Squirrels: The superpowered rodent hiding in plain sight

Recently, The Ringer’s Rodger Sherman [issued a question]( that seemed to touch a nerve. [obs squirrels] Virtually everyone, it seems, has a squirrel story, and many of us have a conviction that the ones we know most intimately are the most special. (Though perhaps none are more loved than the ones Prince Charles hand-feeds and calls by name [on the grounds of his Scottish estate](. A prominent member of the Sciuridae family (which includes chipmunks, woodchucks, and prairie dogs), squirrels are native to most of the world, living happily in many climates. But while they’re common, they’re far from ordinary—they have both incredible super powers and incredibly destructive ones. In fact, the most special thing about squirrels may be that though we live in such close proximity to them, it turns out we hardly know them at all. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( [Quartz Obsession] Squirrels January 14, 2019 It’s their world. We just live in it. --------------------------------------------------------------- Recently, The Ringer’s Rodger Sherman [issued a question]( that seemed to touch a nerve. [obs squirrels] Virtually everyone, it seems, has a squirrel story, and many of us have a conviction that the ones we know most intimately are the most special. (Though perhaps none are more loved than the ones Prince Charles hand-feeds and calls by name [on the grounds of his Scottish estate](. A prominent member of the Sciuridae family (which includes chipmunks, woodchucks, and prairie dogs), squirrels are native to most of the world, living happily in many climates. But while they’re common, they’re far from ordinary—they have both incredible super powers and incredibly destructive ones. In fact, the most special thing about squirrels may be that though we live in such close proximity to them, it turns out we hardly know them at all. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Ready to go deeper? --------------------------------------------------------------- We’re tired of all the shouting matches and echo chambers on social media, and thought you might be, too. On the new Quartz app, we’ve gathered a community of curious thinkers and doers to have high-quality discussions about the most important stories each day. It’s like an ongoing conversation with CEOs like Richard Branson, Punit Renjen, Arianna Huffington, and many more. Now available for iOS and Android. [Try the Quartz app]( Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov By the digits [278:]( Squirrel species alive today [2:]( Position of squirrels on a ranked list of threats against the US power grid [82:]( Minutes Nasdaq was shut down in 1987 after a squirrel interfered with the grid, preventing the trade of roughly 20 million shares [$11 million:]( Price Montana paid for 560 squirrel-related power outages in 2015 [$67,000:]( Cost of a divisive 40-foot squirrel sculpture in Almaty, Kazakhstan [1-5:]( Squirrels typically found per acre of green space [100+:]( Tourists attracted by the presence of a squirrel in downtown NYC in 1856 [180:]( Degrees squirrels can rotate their ankles, allowing them to vertically descend a tree [10:]( Lengths of their bodies squirrels can leap Origin story Population boom --------------------------------------------------------------- It’s easy to assume that squirrels have lived in residential and urban areas since long before humans entered the picture, but quite the opposite is true. We purposely introduced them—previously only found in forested, rural areas—to city parks and green spaces for our own amusement. The idea, University of Pennsylvania professor Etienne Benson [tells Gizmodo]( “part of a much broader ideology that says that nature in the city is essential to maintaining people’s health and sanity, and to providing leisure opportunities for workers who cannot travel outside the city.” The squirrel trend spread across New England in the mid-1800s, beginning with a trio in Philadelphia’s Franklin Square (which was apt, as you’ll see below) in 1847. Boston [followed suit]( and before long, squirrels were everywhere—overwhelmingly so. It took just six years for the squirrel population in Central Park to go from 0 to 1,500, a number that made authorities consider thinning the herd. Squirrelnarchy in the UK --------------------------------------------------------------- The trend also spread to the UK, and that’s where the story takes an especially squirrely turn. Introduced from the US in the late 19th century to [populate country estates]( the grey squirrel quickly became the dominant squirrel species across the UK. The problem is, the UK already had a native squirrel population—the red squirrel—which today is endangered thanks in part to the introduction of the invasive grey squirrel species. Conservation experts fear that without intervention, the native red squirrels could go extinct [within 35 years](. (Their populations in [other parts of Europe]( are at risk too.) Grey squirrels are better at gathering nuts and seeds than the red variety and also spread squirrel pox which decimate red populations; they’re so reviled that in 2017 a volunteer army assembled in the UK to monitor red populations and [kill off greys](. Best in show Squirrelperlatives --------------------------------------------------------------- There are so many cool varieties of squirrel in the world it would be impossible to describe them in one email, so here are a few of our favorites. Which did we leave out? 🌰 Heftiest: Giant black squirrels [can reach up to]( 1.5 kg (3.3 pounds) and and 110 cm (3.6 feet) nose to tail. 🌰 Most colorful: The Malabar giant squirrel, or Indian giant squirrel, has a [multicolored coat]( that can include black, brown and orange, maroon, and purple. 👇 🌰 Best back end: Southeast Asia’s[“vampire squirrel”]( has a tail 130% the size of its body. 🌰 Most adorable: It’s a tie between [Siberian]( and [Japanese]( dwarf flying squirrels who compete for attention with big eyes and excellent aviation ability. 🌰Smartest: The Arctic ground squirrel has figured out a way to reestablish neural connections it loses when its brain literally [freezes during hibernation](. 👇 Institutions of Higher Hoarding Collegiate squirrels --------------------------------------------------------------- As responses to Sherman’s tweet demonstrated, US colleges hold their squirrels in exceptionally high regard. The University of Texas at Austin has white squirrels (not albino, as some believe) [said]( to bring good luck if you spot one before a test. Sarah Lawrence College [named]( a campus cafe after its population of black squirrels. Kent State has boasted a black squirrel population for nearly 60 years after [releasing]( 10 caught in Canada back in the 1950s. Penn State once had its own [“Squirrel Whisperer,”]( who wandered around campus putting tiny hats on squirrels. And the Fords of Haverford College [have as a mascot]( an homage to their campus’s treasured black squirrels. But in the North America, squirrel pride isn’t just limited to college campuses. Many cities are also inordinately proud of their unique squirrel populations. Black squirrels [are the talk of]( Council Bluffs, Iowa; Marysville, Kansas; Hobbs, New Mexico; and London, Ontario, among others. The people of [Olney, Illinois]( love their white squirrels so much that they’ve become the town emblem, appearing as a badge on police vehicles. And in Richmond, Virginia, [a Flying Squirrels minor league baseball game]( isn’t complete without the [appropriately athletic antics]( of the mascot, Nutzy. Have a friend who would enjoy our Obsession with Squirrels? [ [Forward link to a friend](mailto:?subject=Thought you'd enjoy.&body=Read this Quartz Obsession email – to the email – Giphy Pop quiz What culture’s mythology features a squirrel as a messenger of the gods? AztecIndianChineseNorse Correct. Ratatoskr runs up and down Yggdrasil, the tree at the center of the universe, between the eagle at the top and the dragon at the bottom, passing insults and gossip from one to the other. It’s theorized that a squirrel’s chatter is the inspiration. Incorrect. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. Quotable “When people call me squirrely, I am flattered by the term.” —[John L. Koprowski]( squirrel expert and professor of wildlife conservation and management at the University of Arizona Michel Villeneuve/Solent News/Rex Features Electrifying facts Squirrel power --------------------------------------------------------------- [According]( to the American Public Power Association, squirrels are the most frequent cause of power outages, although they typically affect a smaller number of people than culprits such as weather or equipment failure. While power companies have fairly effective methods to protect against or minimize other beast-related outages (birds, snakes, raccoons, lizards and frogs are all common), squirrels are too smart and too persistent to be kept away from power lines and substations for long. “Squirrels are pretty bold creatures, and they’re not easily scared off,” Alex Hofmann, director of energy and environmental services for the American Public Power Association, [told the Washington Post](. “You can put a plastic owl in your substation and find a week later that a squirrel has eaten off the owl’s head and is using its body as a nest.” Fun fact! In 1963, contractor Amos Peters constructed a tiny suspension bridge to facilitate safe squirrel crossing over a busy street in Longview, Washington. [“The Nutty Narrows”]( is now on the National Historic Register. Giphy Million-dollar question How do squirrels find their nuts? --------------------------------------------------------------- Everyone knows that squirrels bury nuts and come back for them later. But thanks to recent studies, we now know that the process is a lot more complicated than it seems. Every year, each squirrel buries 3,000 to 10,000 nuts, yet manages to remember exactly where each one was left. This amazing trick is due to a technique called spatial chunking—when squirrels forage nuts from one location, they [separate and bury them]( based on the type and size of the nut. The groups are easier to remember than individual nuts. They start the process over with each new foraging location. Squirrels’ brains actually grow and shrink throughout the year, and one theory is that the process is so memory-intensive [the brain expands to contain the mental map](. Further evidence that squirrels are smarter than they seem? They sometimes dig a hole and [pretend]( to bury a nut to fake out any would-be thieves that might be watching for an easy cache to raid. Person of interest Ben Franklin, Squirrel eulogist --------------------------------------------------------------- Early Americans were enamored of the grey squirrel, “so graceful in its carriage,” according to naturalist John Burroughs. Benjamin Franklin was no exception; he was so taken with them that he had a family of squirrels sent to London in 1772 as a gift. Only one, a chipper fellow named Mungo, seems to have made the arduous overseas journey intact—but his survival was short-lived. By September of the same year, Mungo escaped his cage and met a grisly end at the jaws of a dog. Franklin wrote a 22-line ode to his fallen friend that, in the words of [The Washington Post’s John Kelly]( managed to “echo Shakespeare, conjure the wilds of America, and turn a dead squirrel into a metaphor for the situation between England and her colony while revealing his (at the time) reluctance to embrace revolution.” Cooking tips There’s more than one way to skin a squirrel --------------------------------------------------------------- Should you have the urge to cook and eat the furry friends running around your backyard or local park, look no further than vintage editions of The Joy of Cooking. Copies from the 1950s and ‘60s include extensive instructions—and illustrations—on how to best skin a squirrel. In fact, some Joy collectors [say]( looking for the skinning how-to is the best way to ensure you’ve got a good edition of the cookbook. (Squirrel meat is low-fat but [high in cholesterol,]( according to the American Heart Association. [Just avoid the brains]( The Guardian calls gray squirrels [“the ultimate ethical meal”]( and has a recipe for squirrel pasties from a Michelin-starred chef, and among the [many squirrel recipes]( at Great British Chefs, Vivek Singh has a [Tandoori version]( to celebrate Indian game cookery. Watch this! Sound the alarm --------------------------------------------------------------- Just like Dr. Dolittle, you too can talk to the animals—or at least kind of understand them. From “kuk kuk kuk” to “quaa,” squirrels make specific noises depending on the type of alarm they want to sound. Listen up, and you’ll be able to decipher squirrel chatter the next time you hear it. take me down this 🐿️ hole! Just how many squirrels are there in Central Park today? Trying to sight every single bushy-tailed tree-dweller may seem like a fool’s errand, but that’s exactly what Jamie Allen and his band of eagle-eyed (or should we say, squirrel-eyed) volunteers attempted to do in October. Read about their surprisingly [intense method]( then buy your own [Squirrel Census merch](. Poll Will you be celebrating Squirrel Appreciation Day on January 21? [Click here to vote]( Wouldn’t miss itWouldn’t deign to 💬Let's talk! In Friday’s poll about [vampire squids]( 64% of you think the creatures “are kind of cute.” 🤔 [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20squirrels&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) 🎲 [Show me a random Obsession]( Today’s email was written by [Stacy Conradt]( edited by[Jessanne Collins,]( and produced by[Luiz Romero.]( The correct answer to the quiz is Norse. Enjoying the Quartz Obsession? [Send this link]( to a friend! If you click a link to an e-commerce site and make a purchase, we may receive a small cut of the revenue, which helps support our ambitious journalism. See [here](