Squirrels

[greg72982]

Squirrel creates explosion, thousands without power


Greenwich, Conn. (WTNH) - A squirrel is to blame for the power outage that left half of Greenwich customers in the dark this morning.

CL&P spokesman Mitch Gross said there was a problem at the substation in the Cos Cob area of town.

A squirrel got into the substation and caused an explosion around 8:15 this morning.

The explosion created flames that soared 150 feet into the air.

CL&P reported that 14,507 customers lost power as a result of the incident, including a police station, whose generators did not work. Officers were in the dark, but now have the power back on. They never lost their emergency phone lines.

Additionally, traffic lights were reported out, causing traffic problems, and people were stuck in elevators.

CL&P has 27,910 customers in Greenwich.

Gross said that the power is returning to the area, and it should be returned to all customers in a few hours.

The squirrel did not survive the explosion.

Squirrel creates explosion, thousands without power in Greenwich | wtnh.com Connecticut

[retdetsgt]

See, they're little terrorists....

[greg72982]

See, they're little terrorists....

Yes, suicide bombers apparently...

[4goods]

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.The squirrel did not survive the explosion.
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See, they're little terrorists....

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It would appear the one from Greenwich, is a dead one!

[Andrew G.]

I have to agree with Creeker here...

They're delicious.

[greg72982]

Purple squirrel goes free, leaving mystery behind
By Alan Boyle

We may never know what made the purple squirrel of Jersey Shore purple, but experts don't doubt that it really was a squirrel of a different color.
"It's not typical, but it's not impossible," said Harold Cole, a warden with the Pennsylvania Game Commission who investigated the case.
Percy Emert, a resident of the town in central Pennsylvania, said he and his wife caught the squirrel on Sunday in a trap, using peanuts as bait.
"At first I thought somebody around here was playing tricks," he said. The family took pictures of the animal in its cage and posted them on Facebook. Then, on Tuesday, they set the squirrel free.

The pigment really hit the fan once the online pictures were featured on AccuWeather's website. Now the Purple Squirrel has its own Facebook page with more than 3,800 fans. It didn't hurt that a "purple squirrel" also happens to be engineering slang for an impossibly ideal job candidate.
The only problem is that beyond the Emerts and their friends, no one actually saw the squirrel or was able to study it. The family did hang onto some of the fur that was left behind in the cage, along with some tail trimmings — and they gave those samples to Cole when he was called to the scene.
Cole said the hairs could be passed along to a lab for an analysis, but the game commission itself won't be pursuing the case any further. As purple as it is, the squirrel doesn't appear to pose a hazard or be suffering from disease.
"The squirrel looks healthy in the picture there, except that he doesn't want to be in that cage," he said.

Cole also doesn't think the Emerts dyed the critter, which would be illegal. But he wouldn't rule out the possibility that someone else may have colored the squirrel previously to keep track of it. In fact, there are several possible explanations for the purpleness.
One is that the squirrel picked up a purple stain in the course of its perambulations. In 2008, a purple squirrel was sighted near a school in England, and experts suggested that the animal got into some discarded containers of printer ink toner. AccuWeather meteorologist Henry Margusity joked that the Pennsylvania squirrel "could have been looking for somewhere warm and fallen into a Port-a-Potty or something similar."

Cole said it's also possible that the squirrel ingested something that lent a purple tinge to the fur — maybe the local pokeberries, maybe an industrial compound, maybe even a food containing purple pigment. The game warden pointed to the example of flamingos, which get their pink or orange color from the food they eat.

Unless the purple squirrel makes a reappearance and gets a scientific going-over, the case will remain up for debate, much like the fabled Minnesota sighting of 1997. In the meantime, Harold Cole and Percy Emert are continuing to field phone calls and press inquiries about the mystery — so much so that Emert's wife, Connie, is sorry that the poor critter was caught in the first place.
"She just wishes we let it go," Percy Emert said.

Cosmic Log - Purple squirrel goes free, leaving mystery behind

[MikeG]

Isn't this an easter tradition at most houses? Capture your neighbors small furry pets, dip them in various colors and the see if they can still find their now hideous and terrified rodent/pet. Safety yellow is my favorite as well as the coyotes in the area. It's like Gummy squirrels.

[retdetsgt]

See, squirrels are terrorists!

Squirrels gone wild' chomp West Linn cars


WEST LINN, Ore. -- It's 'Squirrels gone wild' - and car owners are paying the price.
Randy Lenz is just one of several West Linn homeowners victimized by squirrels chomping into the wiring of area cars.
“Every time I get up in the morning, I hope all the lights don't go on,” Lenz laughs.
But the problem is no laughing matter. Lenz says his SUV has been hit twice in the past month. Squirrels ate away the insulation from a firewall under his hood.
“The last time, they really hit it hard,” says Lenz. “It’s like getting your house broken into, wow. What can you do? Can’t move!”
The rain seems to slow the squirrels down, but when the weather is dry, that's when the animals attack.
Another neighbor, Bob Brune, found leaves and a nest inside the engine compartment of his truck. The repair cost him $325.
Mechanic Russ Leinbach says he's fixed four other cars in his shop with the same problem.
“Why, all of a sudden? That's the perplexing thing,” says Leinbach. “I don't know!”
The residents are now using cans of mothballs, pepper spray and traps in hopes of fending off the furry animals.
The squirrels’ curious attraction to car wiring remains a mystery to neighbors.
But Bob Brune has another solution. He has trapped four squirrels already so far, and released them across the river in Clackamette Park.
“A lot of big trees, and nice area, so I thought they'd like it over there!”

'Squirrels gone wild' chomp West Linn cars | kgw.com Portland

[MikeyD]

I never even thought squirrels could get under your hood like that. Now I wonder if they're the cause of some of my recent car trouble because there are loads of those suckers here.

[MikeG]

But Bob Brune has another solution. He has trapped four squirrels already so far, and released them across the river in Clackamette Park.
“A lot of big trees, and nice area, so I thought they'd like it over there!”

I do that too. Lift the spring up and let the quadrapalegic squirrels drop and enjoy the view of the nice park.

[greg72982]

Why do you people have to be so negative?


Here is a squirrel doing good in the world. It is making money so its owner can buy drugs err help other animals and pay for the owner's friend's medical ailments?
Animal Tracks - Meet Winkelheimer, the painting squirrel