I saw some animals today I've never seen before in the wild. I've got some hunting property with a cabin on it in Douglas County (I shot a buck yesterday).
Anyway, I'd noticed in late summer that a woodpecker had put a hole in the attic siding under the eave. Then that hole got enlarged by something. Then, there were four holes, and they were on both sides of the cabin.
So when I went to hunt this weekend I brought a ladder and some plywood pieces to fix the holes. When I put the ladder up to the first hole, a face appeared. I thought, oh crap we've got rats. Then the guy spread his "arms" and sailed over my head to a tree about 20 feet away. I thumped around on the cabin and another one came out - flying squirrels.
When I got home I looked them up, and found that the Southern Flying Squirrel is native throughout Missouri and the southeast. The article said 90% of people never see one in their lives, because they're complete nocturnal. They eat berries and bark like other squirrels, but they also eat bugs - they hardly ever come down to the ground, and they sail between trees at night. Owls are especially hard on them.
They're sure cute little guys. Grey with white bellies, smaller than a squirrel and bigger than a chipmunk, and they have enormous black eyes. I'm kinda hoping they'll stay out of my cabin, though.
Has anybody else here seen flying squirrels in MO?
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