crazy squirrels??

Question

Hi i really love animals and am interested in the behaviours of almost any creature recently, ive realised that one or two squirrels come and sit ontop of the tree in my backyard. and they just freeze. they absolutely do not move. that lasts for minutes. and theyre tail is flat on theiir back (i think because of the cold temperature). Then after a couple of minutes they slowly get back to grooming or searching for food. But ive only seen this twice. and its only on this one tree! Its so wierd. they look like theyre dead (except in a kind of sitting position with open eyes) its almost as if to trick people. but no one is around and they do it out of nowehere. Also, not only that, but two years back at my old school there was this one squirrel who suddenly ran around people, and even came up to me and sat on my shoes. People acted very dumb and tried to pet the poor thing. and it wud just get so scared, but still continue to run into people. it even went inside the school. What was wrong

And i do know that squirrels are not domesticated like dogs and cats and it was cruel to just ran after it (as it ran towards you) and pet it. Was it just mentally disabled?

Answer 1

In regard to the 'freezing` behavior:
Remember that all sorts of predators, some airborne,
consider squirrels a tasty snack.
Freezing in place, (so they are harder to spot) , and
checking out the neighborhood is a survival tactic.

In regard to the squirrel that 'circled people`, I'm
afraid the poor little guy may have been partially
blind. Squirrels often run up to, and behind, trees
before climbing in a pattern similar to what you describe.
He was probably shocked when the 'tree` moved.

Answer 2

Perhaps the squirrel was in shock. Maybe a camera flash damaged its eyes or something, and could not see where he was going. As for the other two squirrels, they are probably just observing. There used to be a squirrel who lived in my back yard, and i got to know him very well. He was chased across the street and lives there now. But, just before that, i would always watch him. Sometimes he would just stand there, gazing all around him with his bulgy, black eyes. He never took his eye off me when i was around either. Squirrels are probably the most cautious animals i know.

Answer 3

I think the squirrel that sat on your shoe had become acclaimated to people as someone was obviously feeding him, and he thought you would do the same. He was probably entering the school to find food, or to find the person that had been feeding him. I knew of a squirrel that was entering peoples houses through an open door or window and raiding their trash and food shelves.

Answer 4

I've seen some amazing squirrels on videos.
I looked in You Tube and did not find the exact video(s) I remember, but found many cute squirrel videos, so I linked one below. Maybe it will cheer up an animal lover.