Terps With Bushy Tails

Spencer Lin ’21 has watched as tiny, furry critters throughout campus appeared to hitch the micromobility craze and take a perch on Veo scooters. He laughed once they all of a sudden *freeze!* on McKeldin Mall, making an attempt to cover in plain sight from passersby. And he stared in fascination—and reached for his digital camera—when a bushy-tailed little omnivore hoisted up a rooster wing two-handed to take a chunk.

These are the College of Maryland’s squirrels, and Lin realized he wasn’t the one Terp with a ardour for seeing them scamper and chase one another across the manicured grounds.

That’s why the animal pictures fanatic began the @UMD_Squirrels_ account on Instagram in 2018, which he handed down at commencement to youthful squirrel fans; it now has over 4,500 followers. Maybe they see a little bit of themselves within the cute brown-, black- and red-colored rodents?

“I believe that’s one thing they’ll relate to or be, like, ‘Oh, it’s enjoyable that the squirrel was consuming one thing I might eat,’” he stated. “I believe it’s humorous when folks see squirrels eat a number of the meals they’ve, digging out of a bag of Chick-fil-A or consuming a eating corridor cookie.”

The web page now resides within the palms of Claire Nelson ‘23, an early childhood and early childhood particular schooling main and pal of Lin’s.

The account takes submissions from the general public, and Nelson admits she is backlogged with requests from individuals who need one in every of their favourite squirrel pics to make the massive time. However Nelson doesn’t need simply any peculiar squirrel photograph or video clip. Technical high quality counts, together with good lighting and sharp focus, she says. Squirrels inadvertently copying human habits, notably in a scenario Nelson hasn’t seen earlier than, are better of all.

“I don’t wish to be too repetitive,” she stated. “Typically I’ll publish one thing that’s sort of seasonal so throughout Halloween and Thanksgiving break—I attempt to get posts that match thematically.”

Lin stated he all the time wished UMD’s squirrel watchers to know “we are able to’t course of all these submissions fast … it’s not as a result of we hate you,” he laughed.

What’s the key of the rodents’ recognition? Nelson thinks they’re a stress-reliever for faculty college students, and maybe one thing like an unofficial mascot to rally round.

“It’s nearly like we’re bonding over squirrels and there’s a way of group over one thing that doesn’t appear to be it has a lot that means … seeing squirrels on campus nearly unifies us in some bizarre method,” Nelson stated.

Up till immediately, Nelson had not revealed herself because the admin on the account. At commencement, she says she plans to pose for a selfie with a squirrel—after which go management of the account to the following scholar up for documenting an amusing slice of Terp wildlife.