(Photo from Worth 1000.)
It's a mystery that has botanists spooked. This fall, in certain parts of the country, there's not a single acorn to be found. According to the Washington Post, starving squirrels are going nuts, attacking bird feeders and Halloween pumpkins.
No one knows why the oaks have stopped producing acorns. Some say it's a sign of ecological disaster--others claim its all part of a natural cycle. Whatever the reason, if you've always wanted to impersonate Snow White and have furry little creatures eating peanuts right out of your hands, now's your chance. (On second thought, scrap that idea. I wouldn't be surprised a famished squirrel decided to take a finger or two.)
So what's it like in your part of the country/world? Seen any acorns lately?
Read more about the mystery here.
22 comments:
Where I live there are hundreds of acorns. Yet oddly enough, no squirrels.
The giant squirrels ate them...and soon, they'll eat US!
We have tons of acorns here because we have these two huge trees downtown and they always dump thousands of acorns on the streets.
Aw, poor hungry squirrels! I love squirrels, they're sooo cute! XD Strange about the acorns.
HE\SHE IS SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so odd, I'm not really a big fan of squirrelys
There a ton of these weird nuts around my school, but the hobos always take them before anything else can.
Speaking of hobos...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/HoboMarkingsCanalStFerry.jpg
Hobo code! I saw that in my history book and I think it's cool...
You know what, that's true! I totally didn't realize that there were no acorns until you pointed it out! That's crazy!
And I love the picture/Title combo! :)
I'll bet it's because of that Oak Disease my dad's always talking about... mabey some side effect no one knew about until now? If it can kill pretty much an entire species (or at least it killed almost an entire species up here in Northern CA) it may be out to get squirrels too! GASP!
Are there ever any acorns around here?
There are loads of acorns here in Missouri. It's about freezing though. I haven't seen many squirrels n a while. There's a black walnut tree in my back yard and I picked up one of the fruits, (this was 2 or 3 weeks ago) and it died my hands black and brown. They are STILL like that. The squirrels should eat more of those.
Cool picture!
No...I realy haven't seen any acorns around here....or any squirrels. Odd for New England. I may know why...some of my friends do love to chase squirrels with bb guns and shards of glass. x(
Weird. Lots of acorns where I live. But I haven't seen a squirrel for a while.
Oh, yeah, sorry about that, I'll give them back to the squirlleys.
Sorry for taking the acorns...lol
Aw poor squirrels! I've never seen one before. BUT I LOVE ANIMALS!
I think that all of the missing acorns are in my front yard. As well as a whole country's worth of leaves. :( Plus... that is the fattest squirrel I've ever seen. That should be what is spooking people.
In tucson, az there there are no acorns ( like there ever are) i'm sad to report.
Yes it was weird, we have no acorns here! Weird! Though all the squirells are gone to!!!!!!!
That is one OBESE squirrel in the picture...
Haha.... I saw a squirrel attacking my Latin teacher's bird feeder. It was hanging upside-down too... XD Now that you mentioned it, there used to be oodles and oodles of acorns here... But now, I don't see any...
I love hobo code! I put a circle with an X in it on this page. (Some of you seem to think this has an M on it...)
that is 1 fat squirrel! the squirrels around here aren't THAT fat!!!!!
man of many faces :D ;D :P ;P :O ;O
If you're intent on feeding the squirrels, you should give them treenuts, not peanuts. Peanuts lack certain essential nutrients (although roasted ones are better than raw) and squirrels fed on a diet that largely consists of peanuts end up with bone problems.
YOU are just one person, sure, but so is everybody else chucking peanuts at the squirrels.
Of course, squirrels don't have to eat just nuts and seeds. In the winter and early spring (the hardest time of the year for squirrels, because their stores of food are depleted and there's nothing new for them but tree buds, which are inferior) feed the squirrels at our window a variety of fresh fruits such as avocado, grapes, sliced apple, and the occasional sweet potato. (Very occasional!) They also will eat hard boiled eggs and mealworms if you suspect they're short on protein. When it's very cold out I put out suet for them - a mixture of bacon fat, peanut butter, cornmeal, brown sugar, birdseed, and small raisins. It's not an ideal diet for them, but the fat and sugar gives them a nice burst of energy on a cold day. (You should limit dried fruits for squirrels for the same reason you limit them for yourself. Bad for the teeth.)
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