Hey, this is Sarah, a first year UC Davis student. I came to Davis for school but I am originally from Hawaii, where there may be many beaches, but not as many cool and cute little animals as there are here. I was introduced to so many new animals, like hummingbirds, blue jays, skunks, and squirrels, which can’t be found in Hawaii. And I was intrigued by how much squirrels there were on campus. If you are also a resident of Davis or a UC Davis student, there is a big chance that you have seen squirrels running, munching on some food, chasing another squirrel, or maybe bothering some people to give them food around campus because I have also seen the same.
From this brief observation, I wanted to find out more of the squirrel’s behavior when around food; so I did just that. I sat out in the middle of the quad where I was able to get a 360-degree view of what was going on around me to answer the question of how the squirrel’s acted when people, specifically UC Davis students, had food. Just from a glimpse of these interactions for the last three quarters as a UC Davis student, I think I would come to observe that the squirrels would attract many people with their cuteness, which gets them attention and food fed to them. However, it is important to note that these squirrels are non-native species and so they should not be fed. But not many people ponder about the implications of feeding the squirrels. And I am also guilty of this because I would try to feed the squirrels. But I think it is crucial to know more about the squirrels that share the UC Davis campus with us. Observing people trying to feed squirrels and the squirrel’s tactics in trying to obtain food from people was interesting. A girl opened a sandwich bag, which I believe contained brownies, causing a squirrel to stand up and stare at her. I found this observation to be intriguing because I saw that the squirrel was able to recognize the sounds of a sandwich bag opening. In the article, “How to Train Gray Squirrels,” by Christina Lee, it is said that squirrels are “highly food-motivated” and are able to “hear well, and can learn to recognize and respond to their environment.” This explains the squirrel’s response of cautiously approaching the girl with the sandwich bag because they are conditioned to identify where food might be, just from the ruffling of a sandwich bag. Because they are motivated by food, the squirrel has adapted to know where to find food just by hearing as well as smelling. The girl takes some pieces of the brownie, and holds it out for the squirrel to eat. Although squirrels have the “instinct to avoid humans [helping] squirrels to avoid the dangers posed by humans,” quoted by Jennifer Nelson in the article, “Backyard squirrels: Love ‘em or hate ‘em, but please don’t feed them,” the squirrel defies this natural instinct and goes up to the food. Going against its natural instincts, the squirrel takes the piece of brownie and nibbles on it, stepping onto her palms to check for more. The squirrel continues to linger around her probably waiting to be fed but after a while, it leaves learning that the girl won’t give it more. This shows just how much courage the squirrel had, probably because of prior experience of people feeding it rather than hurting it. This is a prime example of how people might encourage the squirrels to interact more with humans knowing that they are able to get food from them. With more people feeding the squirrels, they will become less afraid of people, which could possibly make them more forceful when trying to obtain something to eat. I was able to observe more of a squirrel’s behavior near the Memorial Union while eating with friends at one of the tables. I saw a squirrel approach my friend and it jumped on another table besides us and eagerly watched us eat; it was probably looking for food and waiting for us to feed it. My friend took a piece of noodle and threw it to the squirrel, causing it to quickly jump off the table and chase after it. But when it wasn’t able to find it, it came back to us and boldly jumped onto the bench to be seated next to my friend, who threw the piece of noodle. We decided to move because the squirrel became too aggressive and bothersome with no way to leave us alone. Even when we tried stomping our feet and waving our hands towards it, we could not scare it away. “If squirrels come to expect food and it isn’t provided, they may become aggressive in seeking it out (Nelson),” which is exactly what we experienced. These aggressive squirrels are non-native Eastern fox squirrels that, “reproduce quickly, adapt to the local environment well, consume more diverse foods, and are highly tolerant of human activity (Nelson).” Because these squirrels are invasive species, the article, “Troublesome, Non-native Squirrels Will Get Birth-control Shots,” by the UC Davis Staff, explains why it is necessary to control the population of these squirrels. It is because they snatch food, scratch and bite people, damage research farms and orchards, and compete against native plants and animals (UC Davis Staff). Many of the squirrels are trained to not be as afraid as they should be of people, encouraging them to steal food, like whole pizzas or sandwiches right out of people’s hands. Although it can be tempting to feed them, we should not be encouraged to do so. But it’s entirely okay to take pictures of them. Also be cautious of the squirrels, don’t be fooled by their cuteness. The squirrels might not know they are cute, but it is up to us to not be persuaded to feed them just because they are cute. Keep track of your food when sitting outside near them for they have tactics of quickly snatching it away. Well that’s all for today. Thank you for tuning into this week’s podcast and I hope you guys tune in for next week’s!!
MLA Works Cited Page
Lee, Christina. “How to Train Gray Squirrels.” Cuteness.com, https://www.cuteness.com/article/train-gray-squirrels. Accessed 31 May 2017.
Nelson, Jennifer. “backyard Squirrels: Love ‘em or Hate ‘em, but Please Doon’t Feed Them.” OregonLIve.com, The Oregonian, 6 Feb. 2014, http://www.oregonlive.com/hillsboro/index.ssf/2014/02/those_darn_squirrels_to_feed_o. html. Accessed 29 May 2017. UC Davis Staff. “Troublesome, Non-Native Squirrels Will Get Birth Control Shots.” UC Davis, 3 Feb. 2016, https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/troublesome-non-native-squirrels-will-get- birth-control-shots/. Accessed 29 May 2017.
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