GRAY!GREY SQUIRREL: Living in the Past, Present, and Future

Agile and alert, Grey Squirrel remains active throughout the year. Chattering on tree branches, Grey Squirrel amuses people who watch her antics. What people do not know is that Grey Squirrel was a creature of the virgin forests of North America. She is one of the few Mammals who adapted to cities.

Grey Squirrel needs to eat every day even in the winter. Active at dawn, She searches for fruits and nuts or whatever is in season. In spring, She eats plant shoots. In winter, Grey Squirrel eats tree bark and nuts that She stored in the fall. She locates her stored nuts by smell. Any acorns that Grey Squirrel does not find will grow into trees for future squirrel homes.

Grey Squirrel is very expressive. She chatters and flicks her bushy tail to indicate her many moods. Relaxed, She lays on a thick tree branch with her tail hanging down. When Grey Squirrel is angry, her body becomes ramrod straight, and her tail flaps wildly. Her high voiced “Chee! Chee!” means “I AM annoyed with you!”

Grey Squirrel lives in the past, present, and future. In the summer, She also gathers nuts and acorns for the future. In the winter, Grey Squirrel looks for the nuts that She stored in the past. In the present, whatever season it is, She gathers nuts and acorns to eat today. Grey Squirrel lives in a tree sprouted from a nut that She buried and forgot about. Like Grey Squirrel, you can live in the past, present, and future.

Grey Squirrel’s Teachings Include:
“As far as our noblest hardwood forests are concerned, the animals, especially squirrels and jays, are our greatest and almost only benefactors. It is to them that we owe this gift. It is not in vain that the squirrels live in or about every forest tree, or hollow lot, and every wall and heap of stones.” -- Henry David Thoreau, American Essayist.

Conservation Note: People brought Grey Squirrel to the United Kingdom and South Africa, where She does not belong. Consult the local animal authorities on how to control the Grey Squirrel population.

Eastern Grey Kangaroo: Effective Communication

EASTERN GREY KANGAROO: Effective Communication

More abundant than Her Close Relative, Red Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo lives in the forests of Australia. Unlike other Kangaroos, She breeds only in the spring and early summer, instead of breeding continuously. However, this has not affected her numbers and, in fact She is a nuisance in some areas.

Often seen with Magpie Lark and Willie Wagtail in her ears or on her back, Eastern Grey Kangaroo rests in the heat of the day. As the Birds pick out Parasites and Insects off of her, She grazes in the cool of the early morning. Eating as She walks on all fours, Eastern Grey Kangaroo uses her large tail for support.

Socially inclined, Eastern Grey Kangaroo holds conversations with her Friends by clucking. Talking with her Joey (Baby), She squeals and clucks. However, when She is alarmed at something, Eastern Grey Kangaroo stamps her feet, and coughs loudly.

Lulu, an Eastern Grey Kangaroo, saved a farmer’s life. Knocked unconscious by a falling tree limb, Mr. Richards lay dying. Lulu tipped him on his side to keep him from choking. Then She hopped to the family’s home. Banging on the door and barking, Lulu alerted the family. Because of Her quick action, Lulu was awarded the National Animal Valor Award.

Eastern Grey Kangaroo demonstrates effective communications. She tells her Mob of impending danger by stomping her feet, and calls to her Joey by coughing. Lulu banged on her friend’s family door to save him. Communication is more than words, it is also actions.

Teachings of the Eastern Grey Kangaroo Include:“So long as the Grey Kangaroo was there, the people knew they would never know hunger or suffering. Its mere existence promised true abundance.” Copyright: “Animal Dreaming”, Scott Alexander King.

Wisdom of the Eastern Grey Kangaroo Includes:
At Peace with One’s Self
Making a Place of Calmness
Ensuring Abundance

Science Note:
1. Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) is a different species of Kangaroo from Eastern Grey (Macropus giganteus). They are not regional variations of the same species.

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Copyright: Virginia Carper, Animal Teachers, 2008

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