See a Squirrel, Say Hello 

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Story By Ashanti Thompson

Photos By Rowdy

Here at McPherson College, we have a wide variety of wildlife on campus, but one that sticks out to many is our silly little squirrels. These little guys prance around the grass and run up the trees as students mosey on to class, but who are they really? Let’s meet some of the squirrels that call the McPherson campus home. 

Rusty

The shade from the afternoon sun allowed Rusty more comfort to run around outside Dotzour Hall as autumn dropped the seedlings to the grass.  

First up let’s say hello to Rusty. Rusty is the smaller squirrel on campus, and the most energetic. He is slightly more orange than his fellow squirrels, and his tail flops as he runs from tree to tree. One thing about Rusty is that he hates the sun. He hops from shade patch to shade patch outside Dotzour Hall, looking for fallen seedlings. Despite his small stature, Rusty is not afraid to interact with his human companions and is the closest to people of all the squirrels on campus.   

Jessica

After finding a seed in the dirt outside Mohler Hall, Jessica stuffs it away and looks for the nearest tree to climb to eat her meal.   

Up next is a more introverted squirrel named Jessica. Now Jessica here is a free flying squirrel. She loves to run from Hess to the Sports Center and right back again. She loves the little green seeds that fall from the tree and will take them with her anywhere she goes. However, she is not a fan of people and tends to keep her distance more than the other squirrels. Jessica is a medium sized squirrel with little white spots on her cheeks. Her fur is also much darker than her companions with a big fluffy tail to match.  

Broc

After running around outside the Sports Center, Broc finally finds a seed to munch on, as Cynthia is occupied with her own snack above in the tree.  

Our third squirrel is the chunkiest of all, and his name is Broc. Broc is consistently found outside the Sports Center getting his laps in for the day. We are unsure which sport he is practicing for, but it’s safe to say he is on the squad. However, Broc does have one problem: another squirrel by the name of Cynthia. The relationship between these two is complicated, but where you find Cynthia, you find Broc. 

Cynthia

After Broc found a seed, Cynthia fought him for it and ran up the large tree by the side of the Sports Center. She wasted no time cracking it open and eating the green seed in the afternoon shade.  

Cynthia looks very similar to Broc but is slightly smaller and loves trees more than the grass. She has absolutely no problem stealing all of Broc’s food. While we were taking photos of Cynthia, she ran down from the tree, stole one of Broc’s seeds, and ran all the way back up the tree with no fight from Broc.