Bah, Humbug Squirrels?

From Milwaukee, Wisconsin, comes this report of squirrels taking the glimmer and sparkle off that city's municipal Christmas tree by gnawing on the wires for the LED bulbs. The city's holiday lamps were strung throughout the very tree that these squirrels just happen to call home. The Milwaukee officials even call the tree a "squirrel condo."

This is no case of the Gnawing Grinches, however. This is not even an instance of rodentian holiday humbug. This is simply what squirrels do. They don't hate Santa. They'd just rather that the city fathers hang their decor in someone else's house. I have to confess, if I came home to my house one day and found that someone had decorated it with lights and tinsel and wire and bulbs, I might start chomping away too.

Bravo, by the way, to the city for realizing they should only use humane methods to handle this non-crisis. They want to get the squirrels moved out of the tree. Personally, I think it would be a whole lot easier (and smarter, and even more humane) to just move the bulbs instead.

Squirrels have their way with Milwaukee Christmas tree