Royal Mountain squirrels

[mindstalk]

Years ago I visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and I've told various people of my passing an empty lot of ground squirrels[1], luring one up a chain link fence with a peanut, dropping my trail mix, having four of them seemingly teleport to the sidewalk[2], and having one of them start climbing my leg, which I considered far too tame.

'Monterey' is "mountain-king" in Spanish.

Today I'm in Montreal, which is French for "royal mountain", more or less. I was walking through Parc la Fontaine, and observing very bold gray squirrels. I had no food, but that didn't stop them approaching and looking expectantly, where squirrels from my childhood in Chicago would have been much more cautious about putting distance or a tree trunk between us. I walked further, and found three perched on fence posts like statuary. Two descended and approached, getting even closer; I got a photo of one just inches from my foot[3]... right before it started climbing my leg I could feel its little claws through my jeans I yelled and shook my leg and it was gone.

[1] Squirrel-like rodents living in holes in the ground, anyway

[2] There was a hole in the bottom of the fence, but I did not perceive them moving. Suddenly, squirrels, one on my backpack.

[3] It turns out my attempt at such a photo was ruined by the leg climbing; I actually had a blurred photo of leaves.

Comments

[mtbc]

I didn't have any make physical contact but in walking in some small London park, maybe Grosvenor Square or thereabouts, the squirrels would interrupt one's perambulation by coming up and putting their little forelimbs out as if to beg food.