After forty-four years of practicing law, I thought I finally had a chance to redesign my life and pursue new adventures. Learning to communicate with a wild squirrel was definitely not on my bucket list.
Living in the same home for many years without noticing the creatures in the backyard is not unusual for an attorney. I was no exception. Imagine how surprised I was to find that there were nocturnal and early morning visitors every day. Learning that I could communicate with these creatures using body language and sounds was even more surprising.
Whether attorneys are litigators or negotiators, they are supposed to be effective and persuasive communicators. Good communication skills begin with observing body language. We humans express our emotional tendencies through body language, such as gesturing and movement patterns. Surprise! Squirrels also use similar nonverbal communication cues.
I met Little Squirrel (also known as “LS”) several months ago when I observed him from my bedroom window. He was doing his high-wire balancing act on a very thick cable conduit that hung approximately 15 feet above our neighbor’s backyard.
As I watched this acrobatic squirrel, I wondered if he, like Karl Wallenda, could always walk on a tightrope without a net to break his fall. No worries. He gracefully glided to a spot above the neighbor’s orange tree. Without hesitation, he fell head-first into the tree, disappeared momentarily, and then nimbly jumped onto a ledge of our cinder block wall. In his mouth, he held a very small object which he removed and grasped in both of his hand-like paws. Sitting up, his bushy tail formed a question mark bigger than his tiny body. I appropriately thought he was a “Little Squirrel.”
When I opened our back door so I could see him better, he took one startled look in my direction. Stuffing a small piece of orange in his mouth, he took off in powerful leaps along the wall, leaving behind him a trail of orange debris.
Research is second nature to attorneys. We know that research is always prudent and necessary before engaging in any new subject (or case). I decided, therefore, to consult my best research tool about gray squirrels. You guessed it! Google!
According to the “experts,” squirrels are one of the five most intelligent mammals. They are full of mystery and usually afraid of humans. They are also one of the most skittish creatures around with surprising strength and speed. Their sharp claws and natural behaviors make them poor companions to humans.
The experts further opine that squirrels know far more than they can communicate. They also have conceptual representations that they cannot express. Those comments actually captured my interest since some of my former clients had the same characteristics. I definitely wanted to know more about LS.
I found literature confirming that squirrels do share some personality traits expressed in humans. Like humans, squirrels use body language to communicate and convey emotions. They flick their tails as a warning or when they’re in a fighting mode. They’re more alert when their posture is erect or relaxed. They use ear positions such as twitching or vertically raising their ears to signal aggression or danger.
Squirrels and many other species also share sophisticated cognitive abilities that have long preceded human language. Experts, however, are not entirely sure to what extent animals and humans share these cognitive processes underlying our communication systems.
I realized that if I wanted to understand the chattering and rambling of squirrels, it was necessary to notice their body language and the types of sounds they make. I was amazed to learn that humans and squirrels share and use three basic forms of signs in communication: sound, odor, and body movement.
I knew this journey would require a lot of patience. Retirement has its merits. I’m not on a clock or required to turn in billable hours. I actually was not wasting time. I was investing in it.
Just like a good chef who can entice anyone with a tasty meal, I wondered if I could befriend a squirrel with food. I checked again with my favorite research tool, Google. I learned that I should not give a squirrel food that will make it harder to forage or dodge its predators. I also should not feed a squirrel human junk food, although it will be eaten and enjoyed. Obesity is a human condition that I certainly didn’t want to pass on to a rodent.
I decided to try to simulate LS’s natural feeding habits and just feed him occasionally. I didn’t want to curtail his ability to hunt or scavenge for his meals. I started leaving some small walnut pieces on the same ledge where I had first seen him. The nuts disappeared each time without my seeing any squirrel. I was not even sure that it was a squirrel eating the walnuts. So, I stopped leaving them.
While looking for LS, I did notice other trespassing critters. There were beautiful raccoons, three skunks in the front yard, a small possum, hummingbirds, an egret, a nocturnal mouse, monarch butterflies, and multiple-size lizards doing push-ups to cool down or send messages of potential threats.
One night, when I went to pick up the uneaten walnuts from the ledge, I saw a small mouse eating one of the walnuts. We startled each other! His piercing stare and tense body language conveyed a message that I immediately understood. He wanted the rest of those nuts. I felt sorry for the little guy and left the nuts. I wondered later if I was using good judgment, leaving those nuts for a rodent. I was consoled, however, when I remembered, “Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.”
The facial expressions of this mouse and LS were so similar that I wondered if squirrels were considered rodents. Foolish thought. Squirrels ARE rodents! Actually, prairie dogs, chipmunks, woodchucks, and marmots are all terrestrial rodents.
After weeks of frustration, I was surprised early one morning to see LS sitting on the ledge. He was staring at our back door. I immediately grabbed a few walnuts, slowly opened our back door, and made some clicking sounds as I approached him. I wanted to assure him I was harmless and friendly. LS was carefully observing me with those large black eyes that never blinked. I kept making the clicking sound. Using sound and body movement, I hoped he would recognize at least two of the three basic communication signs we humans are supposed to share with critters.
This fantastic creature kept staring at me, but he didn’t move when I stepped up on the brick border surrounding our rose bushes. I gently laid a plain walnut on the ledge next to him, stepped back down, and watched.
LS picked up the walnut with both of his front paws. Using his four narrow toes and tiny claws on each paw, he lifted it to his mouth. While he sat facing me, the walnut rapidly evaporated as he chewed on it. Without moving away, LS watched me carefully place a shelled peanut beside him. That was interesting. He took the shell in his paws, turning it over and over until it could fit in his mouth. He then gnawed a small hole in the top of the shell, leaving debris on the wall as he searched for the peanut. After eating the peanut, he looked at me as if to say “goodbye” and took off leaping all the way along the wall until he disappeared.
The next morning, around 6:00 a.m., when I saw a squirrel sitting on the ledge of our wall, I naturally assumed it was LS. However, when I went outside with some nuts, the squirrel quickly jumped into the neighbor’s orange tree. I was disappointed since I really thought I had made some progress in my human-squirrel relationship.
A half-hour later, while I was feeling dejected, I saw LS sitting on the ledge as though he was waiting for me. I realized then that squirrels can be as diverse as humans. Seeing LS up close, I researched and confirmed that he was definitely a male squirrel. So, I assumed the other squirrel was LS’s competitor.
This time, after LS ate his walnuts, he put the shelled peanut in his mouth, and took off to bury it. I watched, fascinated, as he leaped in gaits to a corner of the wall. He then stood up on his hind legs for a view of his surroundings, seemed to turn his ankles 180°, and scurried down the wall out of sight into our rose bushes.
Around 8:15 a.m., another squirrel appeared on our wall. I soon recognized it was the squirrel that I had seen earlier that morning. When I approached with some walnuts in my hand, I saw that this squirrel had a defined line of darker fur under its right eye and was a female. I named her Bushy Tail (also known as “BT”). Now, I was feeding two squirrels.
Skipping to the present, BT currently picks her pieces of walnuts from the palm of my hand.
LS does not. He prefers that I lay them out on the ledge so that he can sniff them first.
In my everyday interactions with both squirrels and humans, it seems that the most powerful way to maximize persuasive communication may not be with words. It may be through subliminal and unconscious messages in vocal cues and nonverbal behavior.
The two squirrels and I have educated each other using body language and sound without saying a word. I know they are tough, have different personalities, hoard food, and plan for the future. In turn, they recognize me with or without makeup. That’s really an accomplishment! They also recognize my clicking sound when calling them if we’ve missed each other.
Both squirrels have trained me to expect that each one will appear in a timely manner and separately every morning and afternoon. We’ve established an eating ritual. I always give each one the walnuts first and the shelled peanut last. LS and BT can then choose to eat the shelled peanut in my presence or take it off and bury it.
Lesson learned? Nonverbal communication in social interactions is powerful and can establish rapport and trust. Use it at home or in court. Words may be important, but sometimes it’s better to say nothing. Will Rogers once said, “Never miss a good chance to shut up.”
