Unknown mammal (Nature thread)

Just as long as you didn't tug on it's ear.

 

It definitely wasn't a muntjac.

 

Like this one?

 

Be impressive to wear it on its ear! ;-)

 

even more if it could tell the time

 

Of course they can tell the time. Is it time to hunt, eat, poo or snooze. Doddle ;-)

 

Pine Marten's are being reintroduced into England. ..they have found that they knock hell out of Grey Squirrel populations and it's allowing the Red Squirrels to move back in. The Reds being much more difficult for Pine Marten's to get to.

 

Like, like, like, like. Where can I get one? Fekin squirrels are running riot in my garden.

 

I like the squirrels running along the garden fence. Dog goes very though!

 

I don't mind them running on the fence, it's when they dig my bulbs, plants and seedlings up and bite off my rose buds that does my nut in.

 

You've not conditioned them to fear enough. Just a simple glance now and squirrels turn tail and scarper!

 

The squirrels do your nuts in ??
I'd be very careful if I were you.

 

And they empty all the bird feeders in an hour little *****s

 

Yes, they'd have them if they weren't carefully guarded.

 

Ingenious little gits, despite oiling the pole, doing the slinky thing, they always find a way.
More intelligent than chimps I reckon

 

We've a squirrel proof feeder where the outer cage drops down if they put their weight on it. We've had it about 10 years and they've not found a way into as yet, even trying to eat through the outer metal but to no avail.

 

Yeah seen them, bloody expensive when you've got the amount of feeders we have, it's like having pets, do about £40 every month on bird food! May be worth it in the long run I spose, would keep the magpies and jackdaws off too.
If it were up to me I'd just shoot them, but the Mrs has even bought a little squirrel table to feed them and the rabbits!
We do appear to have gained a stoat tho who is quite ruthless with them. Had to remove the remains of 2 rabbits this morning before she saw them.

 

We tend to rotate the food to have a few lulls, especially in the months where natural food is really abundant. Helps to keep pests down too.

Last week, I woke up in the night, nipped to the bathroom and happened to spot a fox having a good snuffle in the borders. Sadly, we aren't as lucky to have stoats and weasels roaming.

 

I live in a really rural enclave.

100s of squirrels, foxes, pheasants, partridges, rabbits, stoats, and we've even got wild deer in the woods about 50 yards away from the house.

 

We've been away a few times since covid first hit to some really rural idyllic hideaways in the last year and given my wifes condition, its really making us think. We both love nature, but we also both love London.

We do see nature here, but obviously nowhere near what a more rural location would do. We've very tentatively discussed moving, but she's now veering towards a second place. I'm not sure how I feel about that personally. It sort of doesn't feel right. But if we could find somewhere that was a collapsed barn, hayshed, hen house in need of development that otherwise be lost or wasted, I might change my mind, particularly if we could rewild part of some land and encourage more nature back to it.

Choices choices.