# A question about squirrels **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308 "2010-04-25T17:00:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Beerman1963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@Beerman1963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beerman1963)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/1 "2010-04-25T17:00:14Z")
My wife informs me the other day that a squirrel that lives in one of our trees was eating a baby bird.:eek: I thought about this and told her she must be mistaken. Squirrels are fuzzy little creatures that eat nuts and seeds and peanuts no, she says that she looked very closely and it was a baby bird that it was devouring. So my question is has anyone else ever hears/seen this before and is there a possible explanation? rabies, insanity etc.:dubious: let me know as she now has a deep seated hatred of squirelldom. ---
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/2 "2010-04-25T17:31:57Z")
I know next to nothing about squirrels, but many other rodents are opportunistic carnivores. We used to bait our mouse traps with bacon or KFC leftovers, worked much better than peanut butter. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/3 "2010-04-25T17:35:40Z")
I’m going to move this from MPSIMS to GQ, where all my biology questions get answered promptly. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/4 "2010-04-25T17:40:27Z")
[Squirrel - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel#Feeding) (Footnotes removed.) > [@](#): > > **Feeding** > > Unlike rabbits or deer, squirrels cannot digest cellulose and must rely on foods rich in protein, carbohydrates, and fat. In temperate regions early spring is the hardest time of year for squirrels, since buried nuts begin to sprout and are no longer available for the squirrel to eat, and new food sources have not become available yet. During these times squirrels rely heavily on the buds of trees. Squirrels’ diet consists primarily of a wide variety of plant food, including nuts, seeds, conifer cones, fruits, fungi and green vegetation. However some squirrels also consume meat, especially when faced with hunger. Squirrels have been known to eat insects, eggs, small birds, young snakes and smaller rodents. Indeed, some tropical species have shifted almost entirely to a diet of insects. > > Predatory behavior by various species of ground squirrels, particularly the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, has been noted. Bailey, for example, observed a thirteen-lined ground squirrel preying upon a young chicken. Wistrand reported seeing this same species eating a freshly killed snake. Whitaker examined the stomachs of 139 thirteen-lined ground squirrels, and found bird flesh in four of the specimens and the remains of a short-tailed shrew in one; Bradley, examining white-tailed antelope squirrels’ stomachs, found at least 10% of his 609 specimens’ stomachs contained some type of vertebrate—mostly lizards and rodents. Morgart (1985) observed a white-tailed antelope squirrel capturing and eating a silky pocket mouse. Lots of squirrels around here. And I have a single-shot rifle that will take .22 Shorts. (Wouldn’t want to disturb the neighbours.) Good thing for the squirrels I have no clue, aside from cleaning fish and crabs, how to dress an animal. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/5 "2010-04-25T17:43:05Z")
Edited: beaten to the punch by Johnny L.A. You’re not alone in bein’ freaked out… blew my mind when I found out praying mantises eat hummingbirds. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/6 "2010-04-25T17:48:05Z")
Yeah, esp red squirrels. They have high metabolic rates and can be quite aggressive, voracious little critters. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/7 "2010-04-25T17:51:28Z")
Previous thread where a poster recounts a seeing a squirrel eating baby turtles: > **[So...Grey Squirrels eat turtles.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=385999)** > > Last week I had a day off and decided to explore Orlando some. The plan was to hit up the Orlando Muesuem of Art and then bum around the downtown area for a while. So I get to Lake Eola, which I haven’t been to since I was around ten, and I notice... ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/8 "2010-04-25T17:51:59Z")
Yes, squirrels can be quite serious nest predators on birds. They take both eggs and nestlings. [Here’s](http://rparticle.web-p.cisti.nrc.ca/rparticle/AbstractTemplateServlet?calyLang=eng&journal=cjz&volume=81&year=2003&issue=7&msno=z03-096) a reference on Red Squirrels as nest predators. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/9 "2010-04-25T17:56:47Z")
Bullfrogs will eat [baby ducklings](http://www.sheddaquarium.org/Bullfrog_fact_sheet.html). > [@](#): > > Bullfrogs are known for their voracious, if indiscriminate, appetites. As tadpoles, they eat mostly algae. Adults eat just about anything they can catch and cram in their mouths, including small turtles, garter snakes, ducklings and fellow frogs. ---
**Author:** ![Beerman1963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@Beerman1963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beerman1963)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/10 "2010-04-25T22:07:39Z")
Wow I never knew squirrels could be such jerks. I just always looked at the cute furry tails and oooh I am so cute give me food and assumed that they were harmless. Thanks for the insights. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/11 "2010-04-25T22:46:14Z")
A friend of mine had two hamsters. At least there used to be two hamsters until one hamster ate the other one. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/12 "2010-04-25T23:06:50Z")
> [@Beerman1963](#): > > Wow > I never knew squirrels could be such jerks. I just always looked at the cute furry tails and oooh I am so cute give me food and assumed that they were harmless. > Thanks for the insights. You want to hear about deer eating the heads off baby bunnies? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/13 "2010-04-25T23:39:41Z")
I was going to repost my tale of observed squirrel cannibalism, but I see it’s in the previous thread linked here. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/14 "2010-04-25T23:52:40Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > You want to hear about deer eating the heads off baby bunnies? 🙂 That’s the non-Disney version of Bambi. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/15 "2010-04-26T00:06:17Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > That’s the non-Disney version of Bambi. _ **Damnedbi** _ ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/16 "2010-04-26T02:41:11Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Squirrel - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel#Feeding) (Footnotes removed.) > > Lots of squirrels around here. And I have a single-shot rifle that will take .22 Shorts. (Wouldn’t want to disturb the neighbours.) Good thing for the squirrels I have no clue, aside from cleaning fish and crabs, how to dress an animal. They have little glands on each side of their groin you’ll want to take out or else they taste terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/17 "2010-04-26T02:53:58Z")
> [@Beerman1963](#): > > Wow > I never knew squirrels could be such jerks. I just always looked at the cute furry tails and oooh I am so cute give me food and assumed that they were harmless. > Thanks for the insights. Squirrels are just rats with fancier tails. ---
**Author:** ![SunSandSuffering](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@SunSandSuffering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunSandSuffering)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/18 "2010-04-26T09:11:35Z")
Animals eat other animals, get over it. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/19 "2010-04-26T15:24:20Z")
Check this link and scroll down to the “Cool Facts” section. > **[Cactus Wren Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cactus_Wren/lifehistory)** > > No bird exemplifies Southwestern deserts better than the noisy Cactus Wren. At all hours of the day they utter a raw scratchy noise that sounds like they are trying to start a car. Cactus Wrens are always up to something, whether hopping around on... ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308/20 "2010-04-26T15:47:48Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Good thing for the squirrels I have no clue, aside from cleaning fish and crabs, how to dress an animal. I don’t know how to dress a squirrel either, but you may be able to get some ideas from [The Gopher Hole Mueseum](http://www.jky.net/albums/gopher-museum_index.html)…Some of them seem quite well dressed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-squirrels/537308.md?page=2)