I've only been abroad one time, and there were little gecko/lizard things everywhere, climbing up walls and scurrying across roads, and nobody cared. I was constantly fascinated but to the locals they're just kinda there.

Bonus question to anyone who visited the UK - was there anything that fascinated you but I'd be taking for granted?

Pic unrelated.

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[–] 27 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I was a bit excited that the US squirrels are gray and large, we have smaller red ones in Germany.

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  • [–] 23 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    If you really want to see huge squirrels check out a US college campus. They're so fat!

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (1 child)
  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    A squirrel in a public park near me climbed up on me to get to the peanuts I was holding, no fear. It was also absurdly obese.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    I got a squirrel took my apple away from my hand!

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    Had the same experience in Ann Arbor, MI. The next day I learned they have a squirrel feeding club and a kid walked around in the morning with granola bars throwing them out to a circle of 20 chubby squirrels

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    We have grey squirrels in the UK, although they're not native. They're responsible for the decline in native red squirrels, you rarely see them now unless you go to particular areas.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Not only UK. As far as I know the same problem is spreading around all of mainland Europe. US squirrels have a better immune system and a more varied diet, they are also more aggressive and territorial. They are slowly replacing indigenous red squirrels.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 child)

    Dammit. :( Us humans are so talented at selfishly fucking over indigenous populations and animals in general. Ugh.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    In this case, it was just randomness. Some grey squirrels got randomly transported with cargo between North America and Europe and they found a good spot. There was no human intent behind it… (does it make it better?)

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