Kit Kat and a Skwirly Friend.

(how do you spell that wakwy? is that right?)

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Squirrels? You know, those little critters, running around, hopping from tree to tree with their amazing balance and acrobatic skill. You see them all the time, but have you ever stopped to really think about who they are?

However obsessed over squirrels I am, I sadly had to admit that I knew very little about these amazing creatures. You can see them every day around our school. Our school has five halls lined up parallel to each other; in the space between these five buildings, there are big trees, rocks, bushes, and grass that both look nice, and, happen to be a squirrel playground! I've tried a couple of times before to befriend a squirrel or two before, but usually the squirrels skitter away if you get within five feet of them, and boy, for such small animals, do they run fast!

So four years I've been going to this school, seeing squirrels every day, but never stopping to think about them at all. Until this week.

On Monday, I went to the library afterschool to return some books, then had to come back through school in order to get home. (The school is in between my house and the library, so cutting across campus is like a little shortcut.)

This shortcut, however, didn't save me any time this time. I came across a brave squirrel who was climbing low on a tree. Curious as usual, I walked up to the tree to take a look at the squirrel. But instead of skittering away as I'd expected, it just stood there. Hanging on the trunk about two feet above my head. And stared at me. And I stared at it. And smiled at it. And tried to say hi. And it looked nervous, but didn't skitter away. We had a staring contest for at least five minutes.

Every time it turned its head, I turned mine. It wrinkled it's nose and tried to catch a scent. I wrinkled mine to try to match its gesture. Then, it started moving its mouth as if chewing. And then I suddenly thought, "aw, I wish I had some food." Then I thought. I did have some food. I had an extra Kit Kat bar in my backpack. But it was in my backpack! If I made any big movements, such as taking off my backpack, unzipping it, then flipping through it to look for a little chocolate bar, the squirrel would be long gone!

I stared at the squirrel for another minute or so. Curious, inquisitive eyes, cute whiskers, big bushy tail. I had never seen a squirrel up this close before, and since this one appeared less afraid of people than the others seemed to be, I really wanted to see if I could make friends with it. So, I moved slowly, first backing away, then taking off my backpack. I found the Kit Kat bar, and broke a piece off of it, then slowly re-approached the tree. The squirrel was still there, looking at me curiously. But I stuck my hand out, holding the bit of Kit Kat, and then the squirrel skittered away. To a higher branch. I was deflated for a second, then, I put the piece onto a hollow on the tree, then stepped back. I waited about fifteen seconds or so before the squirrel skittered back down! I was ecstatic; the squirrel came around and cautiously sniffed at the chocolate wafer. Then it snatched it up, skittered back to its high branch, and started nibbling at the Kit Kat!!! I watched, amazed, elated.

I still stood a safe distance from the tree, watching. It took the squirrel a little while to finish the piece, but, when it did, it slowly crawled back down the tree, eyeing me, until it crawled back to the place where I had put the Kit Kat. I understood. Who wouldn't?

I slowly broke off another piece of the Kit Kat, and slowly went up to the tree again. The squirrel skittered back up the trunk to a safe distance when I got closer to the tree and watched as I put the Kit Kat down. Then, I backed away again. And the squirrel came down. And took the piece, and went back up, but this time to a lower branch than last time!

I watched it eat, then, it came back for more again! I happily broke off another piece. We repeated this until I had finished a bar and a half! (You know how each Kit Kat package has two bars in it.) The squirrel always skittered up the tree whenever I went to put down another piece of Kit Kat, but by the third time, it would pick up the Kit Kat and simply eat where I left the bar; it didn't climb back up to a high branch until I came with the next piece.

I guess after a bar and a half, the squirrel was full, so, after the last piece, he climbed up the tree and hopped onto the roof and just ran off. Without even a thank you. I was sort of disappointed, but when I checked my watch, I realized that half an hour had already passed! Me just standing there, watching this squirrel.

I broke up the remaining Kit Kat and left it on the tree before I left, planning to check back the next day.

Sure enough, the next morning, I went by the tree, and the Kit Kat was gone.

That night I went home and did a little research. What are squirrels anyways? Have you ever thought about it?

I found out some interesting stuff. They eat nuts, leaves, plants, roots, and seeds primarily, sometimes insects and caterpillars, though urban squirrels sometimes do adapt to eat human scraps they find as well. (That comforted me somewhat about feeding Kit Kat to a squirrel, which, if happened in a national park, I'd probably be arrested or cited or something.)

Squirrels communicate with whistling calls, as well as with its tail! A squirrel's tail is so amazing! For example, the simple tail flick means "get away." I kept that in mind.

Squirrels are always climbing tall trees, fences, power lines, etc, but do they ever fall? Yes, I found. How do they deal with this? Their bushy tail apparently can act as a parachute, and they use it as a trampoline or cushioning upon landing. The tail also helps with balancing so it can stand on two legs, and can also be used as a blanket in the cold! (cute, right?!?!)

Tree squirrels, the kind that I was dealing with, live in nests they build in trees. High enough to avoid predators, but low enough to not be affected by the wind. Squirrels are sometimes territorial, and they "leave their mark" just like dogs do, claiming up to an acre in the wild, but usually less in the city. They usually are solo creatures, and don't interact with each other very much except during mating season.

Have you ever seen two squirrels chasing or fighting with each other? If it's springtime, that's probably their so-called "mating chase." It's actually pretty amusing to watch; one time it happened outside our classroom window as two squirrels climbed up and down the trees and rocks between the halls. Our teacher stopped class to let us watch. :)

They give birth to two to six babies, which are born blind and naked, completely dependant on their mother. (aww!) It takes them from sixty to eighty days to fully mature. City squirrels often face the danger of cars and traffic, wild squirrels face the danger of more predators. If they can beat both of these, their usual lifespan is usually five to six years. (only?? this disappointed me...) So some of the squirrels I've met my freshman year at the school might have died already...

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I did the same thing afterschool the next day, going to the same tree and meeting with another squirrel. I couldn't tell if it was the same one or not, but it sure had the same behavior, and it certainly wasn't scared of me at all. It didn't let me get close enough to touch it or so, but it did let me get close enough to take this photo!

So all this week I've been bringing extra Kit Kat to school. During passing period, I'd quickly stop by the tree and drop off two pieces of Kit Kat. By the next passing period. the Kit Kat was always gone.

It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

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And the reason I was carrying Kit Kat on that first day? Should I really mention this? My crush asked me for some chocolate, so I specifically went out and bought a huge sack of chocolate for her. :) (sorry, just had to mention that even though it had no relevance to this post at all.)