Cute Little Critter or
A Rat with a Bushy Tail?
Being a displaced Ontario guy, I grew up seeing black squirrels in most parks and residential areas of the city. They were as common as sidewalks and mature walnut trees in the older parts of the city.
Having lived in Nanaimo since 1970, this is the first year I can remember starting to see these little black critters in my neighbourhood, and their numbers are definitely increasing and they have definitely moved in.
While I am sure this is a delight for many, they are not without their problems. The first being the fact they are not native and will drive out the smaller red squirrels. They are also not the friend of baby birds in the nest. If they find a way into your attic they can also be quite destructive as they will gnaw their way in and can even damage your electrical wiring.
I live in the Terminal Park area and there are at least three regulars who are seen with much greater frequency. I know my bird feeders are a feature they like, but thought the one hanging on my clothesline would deter the little darlings but apparently they are quite the tight rope artists as I see them quite often chowing down on my bird feed.
Like the deer these little critters may be a nice addition to the flavour of the community, but they do bring with them a certain nuisance factor. Just ask any red squirrel you happen to know.
we have 3 living in our backyard trees, they are so annoying, and kill birds weekly :(
ReplyDeleteAgreed, I've seen a lot of them this year!
ReplyDeletewe live in old city quarter and we have 5 in our backyard and they are causing destruction everywhere they live in my neighbours roof, perhaps a culling is in order
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