Looks about as vicious as our hound, Al...
![Wink ;)](https://bassoutpost.com/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
Scott... "tree-rats"... I don't know if it's a fascination with squirrels, more as a general overview of critters in general... the greys are getting a bad press due to the (now critical) loss of habitat of the red squirrel; they unfortunately also carry a virus they are able to cope with but is lethal to reds... we've had two (greys) as "pets" but it was more a lifetime sentence for a wild creature... the one that lasted longest (nearly 10 years) was hand raised and came in with closed eyes; Jackie raised hand fed her; she was three-limbed (the other was limp - she could grip though), but she was naturally "wild"... the other lived for 8 years in captivity after an RTA wrecked her tail and damaged her pelvis - lived reasonably well but... I'd prefer to feed them as they are: wild...
They have flying squirrels in some parts of Europe... no greys though...
No 'coon's, Al, but they have re-introduced beaver in Scotland...
We became entranced by their habits, initially trying to stop them wrecking the bird feeders, and then fascinated by the lengths they would go to overcome the obstacles, to feeding them just to keep them off the feeders with their own chow...
Now gotta watch the video...
Try making more and more complex methods of stopping them - flat-round discs that tip are good... also suspending feeders on ropes with discs at each end, far enough to make it really awkward to jump past... makes it a "sport"...
![Popcorn :popcorn:](https://bassoutpost.com/Smileys/default/eatdrink.gif)
We are just critter-friendly... Jackie was pregnant and we were still looking out for things... I have a pic of her in late pregnancy over the heathland trying to get our baby crow flying, and failing... had to go to a caged aviary to learn to use those flight muscles... we've had foxes come into the house to feed, let alone squirrels... hand feeding birds is not unusual for us and several (UK) robins have often come into the house to tell us (TIC!TIC!TIC!) the food dish is empty... Pavlov's Human...?
![Grin ;D](https://bassoutpost.com/Smileys/default/grin.gif)
We don't really have a hunting mentality (UK in general) so critters get a good ride here - no real top predators, excluding avian and foxes, so...
Our back garden is a regular "pet" cemetery, 21 yeas on... several birds, two hedgehogs, the squirrels (three: one other kitten didn't make it), two hamsters and three guinea-pigs; oh, and several fish (don't ask) and some mice...
If we can't help a wild creature there is a wildlife hospital locally we take them to... once centre we went to looked after "reject" simians - one time I had one of them with it's tail round my neck "grooming" me when we took a BIG fox out to the countryside for release... rejects, you ask...? damaged goods... Joe Public does not like to see "monkees" with digits missing, or gamey legs or arms...