07 October 2008

Looks like a bottle of...squirrel?

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 10-07
Location: West of Olin’s
Time: 1405-1430
Weather: Overcast, brief moments of sunlight, 60˚F

After setting the squirrel trap half an hour earlier with a piece of peanut butter encrusted walnut and several smaller peanut tidbits, I went back to the side of the building only to notice…no squirrels fighting their way out. A bit dejected, I returned to find that someone did manage to attract an eastern grey squirrel into their cage. It was gnawing the bars furiously, but seemed to calm down after Dave enveloped the cage with his coat. Placing a cone of fabric with a strip of Velcro down the center, the squirrel tumbled into the sack with its nose snugly fitting into the tip of the cone. We analyzed the squirrel, which seemed mostly tail at first, and sexed it through observing its genitals. The foot was measured to assess its growth. It had many small bumps along the bottoms of the feet; the pads assisted in climbing and provided protection from the abrasion of the environment. I later held the clothed, bottle-shaped squirrel to discover a soft warm bundle, similar holding a cat, which surprised me since I had expected the squirrel to be tense after being trapped and handled. Instead, I found a steady heartbeat and a slightly opened mouth displaying narrow yellowed incisors. It must have calmed down after realizing it was unable to move and escape. Perhaps it was breathing harder due to its enclosure. It was later tagged with a metal “earring” but I had left at that point.

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