Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Foxtail squirrels at Eagle Ridge




We found these little rascals while playing golf at the Eagle Ridge Golf Course which is south of Ocala toward The Villages.

Evidently, folks who normally play this course feed these squirrels as they were less intimidated by humans than usual.

The squirrel in the first two pictures saw me stop and get my camera out, so he ran over to the golf cart and actually stood up to beg.  But he didn't remain still long enough to get a good shot.

As you'll note, these squirrels have many different color variations.  Some are almost black. The squirrel in the last photo was quite persistent that we give him something to eat and eventually we offered him a piece of a protein bar which he put in his mouth and and then posed for the camera.

A little while after the squirrel encounter we noticed that a protein bar was missing from our cart. Then we saw a crow fly off with the bar in its beak. Friends in the other golf cart reported the same thing happened to them.

22 comments:

Jack said...

Ooohh, these are ugly cusses. The word "squirrel" provokes immediate cursing from me. Kinda like the word "pigeon."

William Kendall said...

Our squirrels here don't have anything like that kind of colour variation. They're black, dark grey, or brown.

I occasionally see squirrels used to getting a bit of a treat from passersby. They'll usually approach as I'm walking by eating a chocolate bar. I'm not sure if chocolate's good for them...

Randy said...

I've never seen squirrels like that before. Nice shots.

cieldequimper said...

I've never seen anything like them! Unlike Jack, I only cuss for pigeons...

Olivier said...

la tendance chez les écureuils cette année est au bleu ;) superbe ces écureuils

Bergson said...

les écureuils sont tous roux chez nous

Andy said...

I like their colours. It's a pattern that is not seen in my neighbourhood.

Anonymous said...

Seems like they are working in tandem with the birds, the squirrels distract you while the birds make off with your food!

Sharon said...

No wonder you like golfing so much. It's not just a game it's a struggle for survival!

Judy said...

It can get crazy out there in the wilds of the golf course.
That squirrel looks very different than the ones around here.

Judy said...

It can get crazy out there in the wilds of the golf course.
That squirrel looks very different than the ones around here.

Pat said...

I guess I'm going to say the opposite from Jack. I think they're cute, and I've never seen squirrels of this color. (It's me, "Bibi"--changed my photo.)

VP said...

Nice 'portraits', I have never seen squirrels like these!

RedPat said...

Those are new to me too! I guess they are well-fed.

magiceye said...

Beautifully captured!!
So the squirrels and the crows work as a team!!

Kay said...

I guess these are tropical critters. I've never seen the likes of them, either. I worry when I find wild animals so accustomed to humans. They start losing the smarts to take care of themselves, though from the sound of it these seem to be surviving all too well.

Small City Scenes said...

Squirrel and Crow in cahoots. Must be. MB

Halcyon said...

Animals can be very aggressive these days. I remember our cart being raided by a family of racoons in Toronto. A crow is a little less worrisome!

Karl said...

Cute animals, (at least in the photos), I've never seen squirrels like these!

Unknown said...

Two beautiful species! Great captures, Lowell!

Cezar and Léia said...

They are beautiful, never saw squirrels like that!!! Very nice portraits.
Léia

Amber Fitz said...

What a cutie!

"Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again." — Henri Cartier-Bresson