Remember a few weeks ago when I featured some pictures of a squirrel at the park chomping down on one of those spiky sweet gum balls? And I tried to warn all squirrels not to be tempted by the prickly treats for fear of all the internal damage it seemed they’d so?
Well, this squirrel from my park visit on Thursday either didn’t read that post, or chose not to heed my advice. There’s a nice close up of him with nature’s landmine between his teeth.
Good luck with your snack, Mr. Saturday Squirrel. But don’t say I didn’t warn you if your esophagus should spring a leak…
Have a great weekend everyone!
I’ve stepped on many barefoot, can’t imagine swallowing one. Ouch!
I’m sure it would stick to your ribs, though…
And your intestines, and your colon etc.. on down.
😬
Perhaps it’s the squirrel’s method of cleaning out the “system”……you know – nature’s colonoscopy? OUCH.
Pam
Just reading that comment makes it hard to sit!
Guess he’s super hungry?
So many good things to eat at the park, and they want THAT!
Perhaps they peel away the outer spiny bit to get at the gooey inside? I’ve never seen one of those as there are no sweet gum trees out here (far too cold I think). Squirrels can (apparently) bite open acorns, which are rumored to be nature’s toughest nuts, a spiny ball o’ chewy stuff should be no problem. ?
It gets plenty cold here too in the winter… but I think they’re a regional tree, supposedly big in the Midwest and South. The house two down from me growing up had one and between stepping on them and running over them with your bike, they’re a huge pain in the ass.
Yikes, I hope that little guy knows what he’s doing! That spike ball looks like it would do some serious damage all the way in…and out.
As long as he doesn’t swallow it whole! I’ve still never got a picture of a squirrel with a pinecone, but now I have two squirrels in two months eating those spiky balls!
Hmm…that seems to underscore my therapy about squirrels…they are not of this world if they can digest a sweet gum pod with no ill effects.
Ha! Autocorrect must have changed theory to therapy! Or maybe you wish you had a therapy squirrel!
Elsa would, but me…probably not as much. 😉
Yikes! How is he even able to hold it in his mouth?
Very, very carefully!
I wonder if squirrels have some sort of armoured inner-mouth lining?
Maybe. They probably chomp on broken glass when I’ve put up the camera…
A squirrel will do what a squirrel wants to do.
Damn right!