Nut shortage leads to squashed squirrels

[InkAddict]

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/ohio-news/nut-shortage-leads-to-squashed-squirrels-311263.html

By TIM HUBER, The Associated Press
Updated 7:39 PM Tuesday, September 22, 2009

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Squashed squirrels are unusually abundant this year along West Virginia roads, where a statewide nut shortage has tempted more of the hungry critters to cross the pavement — often unsuccessfully — in search of food.

While squirrel roadkill is as much a part of autumn as college football — and nobody keeps an official count — state Division of Natural Resources official Paul Johansen said he is seeing more carcasses than usual this year. Meanwhile, the supply of acorns, other nuts and berries — collectively called mast — is at a 40-year low. Johansen and others said that's forcing squirrels to travel farther to find food.

"The increased squirrel mortality is directly related to food conditions," Johansen said. "Squirrels are just out searching around for food."

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I brake for squirrels :( so my doggy has some entertainment :)

[MichellesBFF]

1. Sad story

DH and I got home one day to find a squirrel in front of our, with paralyzed back legs. The odd thing about this is that we live 500 feet from the road. We got her to a wildlife rehabilitator, but I never found out what happened to her.

[Arkansas Granny]

2. I live in a neighborhood with several large pecan trees and quiet streets.

Every year there are squashed squirrels on the street. These are squirrels that have to forage less than 100 yds. in any direction to find a food source yet they continue to cross the street in numbers large enough for several of them to be killed each year. I'm not sure that lack of food has that much to do with how many squirrels end up as roadkill.

[scheming daemons]

3. There is no nut shortage! There were tens of thousands of nuts in DC last weekend....

...ba dum bum.

[madokie]

4. We have squirrels in our trees for the first time this year

They've taken all of our apples, one tree, and pears, two trees, and are working on the black walnuts and the few pecans we have now. Until this year we've only seen a squirrel in our yard once and that was last year when we seen one in our mulberry tree. From watching the squirrels work frantically this summer I surmise that we're in for one hell of a bad winter

[Hubert Flottz]

5. I've fed them all summer and they still ate all my apples...

they are even eating my bell peppers. I counted 11 one day under my bird feeders eating sunflower seeds.

They have been carrying off everything they can find all summer, so they must expect a bad winter.