Next up we have #14 seeded Eastern Grey Squirrel vs. #3 Berlin Boar #2018MMM
The plucky Grey Squirrel as a proud member of the Sciuridae has long been a favorite of March Mammal Madness and comes in tonight with a strong fan base #2018MMM
Not the least of which being one of my favorite fictional characters, New York City's own favorite Computer Science Major, the @unbeatablesg #2018MMM
Eastern Grey Squirrels are broadly distributed across the United States, and while originally found in broad leafed forests, now they have adapted to human dominated ecosystems #2018MMM
Part of the reason why the squirrels are so adapt to urban ecosystems is because of their dietary flexibility bit.ly/2G3jfFR #2018MMM
The march of the Eastern Grey Squirrels has been relentless across Europe and they are present across much of the UK (I saw some today) as well as in Germany bit.ly/2GEZyCn #2018MMM
In the open spaces of Berlin we find tonight's contestants, an Eastern Grey Squirrel, named Chitty, and a wild urban boar, Sofia #2018MMM
How did Sofia and her ilk arrive there? Boars are native to Germany, but recently they have migrated to urban areas where they feast on locally available food #2018MMM
Now there are thousands of boars in the city, and like many animals we are seeing changes in their behavior as they adapt to an urban setting #2018MMM
In fact, recent studies have shown that urbanization is leading to physical changes in thousands of species that live in urban areas bit.ly/2pm0Ydz #2018MMM
Both boars and squirrels enjoy the taste of nuts, and squirrels create multiple caches of nuts every winter #2018MMM
Sofia has found Chitty's cache and is tucking in for a little afternoon snack of Nic Nacs amzn.to/2GEGLHk #2018MMM
(n.b. I received no compensation for said snack item. I merely googled "German foods with lots of nuts") also, safe search people.... #2018MMM
Chitty is NOT amused, she rolls on Sofia with the encouragement of her group #2018MMM
Squirrels, while celebrating individual autonomy, tend to collectively encourage snack defense #2018MMM #AltMammalFact
Sofia pauses to look up, crunchy nut crumbs drifting from her whiskers into a cool, late winter afternoon #2018MMM
Chitty attacks! "GO FOR THE EYES!" her friends cheer on, as she leaps in showing the courage displayed by all Sciuridae #2018MMM
Sofia rises up to the challenge and meets Chitty's relentless eye grabbing attack with her tusks. #2018MMM
Chittty realizes that this particular bag of savories isn't worth messin' with the hog and retreats to console herself with one of the dozens of other caches she wisely laid during the autumn #2018MMM
Berlin Boar Defeats Eastern Gray Squirrel #2018MMM
