A pincushion flower thief.

Can you see the thief in this picture?

If you cannot see him, then look at the right-hand side of the picture.

I rattled the bush, and we heard him jump out on the other side of the bush. And so, the search was on to find the thief amongst the trees that surrounded the area. We strolled around to look for evidence of his whereabouts, and in the picture below we found the evidence.

There it was, that mess on the grass comes from a pincushion flower.

And up above, in the tree, we saw the culprit.

But he didn't mind, as he just continued to have his snack and he knew that he was beyond our reach. So, yes, I can tell you that squirrels eat the protea pincushion flowers. Mind you, they don't eat the whole flower as they leave the petals, and they eat the base of the pincushion flower.

You can see that they pop the flower upside down in order to get to the bottom/base of it, and then the parts that they don't eat. Interestingly, pincushions have their seeds dispersed by rodents, and here it takes place through the squirrels, as well as through rats that we have seen at times under the bushes. Squirrels are also classified as rodents.

So, if you want to find a squirrel thief, simply follow the evidence:)

Some farmers regard the squirrels as pests as their vegetables and berries do not stand a chance. Not to mention nuts, tomatoes, and some other fruits. Domestic gardeners also don't have a great love for the squirrels as they can clean their plantings out. At our house, we have a resident family that breed in a neighbour's high palm tree, and the litter end up feeding every day in our front garden. My wife supplies the avocado and peanut meals, but we try our best to keep them away from the strawberry guavas and the granadillas. Not with much luck.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.

Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.

Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.

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