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A Finnish squirrel with a sweet tooth heads to a Finnish grocery shop at least twice a day to steal "Kinder Surprise" chocolate-shelled eggs. "I named it the Kinder-squirrel, after the treats. It always goes after them, other sweets do not seem to interest it as much," the manager of the store in Jyvaskyla, central Finland, told Reuters. The confectionary, which is intended for children, has a toy inside. "It removes the foil carefully, eats the chocolate and leaves the store with the toy," Irene Lindroos said. Unfortunately, the bushy-tailed thief does not clean up after itself, but leaves the...

ROSEVILLE An amazing discovery has been unearthed in Placer County. Amazing because of its history significance....and amazing because of how it was found. Archaeologist did not carefully unearth the 8,000 to 10,000 year old artifact, but it appears some curious squirrels dug it up. And now, folks at the Maidu Indian Interpretive Center are trying to preserve what the squirrels unearthed. The center allows people to learn how Native Americans lived thousands of years ago. And it was here that the squirrels made their find in what could be called an ancient compost pile. "You can see where little tiny...

Iranians arrest 14 squirrels for spying Islamic Republic's intelligence agents allege rodents were carrying advanced Western spy gear Dudi Cohen Published: 07.13.07, 23:43 / Israel News Iranian intelligence operatives recently detained over a dozen squirrels found within the nation's borders, claiming the rodents were serving as spies for Western powers determined to undermine the Islamic Republic. "In recent weeks, intelligence operatives have arrested 14 squirrels within Iran's borders," state-sponsored news agency IRNA reported. "The squirrels were carrying spy gear of foreign agencies, and were stopped before they could act, thanks to the alertness of our intelligence services." Iranian police commander...

Squirrels accurately predict bumper harvests 19:00 21 December 2006 NewScientist.com news service Roxanne Khamsi Squirrels can somehow predict which years trees will produce massive amounts of seed, a new study reveals. The animals produce an extra litter of pups months ahead of these unusually large harvests, researchers report. The scientists analysed 16 years of data on American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) populations in Yukon, Canada. As part of the experiment, Andrew McAdam of Michigan State University and his colleagues lured the animals into traps with peanut butter and then tagged them. The team periodically recaptured the squirrels and assessed whether...

AU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) - Groundskeepers at Forest Hill Cemetery thought it was kids who were stealing dozens of American flags. That is, until one found a giant squirrel's nest. "I was mowing, looked up out into the distance, and something caught my eye," said Dave Ender, a groundskeeper employed by the Eau Claire Parks and Recreation Department. He drove his riding lawnmower to a nearby street intersection and looked up a tree. "Low and behold, I found the missing flags," Ender said. They were ripped and serving as the foundation of a giant squirrel nest. "I never seen anything...

British politicians were urged to eat grey squirrels as part of a radical plan to prevent the indigenous red variety of the species from disappearing. The animal, made famous by the Squirrel Nutkin character in author Beatrix Potter's illustrated children's books, once thrived in Britain but is now battling for survival as imported North American greys run rampant. The unusual conservation method was proposed during a debate on the subject in Britain's unelected upper chamber, the House of Lords. Lord Richard Inglewood, the patron of conservation group Red Alert North-West, which works to save red squirrel populations in Potter's native...