The ultimate ethical meal: grey squirrel

"It's low in fat, low in food miles and completely free range. In fact, some claim that Sciurus carolinensis - the grey squirrel - is about as ethical a dish as it is possible to serve on a dinner plate.

The grey squirrel, the American cousin of Britain's endangered red variety, is flying off the shelves faster than hunters can shoot them, with game butchers struggling to keep up with demand. 'We put it on the shelf and it sells. It can be a dozen squirrels a day - and they all go,' said David Simpson, the director of Kingsley Village shopping centre in Fraddon, Cornwall, whose game counter began selling grey squirrel meat two months ago.

Simpson likens the taste to wild boar. Ridley thinks it is more a cross between duck and lamb. 'It's moist and sweet because, basically, its diet has been berries and nuts,' he said.

Both believe its new-found popularity is partly due to its green credentials. 'People like the fact it is wild meat, low in fat and local - so no food miles,' says Simpson. Ridley reckons that patriotism also plays a part: 'Eat a grey and save a red. That's the message.'

'People may say they are buying it because it's green and environmentally friendly, but really they're doing it out of curiosity and because of the novelty value. If they can say, "Darling, tonight we're having squirrel", then that takes care of the first 30 minutes of any dinner party conversation. I see it remaining a niche. There's not much meat on a squirrel, so I'd be surprised if farming squirrel takes off anywhere some time soon.' "

Full, suggestive article here

Do I smell senior week barbecue?

Edit: the disturbing fact that the "ultimate ethical meal" happens to involve killing lots and lots of innocent, fuzzy cutelings is not lost on me. DO NOT GO AND KILL THE SQUIRRELS. (I'm fairly sure you'd get some VDS commando team on your ass...)

Squirrel plays dead during a fight.

I've seen some pretty funny skirmishes on campus, but this one is far, far better.

Ze Squirrels, Zey are Hurting!

Freshmen, beware. Arm yourselves:

A ferocious squirrel went on the rampage in Germany this week, attacking three people before meeting its match in an angry 72-year-old.

Police in the southern town of Passau said the creature attacked a 70-year-old woman on Tuesday, sinking its teeth into her hand.

It next entered a building site and jumped on a construction worker, injuring his hand and arm before he fought it off with a pole.

A police spokesman said the squirrel then finally met its end - but it didn't go down without a fight.

"The squirrel went into the 72-year-old man's garden and attacked him on the arms, hand and thigh," the spokesman said. "Then he killed it with his crutch."

He explained that experts thought the creature's behaviour could have been brought on by the mating season, or it could have been ill.

Dumbest textbook figure ever

The caption says, "How could you use operant conditioning techniques to teach an animal friend to waterski?"

From Psychology and Life (17th Edition) that was used for PSYC105 Spring 2005.

Squirrel lamp

Shamelessly yanked from Boing Boing:



Bonus points if you can catch the black squirrel.*

*sign #3249 that I've been going to Wesleyan for too long: I sat at my computer staring at this sentence for a good ten minutes wondering, "Does this have any racial implications?"