|
| Knew they could climb but... Groundhog in a neighbor's oriental pear tree. |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| I've had dogs chase them up trees, I don't think I usually see them in trees of their own accord...but if after fruit, i can see it. They are after all, giant ground squirrels. |
|
| My groundhog did just like that. Well, at least it's cute (as far as a big, fat rat goes). I caught the first possum the other day. It definitely was one ugly-looking rat. |
|
- Posted by harvestman 6 (My Page) on Mon, Sep 1, 14 at 14:45
| I have a very level headed and intelligent customer who claims to have seen one make a 4' vertical leap from a standstill to reach a branch on an Asian pear tree. I absolutely believe hem. They generally don't take too much fruit. There's one on my property now that seems content to fatten up on my drops. If he finds his way into my garden it will be war with no casualties on my side besides broccoli. |
|
- Posted by Appleseed70 6 MD (My Page) on Mon, Sep 1, 14 at 15:53
| Wow...I've never seen one do that...ever. I hope I don't get any climbers around here. You know, when I was a kid we had one as a pet. Name was Butterball due to it's affection for peanut butter and because it would run fast then tuck up into a ball and roll. It was a very friendly and comical animal and seemingly quite intelligent. Very playful. It was completely housebroke...no joke. It would scratch at the door when it wanted out and when it wanted back in. My Mom had spent several hundred dollars on new draperies for their picture window from Montgomery Ward. Poor Butterball thought it'd be a good idea to shred the bottoms of them all. That was it...our parents told us (my brother and I) it had run away. It wasn't until about 15 years ago my Father told me they had taken it away and released it. Very clean animals too. I'd never in a million years harm one, but if that were my tree I'd certainly be wanting to. |
|
| Have a young veterinary colleague over in eastern KY. He came back to the clinic one day after farm calls to find the other veterinarian working on a baby groundhog with a urinary tract obstruction, brought in by a wildlife rehabber. "I'm going home." he said, "If my Daddy ever found out that I saved the life of a groundhog, he'd kill me." I can attest that they are good eating - but big old ones benefit from parboiling before grilling. |
|
- Posted by scottfsmith 6B-7A-MD (My Page) on Mon, Sep 1, 14 at 20:45
| I have one that has taken up residence in my orchard recently. My dog dug it up and shook it all around, I thought it was dead but it looks like it knows a few possum tricks. Its eating only ground drops so far so I'm leaving it alone. Scott |
|
| Maybe the one in the tree is looking for Phil. |
|
| Usually they clean up dropped fruit. However I have seen them several times in my peach trees, and they do some damage to the fruit. Trapped some last year using fallen peaches for bait in the trap. Never saw them do the high jump, but it wouldn't surprise me either |
|
| My friend warned me that there are usually more than one fo them around. I did not believe her then. I caught the first one with ripe cantaloupe. Then, the second one (smaller) showed up. After I caught the second one, the third is still running around. My friend caught 4-5 of them in her yard. I don't have any dropped fruit so they have climbed the trees including a large Mammoth sunflower for the seeds. I wished I had taken pictures then. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Fruit & Orchards Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Please review our Rules of Play before posting.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here
