Editor's note: All opinions, columns and letters reflect the views of the individual writer and not necessarily those of the IDS or its staffers.
As you stroll down a tree-lined sidewalk, a cinnamon-grey blur bounds across your path. It freezes, bushy-tailed, at your side and turns to sniff the air in your direction.
Its whiskers twitch with anticipation in the cool October breeze. As oak leaves tumble gently around you, the squirrel’s gleaming black eyes meet yours. You aren’t sure, but those eyes seem to plead, “Just one fry, I won’t tell anybody.”
We’ve all been there. Bloomington’s resident tree-scaling maestros are impressively comfortable with human interaction, in large part thanks to a keen sense of smell and ability to associate us with food.
But before you consider giving in to the hypnotic draw of their begging, beady eyes, realize that you might be doing more harm than good — and not just because it could be seriously bad for the critter’s health.
Squirrels, like all wild animals, have specialized diets and require specific nutrients to survive. Fox squirrels, like the ones that dominate Bloomington, have evolved over millions of years to become specialized foragers of nuts, berries, acorns and more. While they might find our food delicious, there’s no guarantee that a man-made snack provides the correct vitamins and amino acids squirrels need to function.
Here’s another important fact to consider: chips and popcorn don’t turn into trees after you bury them. Squirrels might have a killer sniffer, but even the most elite stashers don’t find every acorn they entomb in the fall. The more squirrels fill up on junk food, the less they need to stash and inadvertently plant the acorns and seeds that sprout up in the spring.
Even if you hand a squirrel one of its favorite wild foods — say, a walnut you found lying in the grass — you still wouldn’t be doing it any favors. When an animal learns to approach humans for food, it can lose some of its natural foraging skills. Would you waste your time gnawing through nutshells when you know you could probably get an inter-species loan somewhere else?
Animals that lose their ability to find food like they would in nature become dependent on human sources — and if humans aren’t around to feed them, they can starve. So, if you feed that squirrel today, you might set it up to go hungry in the future.
If you care about the long-term health of our furry, tree-dwelling friends, it should be clear by now that feeding them yourself is not how to interact with them. Squirrels are more than capable of feeding themselves.
They’ve been doing it since the dawn of their species, after all. And when we humans interfere with their natural behaviors, we strip them of something even more important than their survival skills: their independence.
Unlike us, squirrels come into the world with a purpose that doesn’t require a lifetime of searching. From the moment they’re born, a squirrel’s goal is always the same, as it is for any animal: to survive and reproduce. They’re unburdened by self-awareness and single-mindedly obsessed with performing their natural duties.
Whenever we hand out a well-meaning snack, we allow them to shortcut an important and challenging part of their existence. Of course, the squirrel will take it — searching for food is hard work, after all — but that hard work is what they’re designed to do. That hard work is what makes a squirrel life worth living.
Put yourself in the squirrel’s shoes — er, paws — for a minute. Which sounds like the more fulfilling life to you: one where you struggle, fail and face challenges again and again to discover and achieve your life’s purpose, or one where a giant you regularly approach hands you shortcuts from inside their backpack?
Trust me, I get the appeal. Watching a squirrel eat trail mix out of your hand is a magical experience, and in the moment, it feels like you’re helping them out. But with thousands of students on campus to provide, even one fry is one too many if you truly care about the wellbeing and independence of these marvelous rodents.
Instead, you might consider watching them from afar, or at least without interfering in their natural lives. I find that squirrels are much more interesting to watch doing squirrelly things than begging for leftover carbs.
No matter what they’re doing, I can promise you this: those beady black eyes will be just as captivating as the day you met on the sidewalk under the oak trees, even if you don’t give in to the pleading.
Spencer Schaberg (he/him) is a junior studying microbiology.
