Wildlife, living next to nature

[Glinda]

Originally Posted by glatt

I think it's the chipmunk that lives in the nearby hole. This is war. Pics won't be following, out of respect for the sensibilities of animal lovers here. Hatching a plan now. Trip to the hardware store planned for later in the day. (They seemed indifferent to the poison pellets I dropped down their holes.)

Several years ago, there was a chipmunk population explosion here in my neck of the woods. Little fuckers were everywhere, making all sorts of odd and annoying noises, day in and day out.

One morning, I was in my garage (really just a three-sided, 24 x 24' metal shed), and heard all this furious scrabbling and scratching over in one corner. I carefully approached the sound and quickly realized it was coming from an open/empty garbage can I'd stowed in the far corner. Above the garbage can, on either wall, were high wooden shelves. Inside the garbage can, beneath the gap between the shelves, were seven - count 'em, SEVEN - freaked out chipmunks.

They'd apparently tried to jump from one shelf to the other and missed - one after the other - and fell into the garbage can below, which was too slick/tall for them to climb out of.

Proof that chipmunks do not have an effective warning / communication system.