Clumsy squirrels

[Ron H.]

Greetings, all:

Anyone here ever seen a squirrel fall out of a tree from its own clumsiness? I'd never seen it before buying this house, but here I've seen it happen several times, most recently a few minutes ago. Usually happens when the squirrels are chasing each other and one misses a jump.

Is this common, or is our neighborhood just the shallow end of the squirrel gene pool?

Thanks, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

 

[Bullet Bob]

Nope, I was sitting under a tree in South Carolina after a motorcycle ride over 40 years ago, and two playing/fighting sqirrels almost fell on my head.

Maybe it's their progeny, although Colorado is a fur piece (get it?) for them to go. Maybe they hitched a ride on one of Shaw Air Force base's many planes.

 

[V-35]

Greetings, all:

Anyone here ever seen a squirrel fall out of a tree from its own clumsiness? I'd never seen it before buying this house, but here I've seen it happen several times, most recently a few minutes ago. Usually happens when the squirrels are chasing each other and one misses a jump.

Is this common, or is our neighborhood just the shallow end of the squirrel gene pool?

Thanks, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

Saw it happen one time when I had put some beer out in pans to kill the slugs................................... (Not really ;-))


But it could happen....... couldn't it?

Art

 

[arjay]

Maybe they've been eating fermented fruit?

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I've seen it happen a couple of times-funny as hell. Squirrel looks around as if he wants to see if anybody saw what just happened and then runs back up the tree.

 

[BJoe]

They can jump 30 feet down, their tails act as a parachute to slow the fall. I got LOTS of the tree rats, it drives my dogs CRAZY wanting to get at them. There is a mother, see pic, that gave birth to two young and they both have the same white tails of mom.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

A little over 20 years ago, my 2 oldest sons and I were checking out campsites in our woods for our Memorial day campout. When we heard an animal up in the trees that sounded just wrong. I looked around until I found it; an adult groundhog jumping from tree to tree. He jumped to an old dead tree, but the bark came loose under his impact, and he fell about 25 feet to the ground, got up and ran up the next tree and on his way. We camped in a different spot that year, due to Falling Wildlife. Ivan

 

[MH8675309]

They're similar to rats - rats can fall 30 feet onto concrete and still run away. Kinda look like rats too once you get the skin peeled off,,

 

[WCraven]

They don't fall around my house because the cats are waiting, i have saved one before that the cat had in his mouth.

 

[sps282]

I've seen a few fall most often when they drink the beer my wife puts out in the snail/slug traps around her flower beds....she buys the cheapest rot gut beer...

 

[fiasconva]

Happens all the time around my house. Tree rats aren't exactly at the top of the intelligence list.

 

[shouldazagged]

Maybe they've been eating fermented fruit?

I've seen squirrels get fertilizer-faced on fermenting persimmons. Ridiculous sight, but since the fruit was on the ground they didn't fall out of trees. They couldn't climb the trees. They just staggered around trying to pick fights and acting as if they thought they were God's gift to girl squirrels

There are, at last count, just over eighty thousand little thug city squirrels in the big oaks and maples around the seniors' apartment complex where I live. Some of the neighbors feed them very generously, and the pushy critters will occasionally try to enter my apartment, with an expression that clearly says, "Well, where the hell do you keep the snacks?"

They sometimes fall out of trees because they are excessively well fed. And because unlike their wild cousins, they are basically dumber than a sack of hair.

 

[LazyKB]

I was in a tree stand 20 feet off the ground and had a squirrel mistake my camo for another tree and jumped on my back. I almost fell out of the tree.

 

[woodsltc]

I've seen lot's of them get "lead poisoning" and fall out of a tree.

Don

 

[tops]

I was watching 2 chase each other and 1 missed his jump and fell 30 or 40 feet. That is the only time I have saw one fall. He didn't act like it hurt him but I got a good laugh out of it. Larry

 

[RonJ]

Not squirrels but Blue Jays. I've seen several in a tree, if one jumps to a branch and misses, the rest will cackle, just like they are laughing.

 

[cussedemgun]

Spring does that to many animals, including - - -

I was watching 2 chase each other and 1 missed his jump and fell 30 or 40 feet. That is the only time I have saw one fall. He didn't act like it hurt him but I got a good laugh out of it. Larry

Come spring time, lotts'a guy animals are not at their best composure. Mind's not on tree branches & such, I spec's.

I don't have any first hand knowledge of cause, just observation

 

[ToddS112]

They can jump 30 feet down, their tails act as a parachute to slow the fall. I got LOTS of the tree rats, it drives my dogs CRAZY wanting to get at them. There is a mother, see pic, that gave birth to two young and they both have the same white tails of mom.

There always seems to be an adundant number of white squirrels in the South Dayton area. They are not albino, as their eyes/noses are not pink. I read an article somewhere that John Patterson intentionally bread all white squirrels as a hobby/experiment. Not sure if that's just a rumor or not.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I've seen a few fall most often when they drink the beer my wife puts out in the snail/slug traps around her flower beds....she buys the cheapest rot gut beer...

So you're fighting the squirrels for the beer??????????

 

[BJoe]

There always seems to be an adundant number of white squirrels in the South Dayton area. They are not albino, as their eyes/noses are not pink. I read an article somewhere that John Patterson intentionally bread all white squirrels as a hobby/experiment. Not sure if that's just a rumor or not.

I didn't know that. I am a few miles from there so it is possible. Thanks!