This is a story of a unique partnership between a wild turkey and a squirrel that are currently living on my farm. At the end of the story I will give you a little background on each of these species. This story starts in the summer of 2019 when I first noticed the tailless squirrel on the ground beneath our bird feeder. At first I thought it was a strange rabbit because it hopped as it moved, and had a small nub of a tail. Upon closer look I saw that it was a squirrel without any tail. Because she had no tail other squirrels chased her away. Without a tail she could not communicate with other squirrels and they perhaps felt threatened by her. She did however make friends with the many birds that ate on the ground and seemed content to join them as she filled her belly. Every day I threw extra bird seeds on the ground. She continued to be a daily visitor to our property through the summer and fall of 2019. I feared the worst would happen when the winter snows came and she would not have a tail to keep herself warm. And indeed I did not see her at all that winter. However in March, in of 2020, along with the Covid-19 epidemic, the tailless squirrel materialized. I was surprised and thrilled to see her. What a resilient being! From then on she has been a daily visitor to our property. The next part of this story starts on a warm August day in 2020 when I noticed a wild turkey with a broken leg under our bird feeders. She hopped along on her good leg and gingerly put pressure on her broken leg. She, too, had been banished from her flock and primary group. Often in nature weak, sick or injured animals are banished so that predators are not attracted to the group. On a regular basis I saw other wild turkeys chasing her away from the bird seeds that were on the ground under the bird feeders. When I could I waited until I found her alone or with other small birds that frequented the bird feeders. Then I threw extra seeds on the ground as I softly made a ‘cluck’ sound. Soon she got to recognize me both by how I looked and the sounds I made, and I was able to feed her whenever I found her at the feeder. When I did not see her on the ground or in a nearby tree, I often would cluck softly. If she was nearby she often would cluck back to me so I could find her. Her favorite roost was in the big pine tree that was about 10’ from the feeders. I named her Limpy. The third part of this story is the best part. One day in September I noticed Limpy, and the tailless squirrel eating side by side. From that day on, whenever Limpy arrived on our property, so did the squirrel. Often, I would find only the two of them eating together with no other birds around on the ground. Now I could feed both of them at the same time, always announcing myself first with soft clucks. I knew that the tailless squirrel had made it through the past winter, but could Limpy. After speaking with many native wildlife veterinarians and native animal rehabilitation experts, I was reassured that as long as turkeys can continue to fly they can roost and avoid predators. They are extremely hardy and would do fine when winter storms and snows arrive. As of December 30th, Limpy has made it through the first three winter storms, including a nor’easter on the 17th that had sustained winds of 40 mph and a snow accumulation of 16”. As I write this, she is happily perched in her favorite pine tree overlooking the bird feeders, looking well fed and healthy and with shiny, glossy feathers. Interesting FactsSquirrels are rodents in the Order, Rodentia. However, did you know that the Order Rodentia is the largest order in the Mammalia Class? That’s right, squirrels are mammals just like you and I. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, flying squirrels, marmots, groundhogs, and prairie dogs. Because of the earliest known fossils, it is believed that squirrels have evolved in the Eocene geological epoch about 56 to 33 million years ago. They are indigenous to the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa and were introduced by humans to Australia. Did you know that tree squirrels can descend a tree head first because their back ankles rotate 180 degrees, enabling their hind paws to point backward and thus grip the tree bark from the opposite direction? Their paws are versatile and sturdy, great for climbing and grasping. They have slender bodies with bushy tails and large eyes. Their large eyes indicate that they have a very good sense of vision. They live in almost every habitat from tropical rain forest, to the driest of deserts. They are predominantly herbivorous, subsisting on seeds and nuts, but may eat insects and even very small vertebrates. Their teeth are typical for all rodents. In the front of their mouth they have large incisors for gnawing that grow throughout life and cheek teeth for grinding that are set in back of the incisors. The tail of the squirrel has evolved to serve them in many ways. First, it is used to keep rain, wind and snow off them as well as to keep them warm. When it’s hot, the squirrel pumps additional blood through its tail to stay cool. When jumping about through trees it is used as a counterbalance. It is even used as a parachute when jumping. However, it is also used as signaling between squirrels. It is used to communicate, danger, dominance, warning and its availability with the opposite sex. As you can see, if a squirrel loses its tail, it is at a very big disadvantage! Turkeys are birds in the Class Aves and Order Galliformes. They are an upland ground bird native to North America. The wild turkey is the same species as the domestic turkey, which was originally derived from a southern Mexican subspecies of wild turkey. The male is called a tom and the female is called a hen. The males are easily identified especially when they are displaying for a hen by fanning their tail feathers. Males also have a large, featherless, reddish head, red throat, and red wattles on the throat and neck. The male is substantially larger, 11 to 24 lbs, than the female, 5 to 12 lbs, and his feathers have areas of red, purple, green, copper, bronze and gold iridescence. The female has feathers that are duller overall, in shades of brown and gray. These colors are better for camouflage purposes against predators while the female is sitting on eggs or guarding her young. Despite their weight, turkeys are agile and fast fliers. They usually fly close to the ground for no more than about a quarter of a mile. Although they have good eyesight in the day, their vision is poor at night. At twilight most turkeys roost in trees some up to 50 feet high or more. It is much safer for turkeys to sleep in numbers high in the trees to escape becoming victims to nocturnal hunters. Turkeys prefer hardwood and mixed conifer-hardwood forests with scattered openings such as pastures or fields. Turkeys do not migrate. In the snowier northern parts of the species’ habitat, it is very important for this bird to learn to identify large conifer trees so they can fly onto the branches and shelter from blizzards. They are omnivorous and forage mostly on the ground. They prefer eating acorns, hazelnuts and nuts from chestnuts and hickory. They eat various seeds and berries from the juniper, blueberry and bearberry. They also eat leaves, buds, fern fronds, roots and insects. Occasionally they will eat a small reptile such as a salamander. They also eat a large variety of grasses. Turkeys have many vocalizations: gobbles, clucks, chucks, putts, purrs, yelps and cackles to name a few. The gobble is used by toms in spring to announce its presence to females and competing males. It can be heard up to a mile away. The females respond with a yelp sound to let males know their location. Males are polygamous, mating with as many hens as they can. They strut and display for females by puffing out their chest feathers, spreading out their tail and dragging their wings. Courtship begins during the months of March and April, which is when turkeys are still flocked together in winter areas. When mating is over females search for nest sites usually a shallow dirt depression camouflaged with woody vegetation. Hens lay a clutch of 10 to 14 eggs which are incubated for at least 28 days. The chicks which are called poults, are precocial, mobile from the moment of birth, and nidifugous, leave the nest shortly after birth. Wild turkeys are not usually aggressive towards humans unless frightened, provoked, startled or cornered. Turkeys are habituated to seeing people. Male turkeys occasionally attack parked cars and reflective surfaces, thinking they see another turkey and must defend their territory. A Personal ReflectionBoth Limpy and the tailless squirrel have reaffirmed in me what I have observed in my horses, dogs, parakeets, canaries, cats, turtles, chickens, ducks, roosters and also native birds and animals for over 65 years - all species have an innate wish and drive to live their lives to the fullest extent possible. The human species, including me, has much to learn from them. I am forever grateful for my life long association with animals. I humbly admit that they have been some of my greatest and most profound teachers and have made me a more compassionate and humane human. At the same time because their life spans are much shorter than ours, we get to observe more frequently the two great mysteries, bookends, of life – birth and death. The witnessing of these events creates in me a singular presence, a profound, deep and complete silence, and a moment that is timeless and contains no words. And the final offering of animals, especially our pets, is the precious gift of unconditional love. These animals are capable of giving love purely and without the conditions we as humans often attach to our loving actions and connections. Living with domestic and wild animals has enriched my life in ways too numerous to list. I cannot imagine a life without them!
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AuthorConsultant, designer and educator transforming commercial and residential landscapes sustainably Archives
March 2023
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