I know what it is but have never seen it here before!

19 years ago

I live smack-dab in the middle of the city of Indianapolis. We have LOADS of (hand-fed) fox squirrels all over our yard. Today I looked out and saw a little squirrel that I have never, ever seen before here in the city anywhere!

After looking it up, I found that it is a red squirrel.

Is it unusual to find one here in the city of Indy? We are only 5 minutes from downtown so there are no "forests" to be had...though we have a decent amount of mature trees in this historic district.

I was so excited that I about fell out of my office chair. LOL

Here are some photos I snapped...not great but my windows are dirty!!! :)

Andrea

{{gwi:165535}}

{{gwi:165538}}

{{gwi:165540}}

{{gwi:165541}}

{{gwi:165543}}

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

Day_By_Day
19 years ago
Neato!
comettose
19 years ago
Well, you told me somewhere else so I won't say. LOL
Related Discussions
" I drove by it & thought, Wow! I've never seen that before."
Q
Comments (11)
GermanStar , Seeds... Lol... are you referring to METAL chips. In Order to make our own cactus statue ? If that's the case I'll take$ 20lbs. Just to start. Notolover, Lol.. your right! I must of looked pretty desperate out there, and I'll be honest, I was going to get a pup one way or another . Ashau, Very nice indeed thanks for sharing, I am always amazed how cacti & succulents grow so vibrant and look so healthy when ever you get closer to the ocean. I tried looking that up the other day while thinking about it but couldn't find a reason. Greg
...See More
Oh, my, I've never seen anything like this before
Q
Comments (10)
Years ago my BIL and hubby each built an Ultralight plane. My BIL had his pilots license, Hubby was going to but never did. Well, the BIL sold his and was flying my hubbies. He had to make an emergency landing in a field at the edge of the city. All was well for the time being. Then some weeks later he crashed it.This was the second plane he had crashed. He made the front page of the local newpaper with the first one. Well, my dear hubby had put in a landing strip in our field and BIL tried landing and flipped the crazy thing. All the neighbors saw was a plane coming down. They called 911 and we had everyone in his brothers come. My BIL was so hot.. Embarrassed is what he was. Cars were lined up and down our road checking out what had happened.. BIL was not hurt.. We got rid of the plane and hubby never did get his pilots license. Oh, by the way, my SIL would never get in a plane with my BIL.. I would say she is a smart woman..
...See More
This is RRV isn't it? I have never seen it in person before!
Q
Comments (15)
It's a learning experience for you. I think everyone is a little bit hyper about RRV and maybe we all need to calm down a bit. Roses do have odd growth sometimes. All plants do if you think about it. They're called mutations and happen more frequently than you realize. If they're advantageous plants keep them otherwise they may happen once never to be seen again. And SOOOOO many things can cause a change in growth habit to a plant. Weather, soil, nutrients, applications, etc., etc., etc. can be the cause of a change in the growth. A watchful eye and caution are good things as long as they don't lead to panic.
...See More
Confused About a Tile Trim Option I have Never Seen Before
Q
Comments (2)
The tile Jolly is a true quarter round; it will only be as thick as the tile edge. it will not stick out farther than the field tiles. As far as the design pattern on the tiles, keep in mind how it will all lay. You have linear on wall, and linear on floor.
...See More
amy_z6_swpa
19 years ago
They sure are cute, aren't they...don't know about Indy, but they live on the college campus where I work, they're just more secretive than other squirrels, smaller, more wary, so we don't see them as often.
akjim
19 years ago
Thats a Red Squirrel alright, and how lucky you are that you haven't had them till now. Those little b@sards are squirrel terrorists! I have had them ruin songbird nests and kill fledglings. They are terrible little creatures. Enjoy him if you want, but say 'Good Bye' to your songbirds, and other squirrels.
comettose
19 years ago
A link to Red Squirrel - it does say it eats insects, young birds, mice and rabbits. Rabbits! Oh my goodness! Who would have thought that from such a small squirrel. I hope "Phat Boy" beats him up and chases it away.

We don't have them where I live - and after reading up I'm glad.

Here is a link that might be useful: Red Squirrel
comettose
19 years ago
Here is another link Andrea. Might be visiting due to low food sources nearby. Have you seen it since you photographed it? It has some good points to it as well with forest seed dispersal and economic uses in Canada. Don't all squirrels have similar opportunistic eating of eggs and young birds? It is a native squirrel and one would think it balances out in the end with predation on others. I found a young Robin last spring that had fallen out of it's nest for lack of room and a Eastern Grey squirrel was going after it. I put it back in the nest, but had I not been there I'm pretty sure the squirrel would have killed it. That happens in nature all the time - people don't like to see it or may get too focused on other species they prefer more, etc. I'm not sure if calling it a 'terrorist' is entirely fair unless one cannot stand any small bird being eaten that they have become attached to personally. They eat what they eat. Many birds, snakes, and other mammals eat baby anything if they can get a chance.

Here is a link that might be useful: Red Squirrels
ademink
Original Author
19 years ago
Wow, I had no idea they were such little predators. LOL Can't be any worse than all of the feral cats around here...grrrrr.

Comettose, I saw it again just a few days ago. Admittedly, I screamed in delight as he chowed down on my suet block. LOL It's very odd to find it smack-dab in the middle of the city. I figured they would be in the more rural areas but not urban! I love him and want to squeeze him. LOL

I had no idea that squirrels ate birds. I have fox squirrels and they are too fat and lazy b/c of all of the other crap I feed them. hehe
craig76
18 years ago
here in NY they live all over. They are mostly found in pine tree areas.It seem cone seeds are bread and butter of their food supply.I've found huge piles (3or4ft x 18 inches high) of shredded pine cones under trees.I hike and hunt the Adirondacks. They are everywhere there. I sat one day watching one extract seed from cone then run by me and place them in small hole under a tree then back for more. I had a bag of cashews,choc.chips. and raisins. I started tossing cashews where he was running back and forth.No interest.Then When he went back to get more seeds I put cashews next to the hole he was using for winter storage. After waisting about 3 dollars in cashews I decided that he had know interest in this strange food, All he knew was seeds.They will put any fear aside to feed from your hand.
dizzy45
18 years ago
Hello Hoosier!
We have reds, grays and black squirrels all over our place here out in the country.. Once even saw a big thing in the tree thought it was a squirrel oh no! it was a groundhog!!

Carol
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
18 years ago
Well here at my house in Texas they unfortunately currently reside in MY ATTIC! They have ripped giant holes in the soffett of my roof and entrenched themselves in there and had lots of babies. They daily have kegger parties up there and do a rumba line across the ceiling above the bed. OH JOY!
It is amazing the damage such a cute little critter can do.
I am hoping they move on out soon so we can repair the damage then apparently we will need to completely encase the house and roof in steel plate to keep them from getting back up in there! They are not looking near as cute anymore, now when I see them I see $$$ which I will have to fork over for repairs.
I would be happy to ship you a few cute babies if you need more in your area!:-)