The Cute Animal Pics/Videos Thread

[Arcadia]

Awww, I love chipmunks, they're adorable and not destructive like squirrels. Alas, a few years ago I had a cat that loved them too, and she wiped out our backyard population. Total annihilation. I still feel bad about it. (On the other hand, this same cat also wiped out the voles that were tearing up the yard, so she wasn't all bad. And she never even looked at a bird. She'd grab a butterfly when she could, though... ah, the joys of being owned by a cat.)

 

Squirrels apparently aren't hard to tame. I remember visiting the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington DC several years ago, and one of the park rangers strolled into the area ... and 2-3 squirrels immediately ran up to him and onto his shoulders, looking for handouts. He said it took just a few days to train them to do that. I spent the whole time talking to him and completely missed the ceremony......

[Arcadia]

Back in 2010, the DC area underwent the Snowpocalypse, aka Snowmageddon, aka Snowmygosh. At any rate, we had a LOT of snow. In the spirit of making lemonade out of lemons, my art guild sponsored an "Art of Snow" photo contest. This was the winning entry:

 

 

The photographer included this description: "Our resident chipmunk tunnelled his way up the 26 inches or so of snow [trying to reach the bird feeder] and ended up just outside our sunroom window. So much for chipmunks hibernating!"

[Ruthyone]

Ho! Ho! Ho!

[by the sea]

Chipmunks are adorable.  They seem to be the more refined members of the rodent family ... quiet, curious but not pushy and very handsome in their striped suits.  We see them from time to time at my white lilac ... Rocky the Red Squirrel's usual haunt.  We have some lovely, wooded parkland around town and while walking my late, lamented Little Hairy Hamish we'd often see a chipmunk or two in the woods.  Hamish would take off like a shot (always on his leash, of course, in the park !) and the chipmunks would quite literally disappear.  Poor Hamish would be standing there with his "which way did they go ?" expression but always more vigilant for the experience.  Creature-spotting is a lot of fun ! :D 

 

Debbie

[Caya]

 

[Bendydoodle Cantaloupe]

"But Mooooom, I don't wanna go outside!" :P

[Caya]

[Ruthyone]

[Caya]

[Arcadia]

Ahhh, bliss.

[Caya]

[Ruthyone]

[Arcadia]

!!!

[SherlockedCAMPer]

That poor cat. It doesn't look very happy.

[Carol the Dabbler]

It's saying, "Oh, my aching dignity!"

 

[Caya]

Looks more like, "You don't seem to value your skin very much" to me :P.

 

[Caya]

[Carol the Dabbler]

Koala?

 

[Caya]

Yep, baby koala at a wildlife rescue station.

 

[Caya]

[Arcadia]

Ehrmagerd, is it even real?!?!? Squeeeeeee!!

[Ruthyone]

Drunk again!!!!!

[Ruthyone]

[Arcadia]

Funny, you wouldn't think they'd be so scared of a little thing like that... :D

[Ruthyone]

Cross-eyed kitty!.......