2008 Woodie Awards
Critter contraceptives?
Researchers to reduce squirrel damage to trees through population control.
By: Louise Goodman
Issue date: 6/13/08 Section: News
Walking to class one afternoon, Blake Daniel pops a piece of gum into his mouth and casually saunters over to a nearby trash can to toss away the wrapper. As he reaches to drop the piece of cellophane, his hand is suddenly met by an unexpected tickle from the whiskers of a gray squirrel.
"It came out of nowhere!" said Daniel. "I should be used to this by now; it wouldn't be the first time a squirrel's jumped out of a random place at me."
Like all who traverse the Clemson campus, the freshman engineering major's daily strolls are often punctuated by sightings of the frisky creatures. This daily contact has lead to varying opinions on Clemson's furry residents. While some think they are adorable assets to the University's campus, others are disconcerted by how little wariness the squirrels seem to have when it comes to racing out in front of automobiles, scampering across sidewalks and darting out of trashcans.
The gray squirrel population has exploded across the Clemson community mainly because the environment holds few predators for the furry rodents. As cute as the squirrels may be, Clemson's landscaping crews say they are doing serious damage to the campus plant life. Gray squirrels' habit of gnawing and stripping bark can destroy even fully grown trees.
In fact, landscaping crews have recorded more than 100 trees completely destroyed by the squirrels. Additionally, 100 more trees have been documented as having squirrel-induced damage.
An arborist not affiliated with Clemson stated that the destruction of a single tree by the gray squirrel represents a $13,275 loss. The squirrels can also damage pricey ornamental shrubs and electrical power transformers.
Of course, this doesn't warrant cruelty to the squirrels that are simply following their instincts. Dr. Greg Yarrow, a professor of ecology at Clemson, in conjunction with the USDA Wildlife Center, is leading a project to creatively and humanely deal with the squirrel overpopulation problem. Yarrow, assisted by two wildlife and fisheries biology Ph.D. candidates Murali Pai and Cady Etheredge, is experimenting with two different forms of squirrel birth control.
"It came out of nowhere!" said Daniel. "I should be used to this by now; it wouldn't be the first time a squirrel's jumped out of a random place at me."
Like all who traverse the Clemson campus, the freshman engineering major's daily strolls are often punctuated by sightings of the frisky creatures. This daily contact has lead to varying opinions on Clemson's furry residents. While some think they are adorable assets to the University's campus, others are disconcerted by how little wariness the squirrels seem to have when it comes to racing out in front of automobiles, scampering across sidewalks and darting out of trashcans.
The gray squirrel population has exploded across the Clemson community mainly because the environment holds few predators for the furry rodents. As cute as the squirrels may be, Clemson's landscaping crews say they are doing serious damage to the campus plant life. Gray squirrels' habit of gnawing and stripping bark can destroy even fully grown trees.
In fact, landscaping crews have recorded more than 100 trees completely destroyed by the squirrels. Additionally, 100 more trees have been documented as having squirrel-induced damage.
An arborist not affiliated with Clemson stated that the destruction of a single tree by the gray squirrel represents a $13,275 loss. The squirrels can also damage pricey ornamental shrubs and electrical power transformers.
Of course, this doesn't warrant cruelty to the squirrels that are simply following their instincts. Dr. Greg Yarrow, a professor of ecology at Clemson, in conjunction with the USDA Wildlife Center, is leading a project to creatively and humanely deal with the squirrel overpopulation problem. Yarrow, assisted by two wildlife and fisheries biology Ph.D. candidates Murali Pai and Cady Etheredge, is experimenting with two different forms of squirrel birth control.
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Lemonade Diet
posted 7/19/08 @ 2:03 AM EST
It is a strange idea to think about but I guess it is a humane way to deal with the problem. But would it not be humane to kill them? That is what we do with pigs, chickens and cows. (Continued…)
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