Kentucky State Mammal: Eastern Gray Squirrel (sorry Filly)

Nature, State Animals 1 Minute

Squirrels are commonly seen because they are less shy than most animals about being out in the open during the day and are easier to spot. Squirrels are mostly herbivorous, living off of nuts, seeds, and vegetation. They collect and store food in buried caches to help them get through winter. Because they are able to store food, they do not need to hibernate to get through the winter when most of their food sources aren’t available.

Squirrels do not mate for life, and a female will pick a new partner each year. To show off for females, males will race each other up and down trees to show off how strong and fast they are. Females will have one to two litters per year, depending on how much food is available.

Like many small animals they have several predators. Predatory birds, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, raccoons, domestic cats, and snakes will all eat squirrels. Despite this, squirrels are very abundant, and the eastern gray squirrel is not considered endangered or threatened.

Did You Know?

    Squirrels are able to turn their ankles about 180 degrees, allowing their wrists to support their body weight while climbing in any direction. Animals that cannot turn their ankles like this (i.e. cats) may be able to easily climb up trees but have a much harder time climbing down trees. Imagine trying to climb down a tree headfirst!

    Squirrels use their tails for balance and for communication. Whenever you see a squirrel standing still twitching its tail it is usually sending some type of message such as warning other squirrels of danger or to stay away from its food caches.

SOURCE: NPS.GOV

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Published by pat frederick

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40 thoughts on “Kentucky State Mammal: Eastern Gray Squirrel (sorry Filly)”

  1. Good morning, Pat and Filly,

    When I was a little girl, we briefly had a pet squirrel.

    One day, when our family went on an outing to a river, we found a tame squirrel and begged to bring him home. He was a lot of fun with his antics in the house – ran up the draperies, and all over the place.

    Soon he got to be too much. He ran up a visiting lady’s skirt, tearing her stockings. Then one Sunday when dinner was ready, we found Mr. Squirrel on the table, in the bowl of Grandpa’s home grown green beans and new potatoes! The squirrel was taken back to the riverside that afternoon right after dinner.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Morning, GA! Yep, squirrels are pretty much impossible to train. Same with foxes altho not to the same degree. 51 here this morning – time to switch from a/c to heat.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. MF’er!!!! I am soooo sick of this shit!!!! It finally posted @ M’s…when I posted the text along with the link…..

      “Bret Stephens asks Stephanie Ruhle why Kamala Harris has not done interviews and stated clearly what her policy positions are. Ruhle responds that ‘We don’t live in Nirvana:’

      Stephens: “I’m an undecided voter. I’m not sure I want to vote for Kamala. My fear is that she doesn’t really have a very good command of what she wants to do as president. It would be great for her to sit down with you, or George Stephanopoulos, or you Stephanie. It’s not too much to ask Kamala ‘Are you for a Palestinian state, if Hamas is going to run that state?’”

      Ruhle: “If you don’t like her answer, are you going to vote for Trump? Kamala Harris is not running for perfect, she is running against Trump. We have two choices. There are some things that you might not know her answer too. In 2024, we know exactly what Trump will do, who he is, and the kind of threat he is to democracy.”

      Stephens: “The problem that a lot of people have with Kamala is that we don’t know her answer to anything.”

      Ruhle: “But you know his answer to everything.”

      Stephens: “People also are expected to have some idea of what the program that you’re supposed to vote for. I don’t think it’s a lot to ask for her to sit down for a real interview.”

      Ruhle: “When you move to Nirvana, I’ll be your next door neighbor. We don’t live there.”

      Stephanie Ruhle thinks it’s ‘utopian’ to demand Kamala Harris go through the process that every other candidate for president has gone through, a public vetting process. Turns out, Stephanie Ruhle and her ilk are the true ‘threats to democracy.’

      Like

  5. The eastern gray squirrel is also the most common in NE, as well as the Fox Squirrel – mostly what I have here:

    Red Squirrel:

    Flying Squirrel – nocturnal – I’ve never seen one but then, I’m never out at night to see them

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    1. MFer!!!

      “BREAKING: Trump just announced that he will sign legislation granting federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe, a Native American Tribe with 55,000 members based in North Carolina.

      THIS IS MASSIVE!!

      “We’ll take care of it right at the beginning. Biden and Obama promised remedy that they wanted to remedy the injustice, but they never did it. They broke their promise.”

      This will activate the tens of thousands of Lumbee voters in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland, and Scotland counties in North Carolina.”

      Like

  7. EXCERPT: “Now, among the members of the Iranian diaspora – people who oppose the rule of the mullahs in Iran, many of whom fled the country after the Islamic revolution – are forming an “Iranians for Trump” movement. As unlikely as that sounds, it makes more sense than one might think.

    At the time of Trump’s tweet, which garnered more than 277,000 likes, Iranians had flooded the streets of Iran to protest the regime’s targeting of a commercial airliner and called for the ousting of Khamenei. 

    “I have stood with you since the beginning of my presidency and my government will continue to stand with you,” Trump pledged to the Iranian people.

    Since then, scores of Iranian-Americans have returned the favor, praising Trump for understanding the plight of ordinary Iranians and for his aggressive stance toward Tehran’s clerical leaders. 

    Four years on and with the US presidential election less than two months away, a new Iranian-American movement launched in early September to help bring Trump back to the White House.

    There can be little doubt that then-President Trump’s sanctions placed a heavy burden on the Iranian regime. This has led Iranians, both in and out of Iran, to support the former president and to advocate for his reelection.

    The movement, Iranians for Trump came about because “there was no established coalition to represent the voices of the Iranian diaspora,” Sarah Raviani, co-founder and English-language spokesperson of the movement, told The Post. 

    Raviani added that most Iranians who had fled from their native Iran around the time of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and settled in the US were mostly either politically inactive, registered Democrats or independents, but Trump’s first term drew many to the GOP. 

    “We support President Trump because he holds the Iranian regime accountable,” Raviani said, adding that the aggressive ‘maximum pressure’ Iran policy President Trump adopted in his first term helped keep the regime at bay.

    Before the Islamic revolution, Iran was a very, very different place. Things under the Shah may not have been ideal; no country with a hereditary leader will be perfect. But they were vastly better than now. Women were treated much better; you can find photos of young women in Western dress attending universities in Iran before the mullahs came to power. Many members of the diaspora remember those days and would like to see them return. That’s unlikely to happen under a Harris regime, but the Iranians for Trump are hoping that a re-inaugurated Donald Trump would put the pressure back on the Islamic Republic….”

    https://redstate.com/wardclark/2024/09/21/iranians-for-trump-yes-really-n2179604

    Like

  8. Just The News: “Multiple gunman fired into a crowded outdoor entertainment venue Saturday night in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four and wounding, at least 18 others, police said.

    It was the city’s second mass shooting this year, and its mayor said the gunman were believed to have used guns modified with a switch known as a “Glock switch” that turned them into fully automatic machine guns. 

    “Glock switches are the number one public safety issue in our city and state,’’ Mayor Randall Woodfin wrote Sunday morning on Facebook. “Converting a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic weapon that discharges all bullets within seconds doesn’t belong on our domestic streets.”

    Police said two men and a woman were pronounced dead at the scene and a fourth victim, a male, died in a hospital shortly after the incident occurred at 11 PM Saturday at the Five Points South entertainment area.

    Police said they don’t believe the shooting was random, and that multiple innocent bystanders were simply caught in the crossfire in an area near a cigar lounge. 

    “It’s a beautiful night on a Saturday. This is one of the most popular entertainment districts in Birmingham so you can always expect a crowd,” Officer Truman Fitzgerald told a news conference. “This group of shooters fired on these victims while they were out in the open,’’ he said. “This was on a sidewalk or a city street.”

    Like

  9. Just The News: “Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are hoping to play roles in former President Donald Trump’s administration if he wins in November, according to reports. 

    Gabbard said she would “be honored to serve” in Trump’s administration if he wins the election. She would want to work in the foreign policy department, according to The Hill.

    Kennedy Jr. said he would want to work in the public health system and “be involved in the administration at a high level.” He has been outspoken about big food and big pharma for years. He wants to help “dismantle and rebuild the public health care system,” according to the outlet. 

    Both Kennedy Jr. and Gabbard are going to Nevada to campaign for Trump and are expected to go to other swing states like Georgia. 

    “It’s been very exciting and encouraging to see how MAGA crowds are responding to Kennedy’s call for cleaning up our food, environment and government,” a senior advisor for Kennedy Jr. ‘s “Make America Healthy Again” PAC told The Hill. 

    A political consultant  for Kennedy Jr. told the outlet that they are working to get unsatisfied Democrats and independent voters to vote for Trump in the coming election.” 

    Like

  11. EXCERPT: “A Little Bit of History on Squirrels as Pets:

    In 1722, there was a popular pet squirrel named Mungo, who belonged to Benjamin Franklin. He passed away after he met his fate at the teeth of a dog. You can read this story here.

    Back in the day, Americans kept many types of wild animals as pets. In the 18th and 19th century, squirrels were the most popular type of pets. They were a fixture in American homes and made great family pets, especially for kids.

    By the 1700’s they become extremely popular and they were sold in markets and found in wealthy urban homes. Some were trained well enough to walk on a leash. The most common types of squirrels that were adopted or bought as pets were:

    • Grey Squirrels
    • Red Squirrels
    • Flying Squirrels

    Though the gray squirrel was the most common type to see as a pet. In the 1970s many states started adopting wildlife conservation and exotic pet laws, which prevented people from keeping them as pets.

    Today, experts and enthusiasts say that they don’t make ideal pets, because of their diet, sharp claws, and space requirements. However, if you look on YouTube or anywhere online, more and more people are rescuing them and raising them as pets.

    11 Tips for Owning A Squirrel As A Pet

    The tips below will help you take the steps towards getting baby pet squirrel. Of course, I personally don’t believe a squirrel should keep gray squirrels as pets. (or any other type of squirrel)

    They are wild animals and should be left alone in the wilderness. However, I know that a lot of people rescue them as babies and end up keeping them because they become domesticated to where they cannot survive in the wild.

    So let’s look at everything you need to know about owning a squirrel. Trust me, it’s NOT the same as owning a dog or cat….”

    https://squirrelenthusiast.com/pet-squirrel/

    Liked by 1 person

  17. “The Reason For The Electoral College: Re-posting a very good article that is worth reading and understanding and sharing”

    Super Spreader, Sep 22, 2024

    SOURCE: ZeroHedge, Sunday, Sep 22, 2024 – 08:40 AM

    EXCERPT: “We’ve all experienced something like the following. The topic of politics comes up at a party, and someone in the group, seeking some way to say something smart but not divisive, will just toss out that we need to get rid of the Electoral College, the Constitution’s structure for electing the U.S. president and vice president.

    The expectation is that everyone present will readily agree. And usually that is precisely what happens because few people have ever heard the other side.

    We celebrate democracy so much, so often, that it seems like a no-brainer: the popular vote should always prevail. What possible reason would there be for any other system, much less this convoluted one in which states appoint electors who then weigh in with their choice?

    Well, a cocktail party is not the ideal time to take up the topic but let’s just say it very clearly. The Founders were too smart, too well read in history, too aware of the complications and geographical diversity in the United States, and respectful of the federal system, to embrace something as crude and unsustainable as direct democracy.

    Under such a system, the large population centers would dominate everyone else, and result in the worst excesses of mob rule.

    The purpose of the Electoral College is to provide a fairer weighting between the states, which were seen as the primary political jurisdictions in the U.S. system. The federal government had defined roles and defined limits while everything else was left to the states. The U.S. president needs to represent the whole and therefore the states would serve as an essential buffer……”

    https://mole.substack.com/p/the-reason-for-the-electoral-college

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Afternoon All!

    we are finally back!

    the visit with Mom was good, but the traffic down and back was horrendous! I’ve never seen so many tractor trailers on the highways at one time! (and of course, there was roadwork)

    I saw mostly Trump signs, but there were more Harris signs closer to mom. (she is in southeastern Pa so pretty liberal area). what pissed me off was the numerous Harris commercials on the radio. one ad over and over lamenting that Roe v Wade was overturned and Trump plans to outlaw abortion. utter lies for low info voters.

    Like

  26. nwtex
    September 22, 2024 12:50 am

    🇮🇹ITALIAN PM: NO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ALLOWED!

    Italian PM Meloni:

    “From now on, if you enter Italy illegally, you will be immediately deported!”
    pic.twitter.com/pgjEoDKW3k

    — Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) September 20, 2024

    Like

  28. sunnydaze

    September 22, 2024 1:49 am

    BREAKING: The House passed the Enhanced Presidential Security Act, extending Secret Service protection to presidential and vice-presidential nominees at the same level as the sitting president and vice president.

    The vote was unanimous at 405-0, and the bill now moves to the… pic.twitter.com/DM67LVRtNj

    — The General (@GeneralMCNews) September 20, 2024

    Like

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