What do squirrels eat?
Berries and nuts everyone would say.
But they also relish stems of fresh flowers like Powder Puff. Ghumakkad observed this 'feast' by a squirrel on a Powder Puff bush in a municipal garden in Jaipur Rajasthan recently.
Actually that observation triggered the 14th edition of KBG Kaun Banega Ghumakkad Contest. Let us see the squirrel feasting on the flower.
The plant or better called a shrub from the touch-me-not family looks like this:
KBG-14 saw very enthusiastic response. Almost 400 readers browsed the contest clues reproduced below.
Since the plant has origins in tropical regions across the world, and we had shown only the buds, it left the choices wide open. A whole family of plants have similar looking buds. But the flowers are different. So we decided to give the benefit of doubt to three fastest responses nearest to Powder Puff! In fact the first three correct responses came within a few minutes of the Contest going live.
Yes, the correct answer to KBG-14 is Powder Puff - Caliandra Heamatocephala. But we also accepted Mimosa Nutalli. Here are some more pictures of Powder Puff buds, flower and the squirrel feasting on the plant.
Ghumakkad was lucky to capture the squirrel in action on video. Here is a short 20-second clip for you. Please ignore the background noise. The park was located close to a National Highway in Jaipur.
There is a longer duration video on YouTube which Ghumakkad had shot the same morning.
It was a treat to observe the speed at which the squirrel was munching and discarding the waste! The first day when I observed the squirrel at work during my morning walk, I hadn't brought my camera. The next day I carried the camera but the squirrel was not there! I waited patiently and it appeared from nowhere! And then the action started. It must have eaten about half a dozen flowers before climbing a Babool tree nearby.
The Contest
The response from the readers ranged from Eucalyptus, Daisy, Magnolia, Gulmohar to Strawberry. We sincerely thank each of the 400 or so participants for their effort.
Special thanks are due to Dr Chitra Shanker for her technical advise and guidance.
We congratulate the winners:
There were many more correct answers later. We wish them faster response and better luck next time.
We hope the squirrels and plants will continue to thrive.
With each Contest Ghumakkad is also learning!
Berries and nuts everyone would say.
But they also relish stems of fresh flowers like Powder Puff. Ghumakkad observed this 'feast' by a squirrel on a Powder Puff bush in a municipal garden in Jaipur Rajasthan recently.
Actually that observation triggered the 14th edition of KBG Kaun Banega Ghumakkad Contest. Let us see the squirrel feasting on the flower.
Since the plant has origins in tropical regions across the world, and we had shown only the buds, it left the choices wide open. A whole family of plants have similar looking buds. But the flowers are different. So we decided to give the benefit of doubt to three fastest responses nearest to Powder Puff! In fact the first three correct responses came within a few minutes of the Contest going live.
Yes, the correct answer to KBG-14 is Powder Puff - Caliandra Heamatocephala. But we also accepted Mimosa Nutalli. Here are some more pictures of Powder Puff buds, flower and the squirrel feasting on the plant.
There is a longer duration video on YouTube which Ghumakkad had shot the same morning.
It was a treat to observe the speed at which the squirrel was munching and discarding the waste! The first day when I observed the squirrel at work during my morning walk, I hadn't brought my camera. The next day I carried the camera but the squirrel was not there! I waited patiently and it appeared from nowhere! And then the action started. It must have eaten about half a dozen flowers before climbing a Babool tree nearby.
The Contest
The response from the readers ranged from Eucalyptus, Daisy, Magnolia, Gulmohar to Strawberry. We sincerely thank each of the 400 or so participants for their effort.
Special thanks are due to Dr Chitra Shanker for her technical advise and guidance.
We congratulate the winners:
- Ankur Gupta, Author and Business Professional, Mumbai
- Raghu Suryavanshi, Social Entrepreneur and Blogger, Goa
- Helga Lakhotia, Former Nursing Professional, Traveller and Foodie, Germany
There were many more correct answers later. We wish them faster response and better luck next time.
We hope the squirrels and plants will continue to thrive.
Thanks for your continued support.
- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 17th April 2019
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