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Squirrels hunting and eating meat

gizmodo.com

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Re: Squirrels hunting and eating meat

#41

Post by mannykannot »

manquer wrote: post #8
thaumasiotes wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently cows are happy to eat nestlings if they happen to find a bird's nest while they're grazing. If you're an animal, there's no food better than meat.

That would only be true if you have the stomach biome to digest and extract the nutrients. What is the point of eating something that is hard to process and digest and has no nutritional value for you For herbivores, meat is objectively bad food .

I would guess that a digestive system that can extract adequate nutrition from grass will extract something of value from meat. On the other hand, if the meat content became a significant part of the diet, I can imagine it could become harmful, for example by messing with the digestive process or by delivering toxic levels of certain products.

Re: Squirrels hunting and eating meat

#42

Post by RajT88 »

zmj wrote: post #2

Everything is an opportunistic carnivore. I once came across a turtle chowing down on a dead frog.

Turtles are carnivores, no? They are bitey as hell. All of them. You catch them on cut bait, worms, minnows when fishing. Even the ones without very sharp mouths, like softshell turtles.

Re: Squirrels hunting and eating meat

#44

Post by gazook89 »

tzs wrote: post #37
Loughla wrote: post #18

At my parents house, the squirrels often kill and eat bluejays. I'm the winter they hide the wings in snow drifts. When the spring thaw comes there will be dozens of disembodied bird wings scattered around the yard. I thought it was common knowledge that squirrels are opportunistic. They're rodents. They eat whatever they can get.

There are many different species of squirrel, and different species have different diets. Knowing nothing about where your parent's house is but guessing it is somewhere in the US if I had to bet I'd bet that the squirrels there are Eastern gray squirrels. They are native to the Eastern US but have taken up residence in much of the rest of the country. One of the reasons they do well outside of their native habitat i…

In Minneapolis, MN, there is a historical plaque that notes the day and location of the first gray squirrels introduced to the city as a gift from Seattle/Washington. It’s in Loring Park.

So kind of opposite direction.

Re: Squirrels hunting and eating meat

#45

Post by manquer »

WorkerBee28474 wrote: post #12
manquer wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would only be true if you have the stomach biome to digest and extract the nutrients. What is the point of eating something that is hard to process and digest and has no nutritional value for you For herbivores, meat is objectively bad food .

You're wrong. Cows will eat meat, horses will eat meat, pigs will eat meat, chickens will eat meat, deer will eat meat. If they can get it in their mouth, they will eat it.

Anything can any thing , that is not what I said .

OP implied they like it if they can get it, and is the better food for them , that is not true

Re: Squirrels hunting and eating meat

#48

Post by noduerme »

loudandskittish wrote: post #47

...something happened. Growing up, I had cats that ate squirrels. Then, sometime around the early 2000s, I had cats that were being chased by squirrels.

My ex's cat spent a lot of time outdoors and in the barn, and picked up the "chit-chit-chit" noise that angry squirrels make. The cat does it every time she's annoyed.

Re: Squirrels hunting and eating meat

#50

Post by thaumasiotes »

manquer wrote: post #45
WorkerBee28474 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're wrong. Cows will eat meat, horses will eat meat, pigs will eat meat, chickens will eat meat, deer will eat meat. If they can get it in their mouth, they will eat it.

Anything can any thing , that is not what I said . OP implied they like it if they can get it, and is the better food for them , that is not true

It is true. If you prefer grass to birds, you can just go around the birds as you find them. The grass isn't going anywhere.
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