Yup, those chattering, noisy, bossy little animals have their own holiday! Well, why not. We often live around squirrels daily, so maybe we should appreciate all they do for us. Let's explore a little, beginning with the
history of the squirrel:
Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, consisting of small or medium-size rodents. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots (including woodchucks), flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa, and have been introduced to Australia.[1] The earliest known squirrels date from the Eocene and are most closely related to the mountain beaver and to the dormouse among living rodent families.
Ah...they're rodents, huh? Okay. Rodents are sometimes pets.
While some people think of squirrels as destructive and aggressive, in some North American Indian tales, they are revered as caretakers of the forests, and some northwest coastal Indians consider them to be messengers of danger. However, in many of their mythological tales, Mikew (squirrels) are not the cute, but frenzied little creatures we know today.
In the Abenaki story myths squirrels were once very large creatures. In one tale, Gluskabe (Gloos-kah´-bee), who formed himself from the dust brushed off the Creators hands, is the hero of this story about squirrels:
Gluskabe was a figure of power and ingenuity, who took an interest in human beings. When people were first created, he feared that animals might harm them. He called the animals together and pronounced the Abenaki word for human being: "alnabe." The deer and the rabbit fled. Even the wolf retreated. But the red squirrel flew into a rage. It tore limbs from trees, and threw boulders left and right.
At this time squirrels were large, larger than bears, and Gluskabe saw that enormous angry squirrels would cause people plenty of trouble. He spoke quietly to the squirrel, and petted its head. Each time he stroked it, the squirrel became smaller. When Gluskabe stopped petting the squirrel, it was smaller than a rabbit, and although it still had a terrible temper, human beings had no need to fear it.
I think I'm rather grateful to Gluskabe. Can you imagine a squirrel the size of a bear???
I'd rather not, thank you.
Since this is Squirrel Appreciation Day, lets take a good look at these fuzzy critters. I mean they look cute...
Who could resist such an adoring parent with those big black eyes and cute ears, big floofy tail and twitchy nose. Just like a cat or dog...hmmm? And we all know how the internets is owned by full of lolcats that we all adore. But are these tiny floofy beasties as lovable as pooties and woozles and even birdies? Lets view them the same way we do with cats and dogs online...through images...and see how they measure up to our beloved pets:
Squirrels love that you feed the birdies...
just so's they can steal their noms.
But that's not the most worrisome thing...
They seem to be ...
on some kind of mission.
And training in all the arts of the warrior...
even the arcane arts.
Okeydokey...maybe not so cute after all. I smell trouble abrewing in them thar woods. I'm not sure I'm ready to confront a tiny commando with a long fluffy tail and an attitude a mile wide!
But some people seem to love 'em:
While squirrels are not loved and revered by many people, there are a few nuts admirers who even have a webpage devoted to the little pests creatures:
http://www.nutsaboutsquirrels.com/...
There are even some children's books written about squirrels. The most famous of them being The Tale Of Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter
And who could forget the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show!!
Okay, so cartoon squirrels and pretty watercolour squirrels and nutsaboutsquirrels are okay (well, the nuts of nutsabout are just plain nuts), but what about the real life ones? Do they do anything heroic for mankind? Does all that nut hoarding have any benefit for their habitats? Do they live amicably with birds and other creatures? If we knew that squirrels were suddenly on the endangered species list would we rush madly to save our furry....never mind.
Truthfully, I can't think of even one damned good reason to appreciate those nasty, noisy, thieving little fuzzballs.