outer coat. The tail is quite short compared to many other species of squirrel.

Although groundhogs live mostly on and under the ground, and have a heavy appearance that makes them look somewhat awkward, they are good swimmers and excellent climbers. When cornered by an enemy, they defend themselves with their sharp teeth and claws. An individual will also defend territory aggressively against other invading groundhogs.

Groundhogs are mostly herbivorous, eating grasses, berries, some nuts, and agricultural plants. They also will eat some insects such as grasshoppers, and grubs and snails. They get most of their water from eating leafy plants, rather than from drinking.

Compared to many other ground squirrels, groundhogs are relatively solitary. They live in burrows, and while several individuals may occupy one burrow, they do not form large communities like prairie dogs and other burrowing squirrels. The burrows are large, with tunnels extending sometimes close to fifty feet, buried up to five feet underground, with up to five entrances. The burrows are used for sleeping, rearing young, and hibernation.

The groundhog is one of the few species of squirrel that hibernates. Sometimes a separate burrow, in a wooded or brushy area, is used for hibernation, which usually lasts from October until March or April.

Fable

Fable

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

The mountain and the squirrel
Had a quarrel;
And the former called the latter "Little Prig."
Bun replied,
"You are doubtless very big;
But all sorts of things and weather
Must be taken in together
To make up a year
And a sphere.
And I think it's no disgrace
To occupy my place.
If I'm not so large as you,
You are not so small as I,
And not half so spry.
I'll not deny you make
A very pretty squirrel track;
Talents differ: all is well and wisely put;
If I cannot carry forests on my back,
Neither can you crack a nut." 

Hero Rats!

Once again, it's time to recognize Beebz' rodent cousins the rats.

APOPO (Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende ProductOntwikkeling, Dutch for Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development) is a non-profit organization that does something extraordinary: they train giant African pouch rats to detect land mines. In many parts of the world, particularly in areas of Africa and Asia, land mines have been left behind in the wake of armed conflicts and pose a serious danger to people living in those areas. Finding the mines and clearing them is difficult, time-consuming, and dangerous work--one mistake can cost the clearer his or her life or, at the very least, can result in the loss of a limb.

Don't worry, I'm here to help!

This is where the rats come in. The giant African pocket rat is a large, intelligent, and easily-trained rodent. The rats are trained to move along a line stretched between two handlers and, when it detects the smell of explosives, to scratch at the spot. Using this method, the rats are able to cover a field much more quickly than humans using minesweepers would be able to, and with much less danger of triggering any mines.

It should be emphasized that because of the rats' light weight, there is no danger of them triggering the mines--during the more than a decade since the program was started not a single rat has been killed or injured. Besides their light weight, rats have several other advantages for this work:

• They are sociable, intelligent, and easy to train.
• They have an excellent sense of smell.
• They can identify mines to be cleared more quickly than human workers using minesweepers.
• They offer a low-tech and inexpensive solution to a serious problem that afflicts many areas with few resources.
• The African pouch rats have a long life span.

But clearing mines isn't all that these rats do. APOPO has also begun training rats to detect tuberculosis, a serious pulmonary disease that afflicts many impoverished areas. A single rat can screen forty sputum samples for TB in less than seven minutes, a job that would take a trained technician an entire day. The use of rats for TB detection is still in the development phase, but the initial results suggest that the rats have greater accuracy finding positive samples than the use of microscopy.

APOPO's training and breeding facility is in Tanzania. So far, the organization has done valuable work clearing land mines from areas in Mozambique and Thailand.

For anyone who is concerned about the treatment of rats used for what sounds like a dangerous task, a quick review of the FAQ page at APOPO's website should ease your mind. It only makes sense that animals being employed for important and sensitive work would be treated very well.

Squirrel Nation is proud to salute the brave Hero Rats of APOPO!

Family Pet Cat Killed As Political Intimidation

This is just about as ugly as it gets.

Ken Aden is running as a Democrat for Congress in Arkansas' third district. Recently his campaign manager, Jacob Burris, returned home from a short outing with his children to find their pet cat, a Siamese mix, dead on their front doorstep with the word "liberal" painted across its body. The cat's head was bashed in so severely that one eye was hanging out of the socket. Burris' five year old son was the first to find the cat. Here is what he saw:

This kind of action is, in Aden's words, "unconscionable... part of the worst of humanity." Aden's race with Republican incumbent Steve Womack has been "tense," although Aden said he does not think Womack's campaign is directly responsible for this horrific crime. But it is all too typical of the kind of political climate that we live in today, and especially the kind of threatening and sometimes violent rhetoric tossed around by the right, that can easily inspire despicable acts of terrorism and intimidation like this.

An innocent cat, a family pet that had nothing to do with a political campaign, lost its life, and Mr. Burris' children lost a beloved pet in the ugliest, most traumatizing way imaginable, because of some ignorant cowardly yahoo's desire to scare and intimidate a political opponent.

PETA is reportedly offering a $5000 reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever is responsible for this crime. The blog Blue Arkansas is speaking out against this terrorist act, on behalf of the Aden campaign and Mr. Burris and his family, and is asking for campaign donations for Aden's progressive congressional campaign.

An Open Letter to Elizabeth Hurley, Squirrel Hater

Recently British model, actress, whatever Elizabeth Hurley posted the following on Twitter:

@ElizabethHurleyElizabeth Hurley 

I loathe grey squirrels.

14 Jan via Twitter for BlackBerry®Favorite Undo Retweet Reply

On behalf of Squirrel Nation, Beebz would like to address the following open letter to Ms. Hurley:

Dear Elizabeth Hurley,

Bite Me!

Sincerely,
Beebz

Squirrel Facts: The Japenese Dwarf Flying Squirrel: Cuteness Overload!

First, Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day! I wasn't sure how to commemorate this special day. Here are some ideas of things to appreciate about our bushy-tailed friends.

Browsing through a list of world squirrels, I happened upon this little anime character Pokemon flying squirrel.

The momonga, or Japanese dwarf flying squirrel, lives in sub-alpine forests of Japan. It is nocturnal, spending days curled in a red and white ball holes in trees, and at night comes out to eat seeds, fruit, leaves, buds, and bark. Like other flying squirrels, it glides from tree to tree using a membrane stretched between its forelegs and hind legs.

The body is 14-20 cm long, and the tail 10-14 cm long. Wikipedia notes that the Japanese dwarf flying squirrel is much smaller than the Japanese giant flying squirrel, and I thank them for this insight.

The Japanese dwarf flying squirrel is most notable for being scientifically proven to be the cutest thing in the universe. Here are a couple more photos to demonstrate this fact:

Look into my eyes. You are getting sleeeeeeepy. You are
now under my power.

A Squirrel Poem

To A Squirrel At Kyle-na-gno

by W.B. Yeats (1865-1939)

COME play with me; 

Why should you run 

Through the shaking tree 

As though I’d a gun 

To strike you dead?

When all I would do 

Is to scratch your head 

And let you go.