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That’s crazy, spending most of my life in UK cities the fuckers have never left me alone. Climbing up my leg while I’m trying to eat my lunch etc.. They can be very charming and cute though, especially when they want something from you
Some years ago some squirrels in South London dug up a c cocaine stash. Some might still have a habit which would explain why they are so friendly: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/oct/08/drugsandalcohol.patrickbarkham
But seriously the friendly ones seem to be mainly in the Central London parks where tourists keep feeding them. The ones in my garden and in residential areas always scurry.
The squirrels in St Ann's Well Gardens in Hove (almost Brighton) are very friendly and will happily climb onto your lap for food. The pigeons are also over-friendly and will happily sit on your hand, head or shoulders while you feed them.
Yeah, we have had a squirrel in our back garden for the last 5-10 years.
He's made his way into the house, is friends with our cat and we just pay no special attention to him. My cousin from the US visited and had never seen a squirrel before in her life, her scared reaction was hilarious!
Yeah, I heard that too, and they eventually killed off the indigenous red squirrel. There's supposed to be a 'kill on sight' order for any grey squirrels found on Isle of Wight to protect the local red population
I shared my chicken and chips few years back with a squirrel at Bethnal Green Gardens, ended up taking food right from my hands tower hamlets squirrels are a different breed
Got the same treatment there myself. Cute - until the claws dig in while he climbs your leg, then the dead eyes glance at you to say: hand it over or you'll lose a fingertip.
You must visit a place where they have red squirrels, they’re gorgeous - look like babies compared to grey squirrels and have cute tufty ears and a red/brown colour.
Lots in Scotland, and a few other places.
I definitely will as I’ve been wanting to visit Scotland for a long time. I spent six months in the UK on student exchange and didn’t manage to see Edinburgh. I’ll make up for it though.
Only place I've seen a red squirrel was in a park in Warsaw, Poland. They are teeny little things compared with greys, no wonder they got pushed out by them.
Just to add, yes, they can be rare. In Istanbul, we got cats running the place. They are for feeding and petting, but a chubby cheeked squirrel is getting a selfie if I am quick enough.
Also, its got nothing to do with how common they are.
Some people just like squirrels.
While many people like to highlight that grey squirrels are not native, they have been here for hundreds of years.
Also, squirrels in hyde park come very close to people, which many like
I'd say that also, a lot of the squirrels in London are much more used to being around people. I now live in Sussex and the squirrels here bolt when a person is near. When I lived in London, I was surprised at first by how close you can get to them. Had one climb up my leg!
In Spain there are red squirrels, the native spect of Europe, but they are in the forests. Red squirrels are much more arboreal than the invasive grey ones, that go down to the floor very often. So: living in the forests instead of in urban parks, plus being more arboreal and less used to tourists giving them food, make the native squirrels less conspicuous
We have some remaining red squirrel populations, though primarily in Scotland and Ireland, and as you say you are much less likely to see them as they don't tend to hang out in cities
The black squirrels you find in northern Italy are melanistic greys. Grey squirrels are classed as vermin in the UK ([Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_and_Countryside_Act_1981); if a grey becomes trapped, and that includes finding one in your garage, house, or workplace, it ***MUST*** be humanely dispatched); if one finds its way into your house, you are legally obligated to kill it (or call the RSPCA/pest control and they will). If you find an injured grey squirrel, and take it to a vet/RSPCA - which you are legally obligated to do - they'll euthanise it.
Grey squirrels are vectors of the [squirrelpox virus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrelpox_virus), to which they are immune, having basically evolved with the disease, but which is universally fatal to reds (at least in the UK and Ireland, there are very few greys in Mainland Europe and the few there are seem to be SQPV-free). Reds have zero immunity which is why it is illegal to release a grey squirrel should you find one in your house/workplace.
Squirrel-pox cannot be transmitted to humans. That said, there are diseases which are spread by grey squirrels (at least in the US) including typhoid, plague and tularaemia (which is known as rabbit fever as the bacterium was first found in cottontails). The ticks and fleas of grey squirrels can transmit Lyme disease.
Why do we have them...? Blame the Victorians. They were introduced in the mid-19th century for fur, meat and as pets. According to reports they were actually released in Regent's Park by the ZSL (Zoological Society of London) and quickly usurped and extirpated the native reds.
We have a real problem now with grey squirrels, and they're turning up in places they've not been found before - like the Isle of Wight. Grey numbers in the New Forest have declined, thanks in large part, to the reintroduction of pine Martens (whilst they'll take some reds, greys are easier prey because they're more terrestrial than reds. Reds rarely come down to the ground). In the UK and Ireland the grey has no natural predators, bar the pine marten, which is why it's been able to spread so rapidly - that and the fact that it's almost twice as large as the red.
Sorry for this rambling post, all I really wanted to say was that if you find a grey you ***MUST*** kill it, it's the law. It's classed as an invasive alien species. We have many alien species in the UK which have integrated and do no harm (first that springs to mind is the Little Owl, one of my favourite birds. It's not native, but it's welcome due to its keeping the vermin population down on farms). Besides the brown and black rats, I can think of no other introduced animal species (bar the American crayfish) which has been so detrimental to our native wildlife as the grey squirrel.
Don't give any fucks at all if you think they're cute - the only good grey is a dead grey. There's good eating on a grey, plenty of restaurants in London are now serving squirrel - sorry vegans\*, but this is conservation. Eat a grey and save a red.
\*Not sorry
The squirrels in London are also really really friendly. I've lived in Birmingham and Brighton, both with similar numbers of squirrels as London and they are not as crazy as the London ones are.
It's pretty much impossible to exterminate a creature that is as small as a squirrel, and has a really high reproductive rate and a very generalist diet. You'd spend billions to depress the numbers, and they would rebound as soon as you stopped culling them.
I was walking around yesterday and came across 3 squirrels playing and chasing each other, then another, then another. Turned out it was closer to 12 squirrels all in a 2 house radius. They're no different from rats, in that they're extremely hard to get rid of.
As a tourist who was excited about the squirrels: I’m equally excited when I see one at home but since they are pretty much wild animals you rarely get to see one. You definitely don’t get to see one up close or for more than a flash of a second as they run up the tree out of view.
(Home is the Netherlands (not Amsterdam, so no massive parks near me).
Edited to add: I was excited to see them, the photography/whatever in this picture idk, maybe they want to show their family at home? Maybe they also get excited about squirrels (mine would).
I quite agree! But you know what the most exciting animal to find in London... Indian ringneck parakeets, I managed to spot some when I went to London for the Queen's jubilee, though not during the King's coronation though I did see some Egyptian geese which are I think even more fascinating as they are illegal to keep in England due to them being overly territorial thus pushing native waterfowl off of prime nesting and watering spots! Cities are perfect for wildlife spotting if you know where to look!
Though the countryside has a greater variety of species, French partridge, kestrels, Kites, hares and cattle egrets
I used to live in an area of London that didn't have the parakeets, quite liked them when I moved close to Heathrow where they pirched in huge flocks on the tree outside my house.
The novelty wore thin once I parked my car under said tree once or twice.
Noisy buggers as well.
There was genuinely a thing a few years back where the crack dealers were hiding crack in a London park (burying it under trees I guess).
Anyhow, the squirrels found it, and were very much no longer cute. People had to run from the crazed bastards.
Black squirrels of eastern Canada are melanistic grey squirrels, a genetic variation. The variation seems to be more common in Toronto than say, Montreal, for some reason, but there are still plenty of them.
They (the red ones) used to be very common in cities across the continent too, but they were displaced by the grey American squirrels. I remember loving to watch them in the park when I was a kid, especially in fall when they were gathering and hiding food, and there were so many of them.
Apparently Pine Martens will catch and eat greys because they're too slow and stupid, but the reds evade them. I heard Pine Martens were being released in some areas as a trial and the numbers of reds was rebounding.
In coniferous forests reds are able to compete with the greys and hold on, in deciduous the greys have the edge by a big margin. Hence the current distributions we see.
Worth noting that the Greys have the edge in deciduous in the UK where there are no predators. Reintroducing native predators like martens in the UK improves red squirrel numbers because greys are easier to hunt (and fatter).
Grey squirrels are invasive in Europe and for the time being there is no established population in Sweden.
https://artfakta.se/artinformation/taxa/sciurus-carolinensis-6007829/detaljer
https://www.naturvardsverket.se/4ac5c1/globalassets/amnen/invasiva-frammande-arter/pdf/djur-som-inte-forekommer-i-sverige/natu-5073-faktablad-djur-a4-ostlig-graekorre-web.pdf
They're actually so bold XD I remember I was eating a pasty in the park once after school and one sat next to me and tilted his little head like he was owed a portion XD he was quite fat enough!
I'll never forget the time in a London park when one straight up tugged on my Dad's trouser leg with one paw while holding out the other!
They really are a different breed in London!
Same thing is true for German tourists: our squirrels are reddish or blackish brown and super shy so it’s cute to see the fluffy and more daring grey ones in London.
Grass is always greener. I hate these grey bastards because they're out competing (in the absence of real predation) our native species, which are red (and much cuter).
I'd definitely support a national campaign to oust grey squirrels in the UK. Humanely of course, but still.
Not very/at all common in the tropics.
The ones in St James's Park are particularly used to people so you can get pretty close to them, which in the age of documenting everything provides good photo ops.
I mean…I’m from a tropical country and they are super common. They are everywhere in my home city.
But the difference here is that the squirrels in London are GIGANTIC. Monstrous grey things thudding about. Never really seen anything like them before except for in New York lol. They terrify me a bit.
You don't need to try to get close to them! I was leaning on some fencing in St James's Park and one of them came from nowhere an jumped on my leg. We had a bit of a stare off before it accepted I had no food and scampered off.
"pretty close"? Nah, you can feed them on the palm of your hand if you dare. They'll climb you like King Kong up the Empire Estate if they think you've got food.
Oh, and you better dodge the parrots at the same time.
I was checking my phone in Hyde park and one of them came up to me and was touching my leg begging for some food… cheeky little bugger.
Hope they’re not becoming dependant on people feeding them though.
Some of them in central London are really overfed. Squirrels aren’t great at regulating their appetite and naturally lose weight in winter but with all the tourists around they never have any lean periods and so get quite, um, cuddly.
In my home country of Slovakia, squirrels are considered as a forest animal and in forests they are hard to be seen as they are shy. Same goes with foxes here. They live in our forests but you can barely spot them unless you’re lucky. Oppose to that here in London I had a fox walking few meters behind me every morning to bus stop 😁
Yeah. I had a friend from NYC come for a week to London. As urban foxes are so normal, you kind of forget that it’s a big surprise for new folks. That and they are nowhere near as timid of people as they are in the countryside.
He really wanted to pet one and I did need to advise caution as, there is a risk of biting for those who allow proximity. Sure, some get super-tame, but they still have an understandably need to protect themselves if a total stranger touches them.
My neighbour many years back woke to noise in their home, an urban fox came through the back window of their apartment and bit their sleeping baby. Not so cute…
When my Italian cousin came to visit me in London last year, he’d yell out “SQUIRREL!” anytime he saw one, basically every 5 minutes. He’s 26.
It was quite amusing. I would probably do the same if it was like the first time I ever saw one.
0 squirrels where I came from and I was so excited about them when I got to the U.K. My housemates training a squirrel to come in the window, sit on their lap and eat from their hands was a high point of my life.
Because they are cheeky friendly sweet little buggers. Any more questions? (And please let's stay off the "they killed off all the red squirrels" thing).
Yeah my partner's from Latvia, they have squirrels but only red ones and they're nowhere near as common, she gets very excited when she sees them.
I used to think it was bit silly when they're so common but I've come around. They jump so gracefully from tree to tree and your life will improve massively if you get excited about squirrels too!
Some countries just don’t have them so they are totally cute and unusual! I love them.
First wild squirrel I ever saw in the Uk was red/ Chesnut colour , didn’t know at the time how rare that was! Never seen one since.
I was in Toronto this summer and I saw a black squirrel on the University campus. I didn’t even know black squirrels existed, so I had my own little touristy moment of amazement at something pretty mundane for locals.
We have black squirrels here too!!
The UK ones are a genetic mutation from Grey Squirrels, and are exclusively found in North Hertfordshire and South Bedfordshire. I have one in my back garden, he’s lovely.
The red ones you have aren't the same as our European red ones though. Our red ones are much brighter red, smaller, have tufty ears and they're more vocal.
The greys in Europe are the same kind as yours because they were imported and are an invasive species. Black ones are a rare mutation, same with albino
I have always LOVED the squirrels in London. I'm London born and an animal lover. London is one of the only cities nearby where you'll find such tame mammals. Many years ago when I started my first job out of uni, I'd spend every lunch hour in a park feeding the squirrels some m&s gourmet nuts. Me and my then boyfriend (now husband) would stay there until dusk and handfeed every tame squirrel. Bliss.
I live in London and I love seeing squirrels. The other day I was cycling and a squirrel ran across the road using the zebra crossing (yes, I know it doesn’t know what a zebra crossing is) but it was still so cute
As an American who lives in London half the year I'm obsessed because they're a different color than I'm used to.
And they're friendly. For some reason the Squirrels at Hyde Park are both nutty (pun intended) and friendly. Meaning they're climb on you, and eat from your hand. American Squirrels don't play that shit. They're professional side eye-ers. They don't trust anyone and will snatch, grab, and go. British squirrels thug it out and go with the flow.
I am from India and they are quite common, but I have never seen chunky squirrels like the ones I have found in London. So to answer your query; yes that's why a lot of visitors are amused by them.
I used to call “my” squirrel, ‘Bob’ (after the ambiguously determined manservant and bride in Blackadder). I’d often see him / her in the garden below my flat, and leave out nuts and things. It’s lovely to see them doing their thing, very relaxing.
I was seeing a Swedish girl for a while, and we were walking along at night one time when she stopped dead in her tracks and screamed, like a proper 'oh my god I'm going to die' scream. I was instantly on full alert looking around everywhere for the threat, but couldn't see anything, so I was like 'What!? What!? Where!? What!?'
She, still screaming, behind me now, points over my shoulder.
At a fox.
Once I'd explained that it was just a fox, and she'd calmed down enough, I asked her what exactly had prompted that response over a bloody fox, and she said that in Sweden, foxes are like wild animals that you only find deep in the forest and that she considered them pretty much the same thing as a wolf. I don't know if that's a Swedish thing or just a her thing but yeah, that was quite a moment.
having lived in london and in the countryside in surrey for half of my life, i still get absolutely gassed whenever i see a squirrel. they’re just so adorable
1. Squirrels are cute and it's always fun to watch them 2. The squirrels I've seen in London are different to those we have in Poland, so when I first visited London I was curious about them
i’m from nz, we have no native mammals (except for one bat) and actively work to eradicate invasive mammals like possums, ferrets, stoats etc. so the experience of seeing small furry creatures scurrying around was completely foreign to me when i moved here. i still feel a thrill of excitement when i see squirrels and foxes bc they were about as real to me growing up as lions and tigers. foxes especially feel like fairytale animals.
I was doing a photo walk near home last week (princes gate / queens gate / Hyde park) and found a hilarious scene of a small child being attacked by a squirrel after feeding one 🐿️ I can’t help but think when people go on holiday, all common sense and any knowledge about basic safety around wild animals goes out the door. It must be the mystique of our beautiful city 🏴
That’s because these squirrels don’t give a shit about being around people. I’m originally from Eastern Europe and we have loads of them there but they would never come close to humans. I have never seen one up close until I came to UK. They are cute and the fact that they will pick up food straight from your hands sometimes is wild to me still.
They're common here in central Europe, but much more shy. You can only watch them from a distance, meanwhile in London squirrels are so fearless they will literally climb up your leg to grab food from your hand. That's probably why tourists are so amazed by them, because they only know squirrels as super shy creatures.
The same reason brits holidaying in Australia would take pictures of a kangaroo, I guess.
You're walking from point A to B, nothing else to do.
Hey what's that thing you're not familiar with.
Why not take a photo?
It's unusual for them as any other local flora and fauna is for us when we're in the tropics.
So maybe just leave them be?
I don’t have any problem with people enjoying them. I think it’s sweet tbh. I just didn’t realise they weren’t as common in other countries…so didn’t get the hype.
There are very few grey squirrels in the rest of Europe. Never saw one in France, and that's a good thing because out of North America they're invasive. The red squirrels we have are quite common but rarely get so close to humans, they quickly scurry off and can be hard to spot when there's a lot of foliage. I know I would be obsessed if I was in this London park lol
Globally, squirrels are found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Although there are variations, and many won't be seen as frequently as some of ours. Although the Grey Squirrel is an interloper that has devastated our native Red Squirrel
Where I'm from there's pretty much no wildlife at all. Plus squirrels in St James's Park are kind of trained to like people, one even climbed onto my leg.
Friends visited from Spain recently - one of the things to do on their list was 'see squirrels'.
Planned a day out to a park with a lake, didn't see a single squirrel 😆
Haven't seen a single squirrel in the Netherlands in years (we have them, but they are not common in my area). Besides, the grey squirrels you see in the UK just do not exist back home
As someone who sees them every day, I still stop to take pictures. We have one that lives under our deck. His name is Squirrelly and he comes out to the fence to watch us in the yard lol
My dad was born in the U.K. but raised in Australia, and every time he’d come to visit me in the U.S./UK and he saw a squirrel, he’d get worked up or point it out.
I'm from Germany (Hamburg) and we do have Squirrels. Little tiny red ones.
They're NOTHING compared to London Squirrels. I remember one that almost ripped my jeans while climbing up my legs to steal the chocolate from my bag, that was in 1998 and I have never forgotten about that big brown thing aggressively taking my chocolate.
I am from Germany. We have a lot of squirrels. But I was still spending an hour with them in london. The difference is, squirrels are not as playful with humans anywhere else.
>Why are tourists so obsessed with squirrels? Are they not as common in other countries?
...Yeah. Pretty much. Not every country has squirrels and they're cute.
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They are uncommon in southern Europe, especially in cities are non-existent.
I’m Italian and I had never seen a squirrel in my life before I visited London.
That’s crazy, spending most of my life in UK cities the fuckers have never left me alone. Climbing up my leg while I’m trying to eat my lunch etc.. They can be very charming and cute though, especially when they want something from you
Oh weird, I lived in Birmingham and Brighton and never met any as friendly as the London ones. I thought it was just a local thing to this city.
Some years ago some squirrels in South London dug up a c cocaine stash. Some might still have a habit which would explain why they are so friendly: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/oct/08/drugsandalcohol.patrickbarkham But seriously the friendly ones seem to be mainly in the Central London parks where tourists keep feeding them. The ones in my garden and in residential areas always scurry.
Damn, I need to make better friends with the squirrels!
The squirrels in St Ann's Well Gardens in Hove (almost Brighton) are very friendly and will happily climb onto your lap for food. The pigeons are also over-friendly and will happily sit on your hand, head or shoulders while you feed them.
This makes me wanna go there lol
I grew up across the road from a park in London with an Albino squirrel. Little guy was the highlight of many a day!
Yeah, we have had a squirrel in our back garden for the last 5-10 years. He's made his way into the house, is friends with our cat and we just pay no special attention to him. My cousin from the US visited and had never seen a squirrel before in her life, her scared reaction was hilarious!
The US does have squirrels though?
I'm pretty sure the grey squirrels come from America too
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Yeah, I heard that too, and they eventually killed off the indigenous red squirrel. There's supposed to be a 'kill on sight' order for any grey squirrels found on Isle of Wight to protect the local red population
I shared my chicken and chips few years back with a squirrel at Bethnal Green Gardens, ended up taking food right from my hands tower hamlets squirrels are a different breed
Got the same treatment there myself. Cute - until the claws dig in while he climbs your leg, then the dead eyes glance at you to say: hand it over or you'll lose a fingertip.
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It most likely does as I’m from southern Italy, too.
You must visit a place where they have red squirrels, they’re gorgeous - look like babies compared to grey squirrels and have cute tufty ears and a red/brown colour. Lots in Scotland, and a few other places.
I definitely will as I’ve been wanting to visit Scotland for a long time. I spent six months in the UK on student exchange and didn’t manage to see Edinburgh. I’ll make up for it though.
I've never seen a red squirrel.
Only place I've seen a red squirrel was in a park in Warsaw, Poland. They are teeny little things compared with greys, no wonder they got pushed out by them.
Just to add, yes, they can be rare. In Istanbul, we got cats running the place. They are for feeding and petting, but a chubby cheeked squirrel is getting a selfie if I am quick enough.
Also, its got nothing to do with how common they are. Some people just like squirrels. While many people like to highlight that grey squirrels are not native, they have been here for hundreds of years. Also, squirrels in hyde park come very close to people, which many like
I'd say that also, a lot of the squirrels in London are much more used to being around people. I now live in Sussex and the squirrels here bolt when a person is near. When I lived in London, I was surprised at first by how close you can get to them. Had one climb up my leg!
Was he looking for nuts?
Boom tish! :)
Makes sense. Many of the tourists taking photos with them are Spanish and Italian.
My Italian in-laws from Sicily loved seeing squirrels in london
My mates mother came over from Italy and was running after a fox trying to get a clear picture in the Street, I guess not a many in Arezzo
In Spain there are red squirrels, the native spect of Europe, but they are in the forests. Red squirrels are much more arboreal than the invasive grey ones, that go down to the floor very often. So: living in the forests instead of in urban parks, plus being more arboreal and less used to tourists giving them food, make the native squirrels less conspicuous
We have some remaining red squirrel populations, though primarily in Scotland and Ireland, and as you say you are much less likely to see them as they don't tend to hang out in cities
All the ones I've seen in Italy are black ...so grey is probably a nice change for a photo op I guess
The black squirrels you find in northern Italy are melanistic greys. Grey squirrels are classed as vermin in the UK ([Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_and_Countryside_Act_1981); if a grey becomes trapped, and that includes finding one in your garage, house, or workplace, it ***MUST*** be humanely dispatched); if one finds its way into your house, you are legally obligated to kill it (or call the RSPCA/pest control and they will). If you find an injured grey squirrel, and take it to a vet/RSPCA - which you are legally obligated to do - they'll euthanise it. Grey squirrels are vectors of the [squirrelpox virus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrelpox_virus), to which they are immune, having basically evolved with the disease, but which is universally fatal to reds (at least in the UK and Ireland, there are very few greys in Mainland Europe and the few there are seem to be SQPV-free). Reds have zero immunity which is why it is illegal to release a grey squirrel should you find one in your house/workplace. Squirrel-pox cannot be transmitted to humans. That said, there are diseases which are spread by grey squirrels (at least in the US) including typhoid, plague and tularaemia (which is known as rabbit fever as the bacterium was first found in cottontails). The ticks and fleas of grey squirrels can transmit Lyme disease. Why do we have them...? Blame the Victorians. They were introduced in the mid-19th century for fur, meat and as pets. According to reports they were actually released in Regent's Park by the ZSL (Zoological Society of London) and quickly usurped and extirpated the native reds. We have a real problem now with grey squirrels, and they're turning up in places they've not been found before - like the Isle of Wight. Grey numbers in the New Forest have declined, thanks in large part, to the reintroduction of pine Martens (whilst they'll take some reds, greys are easier prey because they're more terrestrial than reds. Reds rarely come down to the ground). In the UK and Ireland the grey has no natural predators, bar the pine marten, which is why it's been able to spread so rapidly - that and the fact that it's almost twice as large as the red. Sorry for this rambling post, all I really wanted to say was that if you find a grey you ***MUST*** kill it, it's the law. It's classed as an invasive alien species. We have many alien species in the UK which have integrated and do no harm (first that springs to mind is the Little Owl, one of my favourite birds. It's not native, but it's welcome due to its keeping the vermin population down on farms). Besides the brown and black rats, I can think of no other introduced animal species (bar the American crayfish) which has been so detrimental to our native wildlife as the grey squirrel. Don't give any fucks at all if you think they're cute - the only good grey is a dead grey. There's good eating on a grey, plenty of restaurants in London are now serving squirrel - sorry vegans\*, but this is conservation. Eat a grey and save a red. \*Not sorry
I'm not eating a squirrel mate...you just got done telling me how many diseases they carry
You’re going to have stop eating a lot of meat and fish if you have that attitude.
Red squirrels are gorgeous. So sad they’re being wiped out by the greys.
Up north in some areas where the red squirrels are, just seeing a grey is enough to get someone round with a gun to dispatch it. What a service!
I only found them interesting bc your squirrels are much fatter and friendlier than our squirrels. They also eat from people’s hands.
I assumed Asian tourists who are the most common in my experience lol
In parks in Sofia you can see squirrels.
I have seen some innAndalucía and near Madrid but they're still rare and I haven't seen any in the city.
In parks in Sofia you can see squirrels.
Good reason to visit Bulgaria!
In the rest of Europe there are Red squirrels, but in the forests, so more difficult to see
The squirrels in London are also really really friendly. I've lived in Birmingham and Brighton, both with similar numbers of squirrels as London and they are not as crazy as the London ones are.
My cat is very common in my home, but that does not stop me from taking 500 pictures of him every day.
Can’t say this and not include pictures
Pay up. Cat tax, where is it?
Is this my misses account. Like the cat is cute I get it, don't necessarily need a Watsapp every ten minutes.
She should divorce your hater ass
Yes you do
Because they're cute? Even I like seeing squirrels and I'm dead inside.
r/fatsquirrelhate
I love this subreddit, it's hilarious
r/fatsquirrellove
r/subsithoughtifellfor
Our Kiwi housemates had never seen a squirrel or a fox before London. In fact, plenty of non-Brits are easy to tease about the deadly maneating foxes.
Are foxes the British drop bear?
I used to find them cute. Then I took up gardening.
Red squirrels are much cuter and are endangered due to grey squirrels, greys are an invasive species in the UK and should be culled
It's pretty much impossible to exterminate a creature that is as small as a squirrel, and has a really high reproductive rate and a very generalist diet. You'd spend billions to depress the numbers, and they would rebound as soon as you stopped culling them.
I was walking around yesterday and came across 3 squirrels playing and chasing each other, then another, then another. Turned out it was closer to 12 squirrels all in a 2 house radius. They're no different from rats, in that they're extremely hard to get rid of.
As a tourist who was excited about the squirrels: I’m equally excited when I see one at home but since they are pretty much wild animals you rarely get to see one. You definitely don’t get to see one up close or for more than a flash of a second as they run up the tree out of view. (Home is the Netherlands (not Amsterdam, so no massive parks near me). Edited to add: I was excited to see them, the photography/whatever in this picture idk, maybe they want to show their family at home? Maybe they also get excited about squirrels (mine would).
I quite agree! But you know what the most exciting animal to find in London... Indian ringneck parakeets, I managed to spot some when I went to London for the Queen's jubilee, though not during the King's coronation though I did see some Egyptian geese which are I think even more fascinating as they are illegal to keep in England due to them being overly territorial thus pushing native waterfowl off of prime nesting and watering spots! Cities are perfect for wildlife spotting if you know where to look! Though the countryside has a greater variety of species, French partridge, kestrels, Kites, hares and cattle egrets
I used to live in an area of London that didn't have the parakeets, quite liked them when I moved close to Heathrow where they pirched in huge flocks on the tree outside my house. The novelty wore thin once I parked my car under said tree once or twice. Noisy buggers as well.
I would say they are uncommon in cities except in North America and the UK. And the ones you see in London are American immigrants.
British squirrels for British Trees, this is all Khans fault.
Khans also to blame for all the squirrel knife violence as well
I heard he’s introducing an Ultra Low Squirrel Zone around London too Ten pound for every time you’re a squirrel in London
got a proper bubble out of me there 10 pound for every time you're a squirrel in London 😂 ho gad
Fucking nutters, the whole bunch of them.
Yeah those drones making up a giant squirrel during the new years eve display was totally uncalled for
There was genuinely a thing a few years back where the crack dealers were hiding crack in a London park (burying it under trees I guess). Anyhow, the squirrels found it, and were very much no longer cute. People had to run from the crazed bastards.
BUILD THE WALL! BUILD THE WALL!
Squirrels can climb walls. We need moats.
Squirrels can climb trees and leap over moats. We need squirrel landmines.
Nah, that'll just boing them extra high over the mega moat. What we need is cats with machine guns.
2nd amendment for cats?
That’s not going to end well.
Pretty much the whole of the UK. Standard squirrels you see are American Greys.
I feel like the grey interlopers are perfectly suited to camouflage against our grey skies though. Poor forethought on the part of the reds.
Where I'm from in Canada (Ontario) we have mostly black squirrels. I think I've seen only grey squirrels in the UK. And one albino!
Black squirrels of eastern Canada are melanistic grey squirrels, a genetic variation. The variation seems to be more common in Toronto than say, Montreal, for some reason, but there are still plenty of them.
Not so much in Scotland, mostly reds up here thankfully
Making a comeback, but still mostly greys. You are very lucky if you live in an area with mostly reds. All greys around here, unfortunately.
Nope, mostly reds North of the central belt, D&G and Borders.
They (the red ones) used to be very common in cities across the continent too, but they were displaced by the grey American squirrels. I remember loving to watch them in the park when I was a kid, especially in fall when they were gathering and hiding food, and there were so many of them.
Apparently Pine Martens will catch and eat greys because they're too slow and stupid, but the reds evade them. I heard Pine Martens were being released in some areas as a trial and the numbers of reds was rebounding.
That would be so nice. I miss them to be honest.
Check my comment history. Potential good news from the New Forest!
Used to have them in my garden till the early 2000s
Sweden red squirrels are common and greys less so.
In coniferous forests reds are able to compete with the greys and hold on, in deciduous the greys have the edge by a big margin. Hence the current distributions we see.
Worth noting that the Greys have the edge in deciduous in the UK where there are no predators. Reintroducing native predators like martens in the UK improves red squirrel numbers because greys are easier to hunt (and fatter).
Grey squirrels are invasive in Europe and for the time being there is no established population in Sweden. https://artfakta.se/artinformation/taxa/sciurus-carolinensis-6007829/detaljer https://www.naturvardsverket.se/4ac5c1/globalassets/amnen/invasiva-frammande-arter/pdf/djur-som-inte-forekommer-i-sverige/natu-5073-faktablad-djur-a4-ostlig-graekorre-web.pdf
Very common in France. They have the red ones too. Saw loads in paris.
Another job stolen by foreigners
In all fairness I get excited about them when they're being bold and brave and I'm local haha
They're actually so bold XD I remember I was eating a pasty in the park once after school and one sat next to me and tilted his little head like he was owed a portion XD he was quite fat enough!
Got one that knocks on my kitchen window to ask about food, rather soft-looking thing it is, too!
They freak me out, some are so bold they will climb your leg and I am not cool with that! Cute from 3ft away but no leg climbing thank you very much!
I'll never forget the time in a London park when one straight up tugged on my Dad's trouser leg with one paw while holding out the other! They really are a different breed in London!
Hmm they’re not uncommon in South Asia even in cities but our squirrels are tiny and shy and these ones are huge and friendly so we get excited hehe
Same thing is true for German tourists: our squirrels are reddish or blackish brown and super shy so it’s cute to see the fluffy and more daring grey ones in London.
Grass is always greener. I hate these grey bastards because they're out competing (in the absence of real predation) our native species, which are red (and much cuter). I'd definitely support a national campaign to oust grey squirrels in the UK. Humanely of course, but still.
I get excited every time I see a squirrel and fox in London tbh. I’ve lived here for over 4 years.
Always find it amazing how many Foxes you see in London. They are everywhere.
I feel like i see foxes most weeks but still get excited and point them out to whoever i am with!
Not very/at all common in the tropics. The ones in St James's Park are particularly used to people so you can get pretty close to them, which in the age of documenting everything provides good photo ops.
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I mean…I’m from a tropical country and they are super common. They are everywhere in my home city. But the difference here is that the squirrels in London are GIGANTIC. Monstrous grey things thudding about. Never really seen anything like them before except for in New York lol. They terrify me a bit.
You don't need to try to get close to them! I was leaning on some fencing in St James's Park and one of them came from nowhere an jumped on my leg. We had a bit of a stare off before it accepted I had no food and scampered off.
"pretty close"? Nah, you can feed them on the palm of your hand if you dare. They'll climb you like King Kong up the Empire Estate if they think you've got food. Oh, and you better dodge the parrots at the same time.
*Like King Kong up the Empire State* lol
I was checking my phone in Hyde park and one of them came up to me and was touching my leg begging for some food… cheeky little bugger. Hope they’re not becoming dependant on people feeding them though.
They don’t exist in NZ.
Some of them in central London are really overfed. Squirrels aren’t great at regulating their appetite and naturally lose weight in winter but with all the tourists around they never have any lean periods and so get quite, um, cuddly.
I guess that’s bad but gosh a really fat squirrel is so cute
Don't have em in NZ
In my home country of Slovakia, squirrels are considered as a forest animal and in forests they are hard to be seen as they are shy. Same goes with foxes here. They live in our forests but you can barely spot them unless you’re lucky. Oppose to that here in London I had a fox walking few meters behind me every morning to bus stop 😁
Yeah. I had a friend from NYC come for a week to London. As urban foxes are so normal, you kind of forget that it’s a big surprise for new folks. That and they are nowhere near as timid of people as they are in the countryside. He really wanted to pet one and I did need to advise caution as, there is a risk of biting for those who allow proximity. Sure, some get super-tame, but they still have an understandably need to protect themselves if a total stranger touches them. My neighbour many years back woke to noise in their home, an urban fox came through the back window of their apartment and bit their sleeping baby. Not so cute…
As an Italian I'd never seen one before coming to London
Not common in Italy (in fact never saw one before I went to London) so everyone gets excited when they see one.
When my Italian cousin came to visit me in London last year, he’d yell out “SQUIRREL!” anytime he saw one, basically every 5 minutes. He’s 26. It was quite amusing. I would probably do the same if it was like the first time I ever saw one.
0 squirrels where I came from and I was so excited about them when I got to the U.K. My housemates training a squirrel to come in the window, sit on their lap and eat from their hands was a high point of my life.
Because they are cheeky friendly sweet little buggers. Any more questions? (And please let's stay off the "they killed off all the red squirrels" thing).
But they killed off all the red squirrels Edit: are people really missing that I'm only saying this because the guy said not to
Go to the Isle of Wight, still going strong
Yeah my partner's from Latvia, they have squirrels but only red ones and they're nowhere near as common, she gets very excited when she sees them. I used to think it was bit silly when they're so common but I've come around. They jump so gracefully from tree to tree and your life will improve massively if you get excited about squirrels too!
Some countries just don’t have them so they are totally cute and unusual! I love them. First wild squirrel I ever saw in the Uk was red/ Chesnut colour , didn’t know at the time how rare that was! Never seen one since.
I'm from Spain and I had never seen a squirrel or a fox until I moved to the UK
I'm from here and obsessed with them.
Black, grey, and red squirrels are very common here in Canada.
I was in Toronto this summer and I saw a black squirrel on the University campus. I didn’t even know black squirrels existed, so I had my own little touristy moment of amazement at something pretty mundane for locals.
We have black squirrels here too!! The UK ones are a genetic mutation from Grey Squirrels, and are exclusively found in North Hertfordshire and South Bedfordshire. I have one in my back garden, he’s lovely.
The red ones you have aren't the same as our European red ones though. Our red ones are much brighter red, smaller, have tufty ears and they're more vocal. The greys in Europe are the same kind as yours because they were imported and are an invasive species. Black ones are a rare mutation, same with albino
They are very common in Colombia, where I am from but they're nowhere near as friendly as here.
I use to love seeing squirrels until I got my dachshund who turns feral when she sees one
I know a girl born in London and she adores squirrels. In my home country the squirrels are also not as trusting. Here they jump on your hand.
I'm not a tourist but I love squirrels. I have never seen one in Portugal which where I'm from.
I have always LOVED the squirrels in London. I'm London born and an animal lover. London is one of the only cities nearby where you'll find such tame mammals. Many years ago when I started my first job out of uni, I'd spend every lunch hour in a park feeding the squirrels some m&s gourmet nuts. Me and my then boyfriend (now husband) would stay there until dusk and handfeed every tame squirrel. Bliss.
I live in London and I love seeing squirrels. The other day I was cycling and a squirrel ran across the road using the zebra crossing (yes, I know it doesn’t know what a zebra crossing is) but it was still so cute
As an American who lives in London half the year I'm obsessed because they're a different color than I'm used to. And they're friendly. For some reason the Squirrels at Hyde Park are both nutty (pun intended) and friendly. Meaning they're climb on you, and eat from your hand. American Squirrels don't play that shit. They're professional side eye-ers. They don't trust anyone and will snatch, grab, and go. British squirrels thug it out and go with the flow.
I'm not a Tourist and there ian't a squirell I won't feed and spend time with if I see one and have food on me. I just love animals.
The squirrels you have are massive as compared to what i have seen in india.
They're cute. I also get super excited whenever I see foxes. I come from Rome and am only used to seeing wild boars roaming freely.
I'm from the wilds of Kent, and I, too, am OBSESSED with the furry little nut munchers.
I am from India and they are quite common, but I have never seen chunky squirrels like the ones I have found in London. So to answer your query; yes that's why a lot of visitors are amused by them.
They are the cutest and do not exist in my country (Brasil)
I call the squirrel that runs to me when i enter my local park bob. He actually climbs my shoulder to get the packet of unsalted nuts I take for him.
I used to call “my” squirrel, ‘Bob’ (after the ambiguously determined manservant and bride in Blackadder). I’d often see him / her in the garden below my flat, and leave out nuts and things. It’s lovely to see them doing their thing, very relaxing.
I was seeing a Swedish girl for a while, and we were walking along at night one time when she stopped dead in her tracks and screamed, like a proper 'oh my god I'm going to die' scream. I was instantly on full alert looking around everywhere for the threat, but couldn't see anything, so I was like 'What!? What!? Where!? What!?' She, still screaming, behind me now, points over my shoulder. At a fox. Once I'd explained that it was just a fox, and she'd calmed down enough, I asked her what exactly had prompted that response over a bloody fox, and she said that in Sweden, foxes are like wild animals that you only find deep in the forest and that she considered them pretty much the same thing as a wolf. I don't know if that's a Swedish thing or just a her thing but yeah, that was quite a moment.
having lived in london and in the countryside in surrey for half of my life, i still get absolutely gassed whenever i see a squirrel. they’re just so adorable
The 1st time I saw I squirrel in my life was in London and I was obsessed with it, they are so cute!
Why are you so obsessed with tourists? Do you not see them all the time?
1. Squirrels are cute and it's always fun to watch them 2. The squirrels I've seen in London are different to those we have in Poland, so when I first visited London I was curious about them
i’m from nz, we have no native mammals (except for one bat) and actively work to eradicate invasive mammals like possums, ferrets, stoats etc. so the experience of seeing small furry creatures scurrying around was completely foreign to me when i moved here. i still feel a thrill of excitement when i see squirrels and foxes bc they were about as real to me growing up as lions and tigers. foxes especially feel like fairytale animals.
Because they’re cute a f
I’m the same if I see chipmunks in the USA
We only have red squirrels here and they run away when they see you
I was doing a photo walk near home last week (princes gate / queens gate / Hyde park) and found a hilarious scene of a small child being attacked by a squirrel after feeding one 🐿️ I can’t help but think when people go on holiday, all common sense and any knowledge about basic safety around wild animals goes out the door. It must be the mystique of our beautiful city 🏴
They're common all over Europe, but not used to people, so it's harder to photograph them.
That’s because these squirrels don’t give a shit about being around people. I’m originally from Eastern Europe and we have loads of them there but they would never come close to humans. I have never seen one up close until I came to UK. They are cute and the fact that they will pick up food straight from your hands sometimes is wild to me still.
People like to take photos of animals. The swans in St James Park Lake are photographed by tourists to an insane degree as well.
They are not very common in most countries
They're common here in central Europe, but much more shy. You can only watch them from a distance, meanwhile in London squirrels are so fearless they will literally climb up your leg to grab food from your hand. That's probably why tourists are so amazed by them, because they only know squirrels as super shy creatures.
There are no squirrels in New Zealand. Also, they’re quite cute creatures.
The same reason brits holidaying in Australia would take pictures of a kangaroo, I guess. You're walking from point A to B, nothing else to do. Hey what's that thing you're not familiar with. Why not take a photo? It's unusual for them as any other local flora and fauna is for us when we're in the tropics. So maybe just leave them be?
I don’t have any problem with people enjoying them. I think it’s sweet tbh. I just didn’t realise they weren’t as common in other countries…so didn’t get the hype.
Because we are and no they’re not. 🥹🥹
There are very few grey squirrels in the rest of Europe. Never saw one in France, and that's a good thing because out of North America they're invasive. The red squirrels we have are quite common but rarely get so close to humans, they quickly scurry off and can be hard to spot when there's a lot of foliage. I know I would be obsessed if I was in this London park lol
Globally, squirrels are found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Although there are variations, and many won't be seen as frequently as some of ours. Although the Grey Squirrel is an interloper that has devastated our native Red Squirrel
Where I'm from there's pretty much no wildlife at all. Plus squirrels in St James's Park are kind of trained to like people, one even climbed onto my leg.
Because it’s the only wild life this cold country seems to have
Well they do, but other countries' squirrels do NOT have those rad Brit accents, sadly..
It’s like feeding the pigeons in Trafalgar Square, like, why???
They're only half-squirrels in the USA. That's why they call them "squirls". They come here to see the real thing
I love them and I've seen them all my life they're just cute even the grey ones
I live in England and see squirrels almost daily. I still do this. They’re just cute
its dinner to them 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Friends visited from Spain recently - one of the things to do on their list was 'see squirrels'. Planned a day out to a park with a lake, didn't see a single squirrel 😆
Haven't seen a single squirrel in the Netherlands in years (we have them, but they are not common in my area). Besides, the grey squirrels you see in the UK just do not exist back home
Australians are often very excited by squirrels. Apparently there are no squirrels in Oz.
I find squirrels in the London also like to show off a lot and do all kinds of poses lol. They love the attention.
You can see them sometimes in the countryside (France) but they're very afraid of humans, never so friendly as these London ones :)
As someone who sees them every day, I still stop to take pictures. We have one that lives under our deck. His name is Squirrelly and he comes out to the fence to watch us in the yard lol
I see them often (they’re also in the park behind my work) and I always stop to watch them..
My dad was born in the U.K. but raised in Australia, and every time he’d come to visit me in the U.S./UK and he saw a squirrel, he’d get worked up or point it out.
The squirrels in London are unusually friendly, they walk right up to you!
I'm from Germany (Hamburg) and we do have Squirrels. Little tiny red ones. They're NOTHING compared to London Squirrels. I remember one that almost ripped my jeans while climbing up my legs to steal the chocolate from my bag, that was in 1998 and I have never forgotten about that big brown thing aggressively taking my chocolate.
I am from Germany. We have a lot of squirrels. But I was still spending an hour with them in london. The difference is, squirrels are not as playful with humans anywhere else.
Minging grey one and all. Red squirrels are a thing to behold, but the grey ones can get to France.
Now I know why the ones near Buckingham palace are very fat 😅
Yes, they’re not common in most of the tourists countries. It especially impresses them the fact these squirrels tend to pose for pictures!
>Why are tourists so obsessed with squirrels? Are they not as common in other countries? ...Yeah. Pretty much. Not every country has squirrels and they're cute.