aroundtheworl d

aninterview with Billand

Coming to college, I was excited about a lot of things, but I was also very nervous. Like so many others coming to Rutgers, I was staying in the state but going away from home to a completely different setting. I would be leaving all the people I knew, leaving my safe suburban high school life, and entering New Brunswick. As someone who loves the environment, I was uncertain how to cope with limited green space and animals (my dogs and wildlife). For this reason, seeing squirrels around campus always brought me a sense of euphoria. Studying abroad in Costa Rica for spring break, I was awestruck when I saw squirrels on the last day. Squirrels are widespread, so they are often overlooked, but many different types bring the wilderness to cities worldwide. In NJ, there are two types of squirrels, flying squirrels (which glide) and gray squirrels, which are gray with lightercolored underbellies (“Squirrels”). The Eastern Grey Squirrel is the most common in the United States. Their native range begins in southern Quebec, through NJ, down to Florida, and into eastern Texas. They have been introduced to many locations throughout the US (and have become invasive in Europe) ("Maryland as aforementioned, gray squirrels are the species that people see most often in their backyards and parks, but in some regions, they are invasive and disrupt the ecology. They were introduced to Europe purposely as an ornamental species in the late 1800s through the early 1900s until the damage they were causing was recognized. They eat the food from bird feeders, destroy the bark of trees, which costs the timber industry millions, and damage maize and fruit crops. Gray squirrels also eat native birds’ eggs and nestlings. Perhaps the worse outcome is their effect on the native red squirrels which have been nearly extinct since the gray squirrels out-compete them for food and habitat and carry a lethal squirrel pox that kills the native species, but the invasive squirrels are immune to (“Economic and Environmental Damage,” 2023). While gray squirrels bring beauty to NJ cities, action must be taken to remove them from Europe to protect the red squirrels. Both red and gray squirrels live primarily in temperate deciduous forests, but squirrels live in tropical forests, such as the Variegated Squirrel. I saw some of these tree squirrels while they were trying to get people’s food at the hotel in Costa Rica, reminding me of the New Brunswick squirrels. They can be found in many other countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. Like the gray squirrels, this species is widespread. Seeing their fantastic coloration stopped me in my tracks. These squirrels vary in appearance depending on the individual population, ranging from dark brown to yellowish-gray with different stripes. All Variegated Squirrels are medium size with long bushy tails. They are solitary, herbivores, and remarkably agile (“Variegated Squirrel,” 2023).

, , g , DC, was done as a part of the movement to bring nature into cities. While squirrels prefer nuts, seeds, and fruits, they are omnivores, will eat almost anything, and are willing to try new things. Their eating habits and their reception of people have enabled them to flourish in cities and become a part of the community (“History of American Urban Squirrel,” 2013).