Day 11.254: Bad year for squirrels

Squirrels - however annoying we may find them at times - are not generally considered to be stupid creatures. In fact they have been featured as being quite clever (when offered hard to reach food):


Maybe as a result of this, they are not animals I generally associate with becoming roadkill - occasionally but definitely not commonly.

Except that this year they are everywhere.

On one trip I counted sixteen just on one on-ramp to the highway.

Apparently, a bumper acorn crop last year allowed more of them than usual to survive the winter, and now they are desperate to find enough food to get them through another one - and are not having as much luck. Many of them are having a lot less luck.