What's the easiest way to get from one side of our driveway to the other? Walk across on the ground, you say? Well, not if you're a ringtail (or a squirrel).
We've been watching a mama ringtail teaching her little one the how to cross the driveway without getting dirty feet. Mama tippy-toes across by walking on the pointy tops of the vertical bars. She's utterly sure-footed and zips along like a dancer. The little one has a different solution - s/he balances on the top horizontal bar and weaves in and out of the verticals. It's a long trip, but when perfectly executed it's a joy to watch. It's also clever - and quite funny. To the dog agility trainers out there trying to teach Rover to do weave poles, eat your hearts out.
After a couple of weeks of weaving, the baby decided it was time to copy mama and, after a few failed attempts, he was sailing across the top (almost) like a pro.
Our local squirrels seem to have the same aversion to getting their tiny feet dirty and the same need to train their pups on driveway-crossing protocols. The mama squirrel in this clip may have the best technique of all; she bunny-hops across the top. It's hard to explain how, so you'll just have to watch the video.
#ringtail #backyardwildlife #texaswildlife
2 окт 2024
