Suicide Squirrels

Pricestavern · 09-03-2018, 07:43 PM

What's the deal with all the dead squirrels on the highway? Driving south from the Lake this afternoon we must have seen at least a hundred littering the road, often in clumps of 5 to 7. Never seen the like before. Against the median, in the roadway, on the apron...it was a massacre. Once in Massachusetts it suddenly stopped. I spoke with a couple on the New London to Orient Ferry that had just come down from the Dover area who said they'd seen the same (as a matter of fact it was they who brought it up). Anyone know what's up?

thinkxingu · 09-03-2018, 08:05 PM

https://www.wmur.com/article/yes-the...roads/22863676

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ursa minor · 09-03-2018, 08:19 PM

We really started noticing them just south of Hooksett on 293. Hundreds and hundreds of them! Glad we weren't the only ones thinking "what's up with that?"

ITD · 09-03-2018, 08:37 PM

For every one that gets hit, 100 come to their funeral. I think there is a larger than normal population from the warm summer and abundant food. Nature will adjust it accordingly. Personally I brake if it won't hurt or endanger anyone and if I won't get rear ended, otherwise it's drive straight ahead and hope I don't hear an impact.

garysanfran · 09-14-2018, 06:39 PM

Saw this approaching from 1/3 mile away off Stonedam Is.

WinnisquamZ · 09-14-2018, 08:44 PM

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WinnisquamZ · 09-14-2018, 08:46 PM

Muskrat at the dock yesterday evening. Advice???

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Hillcountry · 09-14-2018, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WinnisquamZ

Muskrat at the dock yesterday evening. Advice???

Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

Sit back, put on some Captain and Tenille (muskrat love) and sip your favorite libation...the rodent is no threat to you or your dock.

Merrymeeting · 09-15-2018, 07:36 AM

This past Thursday, I was out with a group of people touring the lake. I pointed to what looked like an animal in the water, far enough away to make it difficult to tell what it was. One of the passengers with a pair of binoculars looked and said it was one of our baby loons.

Something didn’t seem right to me. Seemed too low in the water, and why all of a sudden would it be without the parents for the first time? But I figured it was possible and forgot all about it. This was at about 11 AM

Later, after the tour ended, I was heading back to my house in my boat when I saw the same thing in the water, at about the same location. Looked to me as being what I had originally thought it was… a grey squirrel.

Sure enough, as I got close, it was a young grey squirrel. It was clearly in distress/confused as it just kept swimming around in circles. I’m guessing it had lost sight of shore at that water level and had no idea what to do. I can’t believe it was still there, still swimming, and hadn’t gone under yet. This was at about 1 PM!

Any experts out there who could verify that a squirrel could tread water for 3 hours?!!! But it also seems unbelievable that it would be a different squirrel, in the same place, doing the same thing (this was at least 100 yards from shore)

I know they are over-populated, and pretty much just large rodents, and I was probably just delaying the inevitable, but I couldn’t just watch it drown, especially given how hard it had been working to avoid it. So, against my better judgement, I got out my long boat hook and put it nearby. Needless to say, it grabbed and clung onto it like a life preserver. While visions of a rabid squirrel racing around my boat danced through my head, I picked it out of the water and placed it on the swim platform.

It proceeded to sit there, looking at me, then looking behind the boat, clearly trying to decide if it was better to die by drowning or by attack from this monster that had picked it up. But it was clearly too terrified or exhausted to do much else than sit there and look pitiful.

I then drove down the shoreline to a closed children’s camp on the lake and put it off on the dock there. It didn’t move much as I drove away. Exhaustion taking over I’m sure. For all I know it sat there until the eagle came by and scooped it off. Or as I hope, it finally warmed up and had enough energy to head into the woods.

As I said, probably delaying the inevitable, but at least I feel better having tried.

tis · 09-15-2018, 07:45 AM

You are nice!! I couldn't have let it die either if I had a chance to try to save it. This even though as you said, we have plenty of them.

fatlazyless · 09-17-2018, 07:36 AM

Driving up Rt 93 in Campton at 7:30am today, about 500-yards south of Exit 28 on the Campton flats, saw what looked like a large, dead, black bear on the breakdown lane just behind a DOT big orange truck with a couple DOT guys standing around.

Earlier at about 5:30-am in the same location on Rt-93-south there were two state police cars with blue lights on, and a flat bed truck removing a car.

Someone else said the bear had its head in a trash bag, and got hit by the car, and with no ambulance present, could be no personal injuries, except for the dead bear? This is conjecture?

Also is possible the bear was stopped on the road to eat a dead squirrel as I've seen a fox on the road stop to eat a dead chipmunk. Now today, there's two 50-yard long lines of fresh black tire tread going straight up the right lane until the last 20-feet when they curve to the right. A black bear on black pavement would be difficult to see in the dark and the treads suggest they stepped on the brakes hard but it was too late for the bear and the car?

So, what O what does the DOT do with a dead bear ....... make black bear stew ...... and a nice black bear rug ... or what?

ApS · 09-17-2018, 08:00 AM

Wait...!

Isn't this a "No-Wake Zone"?

Hillcountry · 09-17-2018, 03:39 PM

Had one swimming aimlessly this morning very early while fishing...it was far from any land and seemed disoriented as it swam in circles.
Sorry buddy...no hitch hikers, especially with a dog on board.

Merrymeeting · 09-19-2018, 02:01 PM

The one I picked up had the same desperate look.

https://www.wmur.com/article/video-s...river/23315813

Hillcountry · 09-19-2018, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merrymeeting

The one I picked up had the same desperate look.

https://www.wmur.com/article/video-s...river/23315813

I don’t wonder why!

Biggd · 09-30-2018, 04:40 PM

Saw one swimming in Lake Waukewan today. He was swimming to Chapman Island so he was either going to spend the winter there or he will be swimming back to the mainland at some point.

fatlazyless · 10-03-2018, 08:47 AM

Heard about a big moose that got hit and killed on Rt 93 in Campton, close to exit 27, yesterday, Tuesday, October 2. Who knows, maybe this moose was chomping on a road kill, dead squirrel?

Got some more info on the large black bear that was hit and killed just south of exit 28 about two weeks ago. Apparently, the black bear was going through a bag of trash that was on the road, and had its head in the bag or something when it got struck at about 5:15am in the dark.

So, someone's disposal of trash or something, ends up with a dead black bear, and a damaged car.

The long black tire tread marks are still there, easy to see.

Biggd · 10-03-2018, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Heard about a big moose that got hit and killed on Rt 93 in Campton, close to exit 27, yesterday, Tuesday, October 2.

Got some more info on the large black bear that was hit and killed just south of exit 28 about two weeks ago. Apparently, the black bear was going through a bag of trash that was on the road, and had its head in the bag or something when it got struck at about 5:15am in the dark.

So, someone's disposal of trash or something, ends up with a dead black bear, and a damaged car.

If I were you I'd be more worried about the squirrels. There are so many this year and they are all fighting to get at the same nuts. There's just not enough nuts to go around.

rick35 · 10-09-2018, 07:58 PM

Last week on North Woods Law one of the stories was about a woman who didn’t want to part with the baby squirrel she was raising. You cant have a wild animal and she was very emotional about having to turn it over to Fish and Game to take to a rehabber. F&G finally convinced her to turn it over but only after a trainee agreed to look after it that night. Really?!?! Apparently she hadn’t driven down rte 93 to see the squirrelmagedon. Maybe they should have taken her to the rehabber.

SAMIAM · 10-10-2018, 09:13 AM

Strange....got back from central Maine last week and did not see a single dead squirrel nor did we see any crossing the road.
Is this just a New Hampshire thing?

fatlazyless · 10-11-2018, 04:24 AM

Maine has a 5.5% sales tax, except not for food in the super-market.

Probably, all the squirrels in the Fryeburg-Lovell-Bridgton-Naples area make the short trek up Rt-302 to the North Conway mecca of big stores like Walmart, Home Depot and soon to be built Market Basket, plus all the other name brands there like Old Navy and Brooks Brothers.

There's nothing like North Conway in Maine for all those Maine squirrels. All they got is the Maine acorns and other natural food from their Maine forest.

Someone said the State of NH-DOT started using salty ocean brine for treat'n the winter roads last year, something not done in Maine, and the squirrels seem to lick the NH road asphalt, just to get that salt taste? Just one lick, and they is hooked.

09-03-2018, 07:43 PM	#1
Pricestavern Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Valencia, Spain (formerly Rattlesnake Isle) Posts: 388 Thanks: 135 Thanked 142 Times in 82 Posts	Suicide Squirrels What's the deal with all the dead squirrels on the highway? Driving south from the Lake this afternoon we must have seen at least a hundred littering the road, often in clumps of 5 to 7. Never seen the like before. Against the median, in the roadway, on the apron...it was a massacre. Once in Massachusetts it suddenly stopped. I spoke with a couple on the New London to Orient Ferry that had just come down from the Dover area who said they'd seen the same (as a matter of fact it was they who brought it up). Anyone know what's up?

09-03-2018, 08:19 PM	#3
ursa minor Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Tuftonborough & Franklin MA Posts: 265 Thanks: 99 Thanked 143 Times in 64 Posts	We really started noticing them just south of Hooksett on 293. Hundreds and hundreds of them! Glad we weren't the only ones thinking "what's up with that?" __________________ " Any day with a boat ride in it is a good day"

09-14-2018, 06:39 PM	#5
garysanfran Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: San Francisco/Meredith Posts: 1,562 Thanks: 659 Thanked 669 Times in 343 Posts	Swimming grey squirrels... Saw this approaching from 1/3 mile away off Stonedam Is. Attached Images __________________ Gary ~~~~_/) ~~~ ~~~~~~~~

09-15-2018, 07:36 AM	#9
Merrymeeting Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Merrymeeting Lake, New Durham Posts: 2,226 Thanks: 302 Thanked 800 Times in 368 Posts	How long can a squirrel tread water? This past Thursday, I was out with a group of people touring the lake. I pointed to what looked like an animal in the water, far enough away to make it difficult to tell what it was. One of the passengers with a pair of binoculars looked and said it was one of our baby loons. Something didn’t seem right to me. Seemed too low in the water, and why all of a sudden would it be without the parents for the first time? But I figured it was possible and forgot all about it. This was at about 11 AM Later, after the tour ended, I was heading back to my house in my boat when I saw the same thing in the water, at about the same location. Looked to me as being what I had originally thought it was… a grey squirrel. Sure enough, as I got close, it was a young grey squirrel. It was clearly in distress/confused as it just kept swimming around in circles. I’m guessing it had lost sight of shore at that water level and had no idea what to do. I can’t believe it was still there, still swimming, and hadn’t gone under yet. This was at about 1 PM! Any experts out there who could verify that a squirrel could tread water for 3 hours?!!! But it also seems unbelievable that it would be a different squirrel, in the same place, doing the same thing (this was at least 100 yards from shore) I know they are over-populated, and pretty much just large rodents, and I was probably just delaying the inevitable, but I couldn’t just watch it drown, especially given how hard it had been working to avoid it. So, against my better judgement, I got out my long boat hook and put it nearby. Needless to say, it grabbed and clung onto it like a life preserver. While visions of a rabid squirrel racing around my boat danced through my head, I picked it out of the water and placed it on the swim platform. It proceeded to sit there, looking at me, then looking behind the boat, clearly trying to decide if it was better to die by drowning or by attack from this monster that had picked it up. But it was clearly too terrified or exhausted to do much else than sit there and look pitiful. I then drove down the shoreline to a closed children’s camp on the lake and put it off on the dock there. It didn’t move much as I drove away. Exhaustion taking over I’m sure. For all I know it sat there until the eagle came by and scooped it off. Or as I hope, it finally warmed up and had enough energy to head into the woods. As I said, probably delaying the inevitable, but at least I feel better having tried.

09-17-2018, 07:36 AM	#11
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,735 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 300 Thanked 1,006 Times in 734 Posts	...... suicide black bear? Driving up Rt 93 in Campton at 7:30am today, about 500-yards south of Exit 28 on the Campton flats, saw what looked like a large, dead, black bear on the breakdown lane just behind a DOT big orange truck with a couple DOT guys standing around. Earlier at about 5:30-am in the same location on Rt-93-south there were two state police cars with blue lights on, and a flat bed truck removing a car. Someone else said the bear had its head in a trash bag, and got hit by the car, and with no ambulance present, could be no personal injuries, except for the dead bear? This is conjecture? Also is possible the bear was stopped on the road to eat a dead squirrel as I've seen a fox on the road stop to eat a dead chipmunk. Now today, there's two 50-yard long lines of fresh black tire tread going straight up the right lane until the last 20-feet when they curve to the right. A black bear on black pavement would be difficult to see in the dark and the treads suggest they stepped on the brakes hard but it was too late for the bear and the car? So, what O what does the DOT do with a dead bear ....... make black bear stew ...... and a nice black bear rug ... or what? __________________ ... down and out, liv'n that Walmart side of the lake! Last edited by fatlazyless; 09-17-2018 at 11:57 AM.

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09-03-2018, 08:05 PM	#2
thinkxingu Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 6,209 Thanks: 1,167 Thanked 2,048 Times in 1,271 Posts	https://www.wmur.com/article/yes-the...roads/22863676 Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using Tapatalk

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09-03-2018, 08:37 PM	#4
ITD Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonboro, NH Posts: 2,925 Thanks: 476 Thanked 691 Times in 387 Posts	For every one that gets hit, 100 come to their funeral. I think there is a larger than normal population from the warm summer and abundant food. Nature will adjust it accordingly. Personally I brake if it won't hurt or endanger anyone and if I won't get rear ended, otherwise it's drive straight ahead and hope I don't hear an impact.

09-14-2018, 08:44 PM	#6
WinnisquamZ Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 2,044 Thanks: 210 Thanked 652 Times in 435 Posts	Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

09-14-2018, 08:46 PM	#7
WinnisquamZ Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 2,044 Thanks: 210 Thanked 652 Times in 435 Posts	Muskrat at the dock yesterday evening. Advice??? Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

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09-15-2018, 07:45 AM	#10
tis Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 6,699 Thanks: 751 Thanked 1,452 Times in 1,009 Posts	You are nice!! I couldn't have let it die either if I had a chance to try to save it. This even though as you said, we have plenty of them.

09-17-2018, 08:00 AM	#12
ApS Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Florida (Sebring & Keys), Wolfeboro Posts: 5,937 Thanks: 2,205 Thanked 776 Times in 553 Posts	"Book-Him Danno..." Wait...! Isn't this a "No-Wake Zone"? __________________ Is it "Common Sense" isn't.

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09-17-2018, 03:39 PM	#13
Hillcountry Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: In the hills Posts: 2,420 Thanks: 1,677 Thanked 786 Times in 466 Posts	Had one swimming aimlessly this morning very early while fishing...it was far from any land and seemed disoriented as it swam in circles. Sorry buddy...no hitch hikers, especially with a dog on board.

09-19-2018, 02:01 PM	#14
Merrymeeting Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Merrymeeting Lake, New Durham Posts: 2,226 Thanks: 302 Thanked 800 Times in 368 Posts	The one I picked up had the same desperate look. https://www.wmur.com/article/video-s...river/23315813

09-30-2018, 04:40 PM	#16
Biggd Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Waltham Ma./Meredith NH Posts: 4,080 Thanks: 2,199 Thanked 1,185 Times in 752 Posts	Saw one swimming in Lake Waukewan today. He was swimming to Chapman Island so he was either going to spend the winter there or he will be swimming back to the mainland at some point.

10-03-2018, 08:47 AM	#17
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,735 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 300 Thanked 1,006 Times in 734 Posts	big moose hit and killed-Rt 93, exit 27 Heard about a big moose that got hit and killed on Rt 93 in Campton, close to exit 27, yesterday, Tuesday, October 2. Who knows, maybe this moose was chomping on a road kill, dead squirrel? Got some more info on the large black bear that was hit and killed just south of exit 28 about two weeks ago. Apparently, the black bear was going through a bag of trash that was on the road, and had its head in the bag or something when it got struck at about 5:15am in the dark. So, someone's disposal of trash or something, ends up with a dead black bear, and a damaged car. The long black tire tread marks are still there, easy to see. __________________ ... down and out, liv'n that Walmart side of the lake! Last edited by fatlazyless; 10-04-2018 at 09:10 AM.

10-09-2018, 07:58 PM	#19
rick35 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Bear Island/Merrimack Posts: 807 Thanks: 58 Thanked 203 Times in 130 Posts	Last week on North Woods Law one of the stories was about a woman who didn’t want to part with the baby squirrel she was raising. You cant have a wild animal and she was very emotional about having to turn it over to Fish and Game to take to a rehabber. F&G finally convinced her to turn it over but only after a trainee agreed to look after it that night. Really?!?! Apparently she hadn’t driven down rte 93 to see the squirrelmagedon. Maybe they should have taken her to the rehabber.

10-10-2018, 09:13 AM	#20
SAMIAM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 2,891 Thanks: 334 Thanked 1,673 Times in 584 Posts	Strange....got back from central Maine last week and did not see a single dead squirrel nor did we see any crossing the road. Is this just a New Hampshire thing?

10-11-2018, 04:24 AM	#21
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,735 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 300 Thanked 1,006 Times in 734 Posts	Maine has a 5.5% sales tax, except not for food in the super-market. Probably, all the squirrels in the Fryeburg-Lovell-Bridgton-Naples area make the short trek up Rt-302 to the North Conway mecca of big stores like Walmart, Home Depot and soon to be built Market Basket, plus all the other name brands there like Old Navy and Brooks Brothers. There's nothing like North Conway in Maine for all those Maine squirrels. All they got is the Maine acorns and other natural food from their Maine forest. Someone said the State of NH-DOT started using salty ocean brine for treat'n the winter roads last year, something not done in Maine, and the squirrels seem to lick the NH road asphalt, just to get that salt taste? Just one lick, and they is hooked. __________________ ... down and out, liv'n that Walmart side of the lake! Last edited by fatlazyless; 10-11-2018 at 06:02 AM.