Fake News: The Squirrel who lived
This is a response to “in memoriam: the Fayerwheather Squirrel.”
I know that many of you were disheartened to find out about the untimely demise of the North Fayerweather squirrel. I grieved daily, and yet, I needn’t have. For I have seen him, alive and well, scurrying around, not once, not thrice, but two times, and I have the pictures to prove it.
The first sighting occurred at 5 a.m. on a Thursday morning, nearly three weeks after the alleged death of the N-fay Squirrel. I had not yet slept, for I had just crammed an entire semester of economics into my head in preparation for an exam I had in three hours. I was on my way back to my dorm, North Fayerweather, when I spotted movement out of the corner of my half-closed eyes. I stood still and slowly turned my head to see what, at the time, I figured was just some random squirrel retrieving his nuts out of the ground at this ungodly hour. However, as I looked a little closer I noticed his long and thin tail. I would’ve recognized that tail anywhere; it was so distinctive. It matched perfectly the tail of the squirrel that was photographed for Sami’s blog post and presentation. I believed perhaps it was just my sleep deprivation playing tricks on my eyes, and yet still, when I rubbed them, the squirrel did not disappear. It stared at me, and I stared at it. It’s a ghost then, I thought, sent back from the dead to haunt me for my small role in its death. So, I started approaching it, and I realized it was very much real. I leaped for joy, for I had not killed the beloved squirrel. Of course, my squeal of happiness startled it, and it ran away, but not before I snapped a picture.
The image on the left is one taken from Sami’s blog; the one on the right was taken last Thursday morning. The tail is very clearly the same.
One may think it’s impossible to distinguish from one squirrel to another, but if you look hard enough, as I have learned to do, you will see the difference and the similarities. Luckily I had taken a picture of the accident, so I compared it to the photo of the squirrel I had just spotted.
The tail on the left (from the deceased squirrel) is bushier, and short. The squirrel I saw has a much longer tail proportional to its body, as pictured on the right (the squirrel curled up his body in this photo, but one can still tell the length of it is rather long). The other day, as I was moving out, I saw it again, watching me pack up my car. Perhaps it had come to say goodbye, to wish me well, or to remind me to be careful on the road.
Nature is all around us, we must be mindful of it, not just for our pleasure or relaxation, but to protect it. If we are not watching for nature, whether a squirrel running into the street, or a parking lot being built over an old park, then it will disappear, and by the time we notice, it will be too late to save it.
Stay vigilant, stay caring,
Evan Kelmar
