Scrappy

In the last couple of years that I've started taking more pictures...it seems like you are always learning something...especially about animals and birds.

Case in point today. Who knew that squirrels were into martial arts? I sure didn't. I knew that their hind legs were super strong, because of the way they can spring. But...who knew they could use those little "arms" for combat? I sure didn't.

The picture in the upper left is the classic starting pose...even for squirrels. Hands together in front of the face, and I missed the next shot...but it is the little bow of the head toward the opponent. I refuse to watch it on TV (too violent for my taste), but I always thought the bow was kind-of funny. "Let me show you a little respect...before I try to bash your brains in!"

The next 2 pictures (clockwise) show Scrappy working the hands. I wish I could somehow put sound on this...because it was "O-O-O-W-E-E-E!, and H-I-Y-A-A! Did you know that they have that booming fighting voice? I sure didn't.

The final picture is a little blurred because the Scrap-man was now whipped up into a rodent frenzy! "C'mon...you want a piece of this? I'm taking nuts, and I'm taking names! The name is Scrappy...and I'll make you unhappy! Mess with me...and you"re going down the tree! You want to tangle?...I'll make your ears mangled!" OK....THAT'S ENOUGH!!

As I watched the Scrapster...I tried to tell which martial art form he was using. I narrowed it down to Karate, Jui-Jitsu, Taekwondo, or Aikido. So hard to tell.

On my flickr page...you can see some normal squirrel activity before the training began.

Click on LARGE to get a better view of the fighters hands.