RIP Squirrel

Stephen Harding said:

I'm working at sharpening my peripheral vision and detection
software so I can better intercept and avoid these four legged,
bushy tailed land torpedoes in the future...especially when I'm
in front of an idyllic young family out for a spring walk on a
bike path!

The guidance software /they/ use needs work. They often get confused and
change direction a bunch of times before they decide which way they are
going to head.

Ken
--
Messengers and mountain bikers share a common chromosome. ~James Bethea

"Ken C. M." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Stephen Harding said:

I'm working at sharpening my peripheral vision and detection
software so I can better intercept and avoid these four legged,
bushy tailed land torpedoes in the future...especially when I'm
in front of an idyllic young family out for a spring walk on a
bike path!

Quoted message said:

The guidance software /they/ use needs work. They often get confused and
change direction a bunch of times before they decide which way they are
going to head.

I've been thinking about this. In the world of predators they evolved in
those sudden direction changes made a lot sense. It just might throw off a
pursuing predator. They really aren't wired to consider that those big
things on bikes and in cars are really trying to avoid them and move in a
ruler-straight line so zig-zagging makes a lot of sense.

I saw a BBC/Attenborough show last night focusing on pervasively successful
omnivores. Some animals like raccoons in North America, and surprising to
me, foxes in Britain, have adapted very well to the urban environment.
[Though not omnivores, Canada Geese have thrived in human created green
spaces]

But back to raccoons: Attenborough made the observation that while
'country' raccoons often ended up as roadkill their city cousins have become
very savvy at co-existing with cars and are not often hit like their country
bumpkin cousins. My experiences cycling in and out of town confirms this. I
see numerous roadkill raccoons outside of town but not often in town.

I guess raccoons are just smarter than squirrels and learn from the school
of hard knocks?

"Stephen Harding" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:qRbkg.6277$891.5300@trndny01...

Quoted message said:

On my way home from work I used the bike path old railroad
bridge to cross the Connecticut River and just before hitting
the bridge, a little blur streaked across from the far left
side of the rail trail towards me.

Suddenly I felt like a captain of a liberty ship during WWII
watching helplessly as a torpedo streaks toward the center
of my ship.

No blast, just a "bump"!

Looking back, there was the squirrel lying on its side, white
undersides showing towards me, not moving at all.

Looks like my brand new 37mm Conti Contacts handle the "bumps"
quite nicely!

I actually felt rather bad. I apologized to the spirit of the
squirrel, but had to inquire why an animal so clever at relieving
bird seed and suet from feeders could make such poor decisions
when crossing pavement? Mr Squirrel didn't reply, but didn't
seem too angry at me for ending his days.

The mother with two small children immediately ahead of me didn't
seem so forgiving.

Although she didn't say anything, she just glared at me as I
passed by the family out for a walk on the bike path, only to
witness murder by bicycle of a cute little squirrel. Her eyes
seemed to say, "You, you, CUTE SQUIRREL MURDERER, you!"

I'm working at sharpening my peripheral vision and detection
software so I can better intercept and avoid these four legged,
bushy tailed land torpedoes in the future...especially when I'm
in front of an idyllic young family out for a spring walk on a
bike path!

SMH

At least the squirrel managed to avoid getting tangled in your spokes.

BTW, bird lovers often refer to them as "tree rats", and rarely mourn their
passing.

GG

recycled-one said:

Quoted message said:

The guidance software /they/ use needs work. They often get confused and
change direction a bunch of times before they decide which way they are
going to head.

I've been thinking about this. In the world of predators they evolved in
those sudden direction changes made a lot sense. It just might throw off a
pursuing predator. They really aren't wired to consider that those big
things on bikes and in cars are really trying to avoid them and move in a
ruler-straight line so zig-zagging makes a lot of sense.

I saw a BBC/Attenborough show last night focusing on pervasively successful
omnivores. Some animals like raccoons in North America, and surprising to
me, foxes in Britain, have adapted very well to the urban environment.
[Though not omnivores, Canada Geese have thrived in human created green
spaces]

But back to raccoons: Attenborough made the observation that while
'country' raccoons often ended up as roadkill their city cousins have become
very savvy at co-existing with cars and are not often hit like their country
bumpkin cousins. My experiences cycling in and out of town confirms this. I
see numerous roadkill raccoons outside of town but not often in town.

I have noticed a similar trend. Not too many of the large mammals
in-town as road kill. Mostly /country/ cousins of the raccoons and
opossums and armadillos. Mostly what I see in town is snakes. A pretty
good variety of them too. But mostly small non-venomous species. But
once and a while I see a pygmy rattlesnake or a coral snake.

Ken
--
Messengers and mountain bikers share a common chromosome. ~James Bethea

Stephen Harding said:

On my way home from work I used the bike path old railroad
bridge to cross the Connecticut River and just before hitting
the bridge, a little blur streaked across from the far left
side of the rail trail towards me.

Suddenly I felt like a captain of a liberty ship during WWII
watching helplessly as a torpedo streaks toward the center
of my ship.

No blast, just a "bump"!

[snip]

At least the furpedo didn't achieve the degree of destruction
documented here a number of times. There have been several incidents
involving kamikaze arboreal rodents spiking a wheel while in motion
with major damage to the bike as a result. All successful attacks
seen have involved low-spoke-count front wheels. Bent forks, and in
at least one instance a bent frame, have resulted; none of the
attackers survived, but none of the reported targets was in ridable
condition after the attack. Since this has not been seen to occur
with 36-spoke wheels, it has been posited that the squirrels are
unable to carry out a suicide wheelbombing of those; apparently,
there's just not room for them to dive through. This theory is
supported by accounts of several failed attempts in which the
squirrels rebounded from a 36-spoke unit.

No rodentish organization has yet claimed responsibility for these
terror attacks, but riders of vulnerable bikes should be aware that
they may become targets when riding in any area where potential
nut-jihadists may be lurking.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

recycled-one said:

[Though not omnivores, Canada Geese have thrived in human created green
spaces]

Technically, they qualify as limited omnivores; they cheerfully
consume grain, fruit, and small aquatic and terrestrial animals and
insects. Their lack of teeth prevents them from eating anything
that's not already bite-sized when they find it.

Quoted message said:

But back to raccoons: Attenborough made the observation that while
'country' raccoons often ended up as roadkill their city cousins have become
very savvy at co-existing with cars and are not often hit like their country
bumpkin cousins. My experiences cycling in and out of town confirms this. I
see numerous roadkill raccoons outside of town but not often in town.

This may be true here as well. I have seen a security camera tape of
a raccoon with young in which she and her brood emerged from a
dumpster, walked over to the verge of a nearby street, and she
pointedly stopped and looked for oncoming traffic before crossing. In
my own neighborhood, we have numerous raccoons (they're annoying and
destructive pests, actually) but few roadkills of them. Opossums, on
the other hand, are regular speed bumps.

Quoted message said:

I guess raccoons are just smarter than squirrels and learn from the school
of hard knocks?

I suspect that they learn by observation in this instance, since the
hard knock would likely prove fatal...which isn't terribly
educational. Possums, being as bright as unlit charcoal briquets,
blithely saunter out into traffic without care. Their fecundity is
all that keeps them viable as city-dwellers.

--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Stephen Harding wrote:
About the river bridge squirrel incident, almost echoing an Ambrose
Bierce short story title.

Alas, even though the "new cat" in residence at my parent's house
weighs a good four pounds more than the previous incumbent in the
position, she shows even less inclination to take advantage of the
squirrels attracted by the backyard bird feeders. On the other hand,
the lazy, indolent dog somehow managed to take one out of the gene poll
a year ago. If you were there, and if she'd seen it, my mom might have
tried to give you a mini-loaf of zucchini bread....

On the other hand, their antics do make for amusing letters.

One of the worst potential mammal-mashes in San Diego is the Rose
Canyon Bike Path. With yearling rabbits and squirrels, about five feet
of width and dense tall growth right to the edge of the asphault in
many places, you never know what is lurking or how fast it's going to
run across. The worst near-miss event I've had there was a "teenage"
squirrel who was standing ON the edge of the asphault, stamping its
little forepaws in a sort of "I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna do it! So help
me, I'm gonna do it!" gesture. I apologize for the anthropomorphism.

Robert Leone [email hidden]

Nice story. Excuse me, though, I have to go out and put out more poison for
the squirrels....

Don't feel sorry about getting rid of one of them. They're nothing but rats
with furry tails.

Pat in TX

"Pat in TX" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Nice story. Excuse me, though, I have to go out and put out more poison
for the squirrels....

Don't feel sorry about getting rid of one of them. They're nothing but
rats with furry tails.

You should have seen that Attenborough show. One segment related a city in
India that worships rats. They have run of the place like pigeons in Venice.

I don't know why people prefer birds so much over squirrels vis a vis bird
feeders. I think squirrels are kinda cool - if stupid. Their manic manner
reminds me of Ellen De Generes for some reason.

Stephen Harding said:

On my way home from work I used the bike path old railroad
bridge to cross the Connecticut River and just before hitting
the bridge, a little blur streaked across from the far left
side of the rail trail towards me.

Suddenly I felt like a captain of a liberty ship during WWII
watching helplessly as a torpedo streaks toward the center
of my ship.

No blast, just a "bump"!

Looking back, there was the squirrel lying on its side, white
undersides showing towards me, not moving at all.

Looks like my brand new 37mm Conti Contacts handle the "bumps"
quite nicely!

Congratulations. Would you come ride around my neighborhood and kill
some of the tree rodents here, please??

Pat
Email address works as is.

Stephen Harding said:

Looking back, there was the squirrel lying on its side, white
undersides showing towards me, not moving at all.

Food Stamps for foxes.

After many years of riding on the American River Bike Trail, I have
nearly hit several dozen of these critters. They make some pretty
stupid choices, including running parallel to the bike and then cutting
in towards the wheels. I have seen quite a few on the side of the trail
that didn't make it. I guess we are selecting, in a Darwinian way,
those that have a road sense. However, those that choose poorrly make a
meal for some other critter, so it balances out.

Werehatrack said:

recycled-one said:

[Though not omnivores, Canada Geese have thrived in human created green
spaces]

Technically, they qualify as limited omnivores; they cheerfully
consume grain, fruit, and small aquatic and terrestrial animals and
insects. Their lack of teeth prevents them from eating anything
that's not already bite-sized when they find it.

I remember seeing a duck at the UMass campus pond eat a fish!

The fish and ducks have learned to all line up when they see
people on shore (people dole out bread and junk food), so there
were large numbers of them all intertwined near the surface.

One of the ducks suddenly plunged its head down and grabbed a
smaller sized Pumpkinseed (sunfish) and gulped it right down.

Wondered if this is known elsewhere or if I had just encountered
a psychopathically murderous, mentally ill mallard?

SMH

recycled-one said:

I don't know why people prefer birds so much over squirrels vis a vis bird
feeders. I think squirrels are kinda cool - if stupid. Their manic manner
reminds me of Ellen De Generes for some reason.

I too enjoy the squirrels at the feeders. I fill it once
a week, even though the local furry raiders often have it
emptied by the end of Sunday. Once a week...sorry birds.

Then of course there are the bears too! Same philosophy:
fill the feeders and suet cages once a week. If the bears
hit the feeder and the suet later on Saturday, birdies have
to wait until next Saturday for the next "reloading".

At least I know where the bears go with my suet cages now.
I just go across the street into the woods/pasture and
collect the emptied cages. I've reclaimed them perhaps 6
or 8 times now. Buying cages every few weeks could get
quite expensive.

They shot a bear near downtown Northanpton (MA) yesterday.
Said it was a danger to the public walking down the streets
and through yards in broad daylight with children about,
showing no fear whatsoever.

I suppose they had to, but I was sorry they did.

SMH

Patrick Lamb said:

On Thu, 15 Jun 2006 11:51:50 GMT, Stephen Harding

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Looks like my brand new 37mm Conti Contacts handle the "bumps"
quite nicely!

Congratulations. Would you come ride around my neighborhood and kill
some of the tree rodents here, please??

Locally we have one business that uses bicycles to do trash
pickup and recycling in the neighborhoods. People put their
trash and recycle container out on the street, and instead of
a large trash truck coming by to haul it all off, a guy on a
bike with a long trailer with plastic containers strapped to
it does the collection and hauls it off to the local recycling
center. Great use of the bike to earn a living!

Yet somehow, riding around the neighborhood on my bike, perhaps
mounting scythes rotating off the wheels or long hay cutter
appendages in an attempt to rid the city streets of the bushy
tailed ones, would go over very well here.

Perhaps in your neighborhood though...

SMH

Werehatrack said:

Stephen Harding said:

On my way home from work I used the bike path old railroad
bridge to cross the Connecticut River and just before hitting
the bridge, a little blur streaked across from the far left
side of the rail trail towards me.

Suddenly I felt like a captain of a liberty ship during WWII
watching helplessly as a torpedo streaks toward the center
of my ship.

No blast, just a "bump"!

[snip]

At least the furpedo didn't achieve the degree of destruction
documented here a number of times. There have been several incidents
involving kamikaze arboreal rodents spiking a wheel while in motion
with major damage to the bike as a result. All successful attacks
seen have involved low-spoke-count front wheels. Bent forks, and in
at least one instance a bent frame, have resulted; none of the
attackers survived, but none of the reported targets was in ridable
condition after the attack. Since this has not been seen to occur
with 36-spoke wheels, it has been posited that the squirrels are
unable to carry out a suicide wheelbombing of those; apparently,
there's just not room for them to dive through. This theory is
supported by accounts of several failed attempts in which the
squirrels rebounded from a 36-spoke unit.

My bike indeed had 36 spoke wheels!

Quoted message said:

No rodentish organization has yet claimed responsibility for these
terror attacks, but riders of vulnerable bikes should be aware that
they may become targets when riding in any area where potential
nut-jihadists may be lurking.

I will certainly be more alert in the future for "lurking
nut-jihadists". With Al-Zarqawi now occupied with his 72
virgins, there may be competition amongst them in an attempt
to bring more attention to themselves for taking over AZ's
position.

Since squirrels can't read, they likely don't know the job
has already been filled, so attacks are likely to continue
for some time.

SMH

While on tour last week, I had 2 birds do a kamakazi on my front
panniers and through my spokes. What was I supposed to do give them
CPR and basic first aid? Call the EMT's? File a police report?
Contact the emergency room? Accidents with animals will happen no
matter how hard we try not to hit them. PS squirrels are rodents

Stephen Harding said:

On my way home from work I used the bike path old railroad
bridge to cross the Connecticut River and just before hitting
the bridge, a little blur streaked across from the far left
side of the rail trail towards me.

Suddenly I felt like a captain of a liberty ship during WWII
watching helplessly as a torpedo streaks toward the center
of my ship.

No blast, just a "bump"!

Looking back, there was the squirrel lying on its side, white
undersides showing towards me, not moving at all.

Looks like my brand new 37mm Conti Contacts handle the "bumps"
quite nicely!

I actually felt rather bad. I apologized to the spirit of the
squirrel, but had to inquire why an animal so clever at relieving
bird seed and suet from feeders could make such poor decisions
when crossing pavement? Mr Squirrel didn't reply, but didn't
seem too angry at me for ending his days.

The mother with two small children immediately ahead of me didn't
seem so forgiving.

Although she didn't say anything, she just glared at me as I
passed by the family out for a walk on the bike path, only to
witness murder by bicycle of a cute little squirrel. Her eyes
seemed to say, "You, you, CUTE SQUIRREL MURDERER, you!"

I'm working at sharpening my peripheral vision and detection
software so I can better intercept and avoid these four legged,
bushy tailed land torpedoes in the future...especially when I'm
in front of an idyllic young family out for a spring walk on a
bike path!

SMH

Stephen Harding said:

recycled-one said:

I don't know why people prefer birds so much over squirrels vis a vis
bird feeders. I think squirrels are kinda cool - if stupid. Their
manic manner reminds me of Ellen De Generes for some reason.

I too enjoy the squirrels at the feeders. I fill it once
a week, even though the local furry raiders often have it
emptied by the end of Sunday. Once a week...sorry birds.

Then of course there are the bears too! Same philosophy:
fill the feeders and suet cages once a week. If the bears
hit the feeder and the suet later on Saturday, birdies have
to wait until next Saturday for the next "reloading".

At least I know where the bears go with my suet cages now.
I just go across the street into the woods/pasture and
collect the emptied cages. I've reclaimed them perhaps 6
or 8 times now. Buying cages every few weeks could get
quite expensive.

They shot a bear near downtown Northanpton (MA) yesterday.
Said it was a danger to the public walking down the streets
and through yards in broad daylight with children about,
showing no fear whatsoever.

I suppose they had to, but I was sorry they did.

SMH

They could have tranquilized the bear but a lot of cops would rather
just kill something as long as it isn't human and they don't have to
fill out a mile of forms.
Go hunting with Cheney some day.
THAT should be interesting.
Bill Baka

"Bill" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Stephen Harding said:

recycled-one said:

I don't know why people prefer birds so much over squirrels vis a vis
bird feeders. I think squirrels are kinda cool - if stupid. Their manic
manner reminds me of Ellen De Generes for some reason.

I too enjoy the squirrels at the feeders. I fill it once
a week, even though the local furry raiders often have it
emptied by the end of Sunday. Once a week...sorry birds.

Then of course there are the bears too! Same philosophy:
fill the feeders and suet cages once a week. If the bears
hit the feeder and the suet later on Saturday, birdies have
to wait until next Saturday for the next "reloading".

At least I know where the bears go with my suet cages now.
I just go across the street into the woods/pasture and
collect the emptied cages. I've reclaimed them perhaps 6
or 8 times now. Buying cages every few weeks could get
quite expensive.

They shot a bear near downtown Northanpton (MA) yesterday.
Said it was a danger to the public walking down the streets
and through yards in broad daylight with children about,
showing no fear whatsoever.

I suppose they had to, but I was sorry they did.

SMH

They could have tranquilized the bear but a lot of cops would rather just
kill something as long as it isn't human and they don't have to fill out a
mile of forms.
Go hunting with Cheney some day.
THAT should be interesting.
Bill Baka

Bill, you disappoint. Now, c'mon, give us one of your cop stories. And
PLEASE make sure you go off on many, many tangents and throw in all manner
of things about YOU! See Bill, we *do* get it, on Planet Baka it really is
all about you.

Bill said:

They could have tranquilized the bear but a lot of cops would rather
just kill something as long as it isn't human and they don't have to
fill out a mile of forms.
Go hunting with Cheney some day.
THAT should be interesting.

The local police here do not shoot bears. The Environmental
Police are tasked with that, and it was their assessment the
bear was a public danger.

They can't relocate the bear because it was female. Apparently
females have stronger homing instincts than males (only the
females are radio-collared locally for research so they know
the travel patterns of the animals; there are five with home
ranges overlapping my fair hometown).

SMH