Thus my observations will consist of : Behavioral differences, size and color differences, and how they interact with humans. Based off of these, I planed to document and see very different data based off the squirrels living environments and conditions. So, my hunt began.
I began my observations in Downtown, Denver on the Auraria Campus. Here many squirrels can be seen daily and are often surrounded by giggling, school girls, whom are naturally taken by they’re large dark eyes, and bushy tails. Little do they know that they are infested with rabies, and are not as cute and cuddly as they may think? It all started on Thursday morning around ten o’ clock, near the patio of the North Classroom. I sat under the shade of a fixed umbrella and tried to get as comfortable as I could in a fixed, wire, mesh chair. It wasn’t long till I had my first squirrel encounter.
Creeping up right in front of me was a very curious and very plump squirrel. I was very surprised to find that even if I did not have really anything at all, (only a notebook and a writing utensil) the squirrel seemed to act as if I had more. Something that was important to him/her. I soon realized that, that something that seemed to be expected of me to have was food. Not any type of nut, berry, or anything that you would normally expect squirrels to eat but rather, factory made, pre-processed human food. It was soon after that I realized that not having food for the squirrel was the only issue.
When the squirrel realized that I was trying to ignore it, and not paying any attention to it, the squirrel seemed to get upset and quite aggressive. The squirrels was no longer looking at me with intense eyes but, instead started to run right towards me, making little “chattering” noises. Scared I got up quickly and relocated the other side of the patio. As soon as I was repositioned and comfortable again, I noticed several girls moments after I left tossing tid-bits of food, and calling the squirrel over as if it were some type of domestic animal. The tiny squirrel than very quickly, without hesitation ran over to the crowd and began to eat away at the food with she had placed in her hand. That’s when it hit me. The squirrels were not being called as if they were domestic animals; they had become domestic animals.
It’s the type of people interaction that has molded the “city squirrel,” into a very well fed and kept animal. People daily are not only, hand feeding the animals personally, but setting out trash bins, and dumpsters with tons of easily accessible treats and goodies for the squirrels to much on. It is this type of adaptation to metropolitan areas that has made not only the squirrels’ social behavior different but also their appearance.
The squirrels that are often found in busy suburbs and major cities have adapted to their new living environment. They are not as tiny and cute anymore but rather have been able to evolve into larger animals. For example: the squirrels on campus have very large bone structures (like that of a small cat), have very plump bodies, and have lighter coats. These types of variables were all changed based off of human interference. In such a metropolitan area, the squirrels no longer face some of their natural enemies like they would in the wild. This means that, they are able to grow much larger skeletal frames, because they no longer have to hide in small spaces of climb as fast into high trees. Another human interference that has allowed the “city squirrels” to do so well is, the squirrels no longer have to hunt and forage for food, like they would in the wild. Since people supply “smorgusborges” in dumpster and factory made treats served from the palms of our hands, squirrels build up more body fat; food is always accessible and never without ration. The change in fur color also has to do with the lack of predators. If the squirrels with the light color of coats were to be placed into the woods, they would easily be seen among the dark forest foliage. Although, since the squirrels are not only lacking prominat predators, the squirrels also have to change coat color based off their surroundings. Looking at buildings, sideways, and the lack of vegetation, the environment is much lighter in contrast to the forest. Either way, the squirrels’ adaptations have helped it survive.
Overall, based on the behavioral and physical adaptations, observations can be made to determine a clear difference in the types of squirrels found in Leadville, Co. The squirrels in Leadville, Co. that I observed were very different from the ones in Denver. As a friend and I went to on the search for some, we decided to try our luck at a local campground. Based on the amount of people and all the food they bring I was sure that there would be plenty. This hypothesis was soon to be proven wrong. We waited for almost an hour and only saw one squirrel. As soon as we made any type of acknowledgment towards it, it ran off very quickly and into the highest parts of the tree. This was much different from the aggressive and curious squirrels that I had encountered on campus.
After catching a couple more glimpses of the Leadville squirrels I noticed that all around the they were much different from they’re family up north. These squirrels were extremely shy and wanted nothing to do with humans. Not even when I tried coaxing them with small, pieces of food. Not only were they timid but, unlike the independent, city squirrels, the Leadville squirrels seemed to communicate and interact as a group with one another, always on the look out for predators. These squirrels also looked much different. Always having to hide and climb away from predators it was clear that these squirrels did not have a leisurely life. They were much smaller and darker, to better hide themselves and, had smaller bone frames and were not as plump, due to the fact that they were always on the go looking for food. It was these types of observations that had made it very clear to me that the squirrels in Denver and other large cities, were not like their cousins in high altitude, rural, mountain towns.
Therefore, I had a very interesting time watching squirrels. I found that while, the squirrels are often seen to be the same exact animal, and they are in essence very different from one another based off of environmental and social conditions. The squirrels overall, in Denver, were more aggressive, and much larger than the smaller, and very timid squirrels of the high country. After looking at all the data I can conclude that the squirrels would have not adapted and become as different as they are if it wasn’t for human interaction. What once was a small wild animal, has now become the domestic city animal of Denver.
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