I had to go downtown to Lewter's Hardware Saturday morning to get parts for modifing our new gas grill from propane to natural gas. We live part way up Monte Sano about two miles from town. As I drove down Bankhead Parkway I turned a corner and up ahead was a squirrel about a third of the way across the road. He could easily have made it across if he'd just kept moving. But when he became aware of me, he went into a huge fit of indecision. He darted back-and-forth a couple of times and finally decided he could make it. He did, thank goodness. I slowed down a bit, but I don't brake hard for animals ever since I slammed on my brakes to avoid hitting a Labrador retriever and wrecked my clutch. I could've bought a litter of replacement pups for what that cost.I continued toward town, and you know, there were two more squirrels who darted out in front of me before I got to the hardware store. Each time one darted out, it could easily have made it across the road or turned back and made it. But it seemed like on first spotting my car, they each went into the same fit of indecision - going back and forth trying to make a decision, but not committing either way until it really became a matter of life or death. They all escaped alive. I was thankful for that, but was curious why so many squirrels were trying to cross the road. Oh well, maybe it's just the cooler weather that's got 'em scampering.
This morning I made a trip down to Home Depot for a different project. This time I counted three dead squirrels by the time I got to Five-Points. These three weren't as lucky as their brethren the day before, and maybe even one or two of them were the same squirrels I saw yesterday. Who knows?
I started thinking about the evolutionary implication of the phenomenon. Cars have only been around for the better part of a hundred years. Road kill from cars certainly puts a a new stress on populations of squirrels (among other critters). Is it severe enough to selectively remove enough of the squirrels with genes that contribute to "decision deficit disorder" to ultimately select out that behavior? Could humans be playing a part in selectively breeding for squirrels with sharp decision making skills? One day, perhaps hundreds of years from now, highly decisive squirrels may dominate the population. What would we have wrought?
2 comments:
I remember reading one of those side headlines on The Onion that said, "Roadkill Squirrel Remembered As Frantic, Indecisive."
I guess it will be interesting to see if we contribute to the development of faster squirrels, possums, and skunks.
I think humans have altered the natural balance of things by removing the large predators which threaten our livestock, so the mid-sized prey animals are pretty numerous these days.
For an interesting take on reverse natural selection, as applied to humans, have you seen the movie "Idiocracy?"
I still laugh out lout every time I think of that blurb from The Onion. It's my all-time favorite.
Post a Comment