When the Homily is about Immunology

Different Squirrels

Back in Bothell we had our fair share of squirrels running around the neighborhood. I even saved one out of our swimming pool. But we do not have these big fellars out in Kitsap, but instead a reddish-brown fellow known as Douglas' squirrels (Tamiasciurus douglasii). They are native to Washington, whereas those bigger grey guys in Bothell are transplants called Eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), who arrived in Washington in 1925, introduced I hear by easterners who missed seeing them...or something to that effect.

Of course, now, the eastern grey has been implicated in a sharp decline in Douglas' squirrels in the more urban areas occuiped by the eastern greys. As you can see from this map, the eastern greys are a decidedly urban squirrel and therefore as rural transplants we have left them behind.

The Douglas' are really cute, when they vocalize they do a little bounce-twitch movement that had my whole family cracking up as we watched. They look and sound like a windup toy of somesort.

Killick, it would seem, is less amused by their vocalization.