Rascally Rodents

tanjabrittonwriter 64 Comments

When you arrive at your campsite and are greeted by this kind of critter, you know you are in trouble.

Firstly, because you realize that their cuteness will constantly pull on your heartstrings, tempting you to give in to their incessant begging for food, despite your conviction that it’s bad for wildlife to feed wildlife.

Secondly, because you know that even if you manage to resist their silent entreaties—a big if—they will find a way to relieve you of food. Generations of ground squirrels have perfected it, and passed on the myriad ways to their offspring in their DNA.

If not enough crumbs fall on the ground to satisfy their appetite, they will try other approaches.

First, they will gaze deeply into your eyes. If you don’t respond, they stand on their hind quarters with paws folded as if in supplication. Next, they sit on your foot to remind you of their presence. If you still don’t react, they might leap on your camp chair (even if you are occupying it), or your picnic bench, or your picnic table. They will sniff at every object there displayed, nibble through any plastic bag in no time at all, or drink from your mug the moment you leave it unattended.

Nothing is safe from them—neither your grub, nor your heart. Any aggravation you might feel is more than made up for by their boundless curiosity, amusing antics, and indubitable appeal.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

64 thoughts on “Rascally Rodents”

  2. Totally, overwhelmingly adorable. Close encounters like this could almost persuade me that the discomforts of camping are all worth it! But having said that, during our many visits to the US we relished countless similar encounters during the day while still enjoying overnight in our hotels the pleasures that only AC can deliver.

    Fabulous photos, Tanja, you’ve made my morning. Thank you for sharing.

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    • Thank you, Mr. P. 🙂
      I’m glad you had similarly enchanting encounters, even without having to suffer the indignity of having to sleep in a tent. After a (too) short recent camping trip, I realized again that I sleep better in our tent than in our bed! One night, we got to listen to both owls and coyotes!

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  3. Hello Tanja,

    I agree with Platypus Man’s comment – this is overwhelmingly adorable!
    It must be quite an experience to go camping in the US. The sheer scale must be breathtaking. Thank you very much for sharing. Hope you are having a good start to the week.

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    • Thank you, Takami. 🙂
      I love to sleep in the tent. Sadly, we aren’t camping as often as I would like. It has been too hot and too dry and we don’t want to be gone from home for too long as we have to water our garden almost daily.
      But there are many options for a range of camping–from backcountry tent camping to camper vans to glamping.

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  8. Hi, Mrs. Tanja-

    Oh, how I loved your post! The little squirrel in your pictures was adorable! I love how curious he was, and so carefree! We have so many squirrels that wander in our backyard, and my dad is always trying to figure out ways to keep them out of his birdseed! Haha! Thankfully, our little dog, Copper, does an awesome job at patrolling the fence. It is so funny, because if you simply say the word “squirrel” close to him, no matter if he is sound asleep on his blanket, or if he is on the other side of the house, he will instantly fly to the glass backdoor, position himself in the best way to see the fence, and literally start shaking, since he is so excited to get outside to try and chase them! Haha!

    On a positive note, he has thankfully never caught one, although I don’t think he would use the word “positive”! Haha!

    Thank you again for this lovely post! I hope you have a wonderful week!

    Blessings,

    Gavin B.

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    • Thank you, Gavin, I’m glad you enjoyed this post.

      I think the photos actually show at least 3 different ground squirrels, some of them are better nourished than the others! 🙂

      I can well imagine that Copper’s hunting instincts are roused by the squirrels in your garden. Just imagine her reaction if she ever catches one. She likely wouldn’t know what to do!

      Squirrely wishes,

      Tanja

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  10. Good thing they are exceedingly cute. I don’t begrudge the curious little animals running all overl only when they decide to redecorate our landscape. My father-in-law would tell “chipper” stories to our daughter when she was very little. She remembers these to this day, and he still chuckles about them, each one being an individual on-the-spot creation for her.

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  11. Even when they are super cute, like these gorgeous little squirrels, and the proximity can feel so special, highly habituated wildlife generally makes me feel uncomfortable. In the longer term it can lead to awful consequences for the wildlife, when food-seeking behaviour around picnic areas and campsites is no longer tolerated by the authorities or tourists themselves.

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    • Thank you for your comment, Carol.
      You are, of course, right to point out the problems of habituated wildlife. I don’t advocate feeding or trying to tame wildlife, but in some settings, interactions are impossible to prevent. In some long-established campgrounds or picnic areas, generations of wild animals have been scavenging for food and even if one is extremely careful, there will always be a few crumbs that fall on the ground, which will reinforce their behavior.
      Yellowstone National Park used to allow bears to rummage through dumpsters with human trash, and visitors loved to have their photos taken next to those bears! Luckily, they put a stop to that long ago.

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  20. What delightful images. I wish we had squirrels in Australia. We have no native squirrels although I believe Perth Zoo in Western Australia has some.

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    • Thank you, Vicky.

      I did not know that there weren’t any native squirrels in Australia, but then again, your fauna is so different from anywhere else in the world.

      There are both ground squirrels and tree squirrels here, and many different species of those.

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    • Definitely a dilemma. We keep a clean camp and put our food away the moment we are done with it, but they are so fast, it’s nearly impossible to keep them away. But, then again, I do appreciate them for just who they are.

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    • I’m glad the post made you smile, thank you for stopping by and for commenting.
      Whenever we spend time with these cute critters, we are reminded that most days for wildlife revolve around food first, second, and third. Which is really understandable, considering how often our tummies grumble, even when our fridge is full and we don’t have to gather our food.

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    • Thank you, Pooja.
      Yes, they are very accustomed, too accustomed, to be correct. But I think it’s what happens when humans regularly spend time in areas inhabited by wildlife. They adjust to one another and wildlife gets a little less wild, for better or for worse.

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  25. All that cuteness! You have really captured their rambunctious and charming spirit. The world would not be near as much fun without ‘chipsters”.

    Cheers and hope you are staying as cool as possible

    Julie

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    • Thank you, Julie. I find most rodents irresistibly cute, even if, like you, I’m vexed by some of their behavior, especially when they destroy portions of our gardens.
      Thank you for the good wishes. We will heed your advice in the coming days!
      I wish you a pleasant weekend,
      Tanja

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  26. Wonderful post to go along with the morning cuppa!

    One of our first camping trips after being married was to West Virginia. Gorgeous spot with Flame Azalea blooming around the tent. Mistake: left a window cracked on the vehicle. Squirrel managed to open the glove box and chewed up all the paper in it (car registration, insurance, etc). Reckon it was considering a nest.

    Have a great day!

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  29. Liebe Tanja, deine Fotos sind wieder einmal großartig – und diese kleinen Kerle haben offensichtlich sehr schnell verstanden, dass ein Campingplatz nicht nur ein schöner Ort zum Übernachten, sondern auch eine vielversprechende gastronomische Einrichtung sein kann. 😉

    Besonders amüsant finde ich die Beschreibung ihrer ausgefeilten Verhandlungsstrategie. Erst der treue Blick, dann die gefalteten Pfötchen, anschließend der Fußkontakt – und wenn das alles nichts nützt, wird eben das Mobiliar besetzt. Das ist natürlich keine Bettelei, sondern eine ziemlich gut organisierte Gesprächsführung. Gleichzeitig steckt darin etwas sehr Menschliches: Wer einmal herausgefunden hat, dass Charme funktioniert, wird ihn schließlich auch einsetzen. Die Erdhörnchen scheinen jedenfalls genau zu wissen, dass Hartnäckigkeit und Niedlichkeit eine erstaunlich wirksame Kombination sind.

    Ja, man könnte sogar fast sagen: Sie haben das Prinzip der gewaltfreien Verhandlung perfektioniert – mit dem kleinen Unterschied, dass am Ende meistens der Plastikbeutel verliert. 😉

    Liebe Grüße für dich…von Rosie

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