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Now tracking the new emerging South Africa Omicron Variant

Is There a Killer Squirrel Virus?

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OriginalHappyCamper View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote OriginalHappyCamper Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Is There a Killer Squirrel Virus?
    Posted: July 09 2015 at 3:13pm
http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/GeneralInfectiousDisease/52512

Three squirrel breeders in Germany likely died of a novel virus they caught from the animals, researchers said.

Over a 2-year period, the three men developed progressive encephalitis or meningoencephalitis that led to 

death within 2 to 4 months, according to Martin Beer, DVM, of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut in 

Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany, and colleagues.

The men, all from the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, bred variegated squirrels, a species native to 

Central and southern North America that is kept as an exotic pet in Europe, Beer and colleaguesreported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Genomic analysis found a previously unknown bornavirus in a contact squirrel and in brain tissue from

 the three men, the researchers reported, and it is the "likely causative agent" in their deaths.

The known bornavirus species infect a range of warm-blooded animals, from birds to primates, 

and are currently not thought to be responsible for human disease, Beer and colleagues noted.

But the new virus -- dubbed variegated squirrel 1 bornavirus (VSBV-1) -- is separate from the other species. "VSBV-1 is likely to be a previously unknown zoonotic pathogen transmitted by the variegated squirrel," they stated.

The investigation began in late 2011, when three men in succession (ages 63, 62, and 73, respectively) 

developed similar symptoms including fever, shivers, or both; progressive psychomotor slowing; confusion; 

unsteady gait, and myoclonus, ocular paresis, or both.

All three also developed bilateral crural-vein thrombosis, with a subsequent pulmonary embolism in two.

Finally, they lapsed into coma and died, Beer and colleagues reported, despite anti-infective chemotherapy.

The three men were friends, members of the same squirrel-breeding association, and often traded animals.

While they were alive, their cerebrospinal fluid showed pleocytosis, and MRI showed growing lesions 

in the cerebral cortical areas and basal ganglia or meninges.

While that finding is consistent with a viral infection, doctors were unable to find an infectious agent, 

despite detailed investigations of cerebrospinal fluid samples, biopsy samples, and serum, the researchers 

reported.

Analysis of the affected brain areas showed tissue swelling and necrosis, glial activation, and lymphocyte 

infiltration, but no viral inclusions or microorganisms, they said.

Beer and colleagues thought the squirrels might have played a role in the disease.

To investigate, they tested for a range of pathogens using a squirrel owned by the third patient, but when 

that screening came up negative they went on to analyze samples from the animal using metagenomic 

sequencing.

That analysis detected five RNA sequence fragments that were similar to a known bornavirus, Mammalian 1 

bornavirus, in liver, lung, and kidney tissue and in chest-cavity fluid.

Using polymerase chain reaction methods, Beer and colleagues found similar RNA in other samples from the

 squirrel and in fresh-frozen brain tissue from all three patients.

Control tissues from patients with unrelated brain diseases and from healthy people did not contain any of 

the viral RNAs, they reported.

Deep sequencing of RNA from the squirrel and the third patient showed the two viral sequences were nearly 

identical and had a standard bornavirus genomic structure. Analysis showed the novel virus is a separate 

lineage from the known bornavirus species.

Finally, Beer and colleagues found that the third patient had antibodies to the virus in his serum and cerebrospinal fluid.

Taken together, the evidence isn't enough to prove that the novel virus caused the three deaths, Beer and colleagues concluded, but they argued it was highly suggestive of a novel zoonotic illness.

They added that the route of transmission from squirrels to patients "remains uncertain" although family 

members reported that two of the patients had been bitten or scratched.

They also noted that all three of the patients were older than 60 and had pre-existing medical conditions -- 

hypertension, diabetes, or obesity -- that might have "conferred a predisposition to clinical infection with this 

unusual agent."

It also remains unclear whether the virus was imported with the squirrels or whether it originated in mammals 

that were in contact with the breeding facilities, Beer and colleagues said.

Jesus Christ died and was raised on the third day, the only "God" to overcome death.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LOPPER Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 09 2015 at 3:39pm
I knew squirrels were no good.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 09 2015 at 4:07pm
Any comment, Hazlepad?
How do you tell if a politician is lying?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Johnray1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 09 2015 at 6:27pm
Technophobe,if squirrels in West Virginia,USA, are infect with a deadly virus.All of my survival plans are ruined.I really like to eat squirrels and planned to use them as my primary source of meat.This could be a disaster for many people.Johnray1
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hazelpad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 09 2015 at 6:36pm
Technophobe

Listen, and understand! That squirrel is out there! It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until we are dead. ( terminator).

However we must try and to beat the squirrel we must become the squirrel. Technophobe I nominate you for this important mission.....now do you own a fur coat by chance.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote onefluover Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 09 2015 at 8:20pm
Squirrel stew is popular out in the Virginias and elsewhere. I suppose you'd of heard something by now, JR. Though they, like rats and mice and prairy dogs and possums all look like they carry bugs.
"And then there were none."
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 09 2015 at 10:23pm
I understand that squirrels carry bubonic plague,
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2015 at 1:40am
Yes Hazlepad, I do.  It was my mum's and is a bit battered.  I suppose a few pelts would repair it.

Everyone else:  Unless it is a prion disease, cooking well solves all problems.  If it is a prion disease, the less well related you are the harder it is to catch.  So eat the squirrels and leave the bunnies alone.  (Rabbits are an extreme form of primate - according to genetic testing - and squirrels are rodentia.)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote WillobyBrat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2015 at 1:50am
Hi Hazlepad.  I love squirrels.  I care about them so much that I think all the ones in my woodland should be inoculated.  I find a 22 caliber inoculates them against all the trials and tribulations of life.  Then I lay them on their little furry backs. unzip their little jackets (which make excellent gloves( then having cleaned and dismembered them, I soak them overnight in salt water, cover them in spicy batter and deep-fry.  They are quite delicious.  that is why I am so fond of them.  

Unfortunately, for some unknown reason they all seem to have left my woodland.  I know this because I can no longer see them or find the chewed out pinecones and nuts.  Oh well!  I suppose I'll just have to live off of wood pigeons.  I have a great recipe for them too.  I'm sure Johnray would like it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hazelpad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2015 at 9:39am

The news on grey squirrels just keeps getting worse...

This article out last month

Quote:

Grey squirrels’ role as hosts of Lyme disease bacteria under the spotlight

Grey squirrels have been described as one of the ‘world’s worst invasive species’ and have caused a decline in indigenous red squirrel populations and damaged forestry in the UK.

Now the role of this invasive species in hosting the bacteria which causes Lyme disease in humans has come under the spotlight.


http://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_403105_en.html

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/grey-squirrels-can-spread-lyme-9090382


Hi WillobyBat,

Quote:

"Unfortunately, for some unknown reason they all seem to have left my woodland"

...cause they have all hop tailed it down to my neck of the woods where the only danger they encounter is my neighbours home baking....which she lovingly puts out for them in little pink and blue bowls. She is passed a point of no return for the furry tree rats have utterly brainwashed the woman.

I alone resist I am divergent and after my £3000 bill last year my attic is secure....for now !!!!!

Hz


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CRS, DrPH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2015 at 3:02pm
Squirrels are filthy with tularemia.  We discovered this from false alarms with the US bioterrorism warning system, "BioWatch."  

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Hazelpad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2015 at 4:36pm
Yep Chuck totally agree. Tularemia is bad bad news. I know very little about bioterrorism, however I was at a conference about 8 years ago with a guest speaker from the UK ministry of defence. He was telling us what it was like to work within the military lab environment, compared to the normal run of mill labs we normal lowely academic researchers inhabit. He talked about the equipment and security precautions etc. It was very interesting.   

Then it got scarey, he talked about working with your tularensis bacterium ( tularemia), one of the most infectious agents known to man. Showed us demonstrations of its replication etc. He talked about it as a candidate bioterror weapon, and demonstrated the different ways it could potentially be weaponised by different groups depending on skill levels available. He then discussed all the different strategies that they could deploy to counteract such changes. He was very passionate about his work in the counter bioterrorism group, and had come straight from the lab that afternoon.   Needless to say noone wanted to sit next to him at dinner that night. Guess who drew the short straw.

You are right squirrels do carry it and I think the aerosoled version is the most deadly to humans. Wasn't there a case of someone mowing over a dead squirrel carcass and spilling the bacteria into the air killing 2 and sickening others.

In 2014 they found that there could be subclinical infections in gray squirrels. This study was done in Washington State, a geographical area with endemic tularemia in wildlife. Great Vernon carrying a lethal bacteria while staying well themselves.

Quote:

Francisella tularensis is the causative agent of tularemia, an important bacterial disease with zoonotic potential. This highly pathogenic, Gram-negative, 0.1–3 µm, pleomorphic obligate aerobic coccobacillus requires only 10–50 colony forming units (CFU) for an infectious dose in immunocompetent human beings. The bacteria can be transmitted by aerosolization, ectoparasite vectors, ingestion, and direct inoculation into cutaneous or mucocutaneous wounds.4 The bacterium is considered a List A select agent by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with potential for use as a biological weapon

(http://www.cdc.gov/Tularemia/).


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24557750


Nasty disease, nasty rodents.

Thanks for the info interesting read.

Hz
   



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Johnray1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2015 at 9:51pm
WillobyBrat,I would like your recipe for Wood Pigeon.But I do not think that we have any Wood Pigeon in this area. Maybe the same bird by a different name.

As far as the squirrels go, I have never heard of them carrying the Plague. Prairie Dogs do carry the Plague and there are a dozen or so case in the South Western,USA every year. We have no Prairie Dogs within several hundred miles of where I live. I have probably eaten thousands of squirrels and most people that I know have to,the older folks practically lived on them.

I know that a new disaease can infect any animal any time,but I have not heard of any one in this area getting sick or dying from eating squirrel. This may be because all of the old time cooks who cooked any meat to death and I would recommend cooking any wild meat very well.I will watch closer for any reports of humans getting sick or dying from eating squirrel. But any one who will not eat squirrel,rabbit,raccoon, ,or any thing else that they can catch or kill, or trap
will be glad to eat them after a month or so of surviving in the woods.

I prefer to kill squirrels with a .22cal rifle also ,but they are trapped much easier and quieter. Just dig a small area ,big enough to get a Number 1 or a Number 1 1/2 trap into. Just as you would dig a small area to make a dirt hole set for foxes.Cover the trap lightly with dirt. The squirrels can not stay away from it. No bait needed. They think they are stealing a nut that another squirrel buried. All you have to do is check your traps twice a day and move your traps when the catch falls off.

I learned this by accident. I was trapping foxes and I set some traps in the woods. My traps always held squirrels. I had to go back to trapping foxes in the open fields.Johnray1
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2015 at 10:11pm
We have tons of rabbits and in Colorado we have lots of rabbits with tularemia. In the last week I have been seeing lots of dead squirrels in my area. Not sure why maybe they have tularemia.

I guess the big question is if TSHTF how would we know if rabbits or squirrels have tularemia?

Here is what I learned:

"Heat kills F. tularensis, so cook meat to the right temperature — a minimum of 165 F (73.8 C) for ground meat and game meat — to make it safe to eat.

Tularemia can be effectively treated with antibiotics such as streptomycin or gentamicin, which are given by injection directly into a muscle or vein. Depending on the type of tularemia being treated, doctors may prescribe oral antibiotics such as doxycycline (Oracea, Vibramycin, others) instead.

You'll also receive therapy for any complications such as meningitis or pneumonia. In general, you should be immune to tularemia after recovering from the disease, but some people may experience a recurrence or reinfection."

So if it you get antibiotics and you get cured you most likely will not get it again.

Let's face it if TSHTF we will need to eat rodents to survive if we have a long term survival situation.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CRS, DrPH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2015 at 10:18pm
Tularemia is right up there with smallpox & Ebola, it is a Category A Bioterror agent:


It only takes a single bacterium to trigger a human infection!  

However, unless aersolized, it enters the body through an abrasion or cut, which is why we are supposed to be careful when cleaning bunnies.  I eat bunnies, but not squirrels.  Nasty little buggers that eat my bird seed.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ms.Mary.Malone Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2015 at 2:32pm
Lets just hope Killer Moose don't evolve....
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WHAT TO DO????
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Hey DrPH I take it that if we wear rubber gloves we will be ok when cleaning bunnies.    If we need to use the fur off of the already eaten rabbit do we need to use gloves to scrape it and stretch it or will be bacterium be dead?
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Originally posted by FluMom FluMom wrote:

Hey DrPH I take it that if we wear rubber gloves we will be ok when cleaning bunnies.    If we need to use the fur off of the already eaten rabbit do we need to use gloves to scrape it and stretch it or will be bacterium be dead?

Thanks FluMom!  I'm no expert, but I've always worn rubber gloves when taking care of Peter Cottontail.  
This advice sounds about right:

Hunters should avoid eating rabbits that appear in the field to be “lazy” or do not act “normal.” During the cleaning process, be sure to wear gloves, and hunters should examine the external surfaces of the rabbit for any infected areas. 


ALWAYS check the liver for the appearance of white or yellow spots. Even if the liver appears bright, does not have spots, and the rabbit appeared healthy in the field, make sure to cook the meat thoroughly; F. tularensis are killed by heat above 160 F.


http://www.outdoorhub.com/how-to/2013/02/25/rabbit-hunters-take-note-steps-to-avoid-tularemia/

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Johnray1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2015 at 8:08pm
CRS,DrPH,Excellent advice. Always look at the liver of any animal and if it does not look healthy,consider just how hungry you really are.Johnray1
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CRS, DrPH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2015 at 9:39pm
Originally posted by Johnray1 Johnray1 wrote:

CRS,DrPH,Excellent advice. Always look at the liver of any animal and if it does not look healthy,consider just how hungry you really are.Johnray1

Thanks!  I like how that column also touched on trichinosis from wild hogs.  Lots of wild game is loaded with that stuff, including bear and cougar, and it is a very serious & hard to treat illness.  

I've never eaten a squirrel, they don't seem to have a lot of meat on them....how many squirrels would an average sized adult male require for a full meal?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2015 at 10:11pm
Thanks, Dr. and Johnray good advice. I have hunted birds and in those days no BF so no checking was necessary. I have not hunted other game but will if TSHTF.

Dang, I could make a meal out of a squirrel with pasta, rice and any vegies add a little beef or chicken bullion cube you have a feast. Meat is just to flavor and give a little protein. Look at the Japanese they eat very little meat and do very well. We Americans love our 12 - 16 oz steaks but if TSHTF life will change.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Johnray1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 13 2015 at 9:13pm
CRS,DrPH,FluMom is correct. One squirrel with mashed potatoes and squirrel gravy and biscuits or other extras will make you a good meal. I prefer two or 3 squirrels with extras of masked potatoes and squirrel gravy and biscuits and any other extras that you like can make a good meal for 3 or four people.

If you are roasting or cooking the squirrel in the woods and have no extras ,one squirrel will go further than you think. But two squirrels are really better.I really like the taste of the squirrel meat.Johnray1
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Johnray1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 13 2015 at 9:18pm
CRS,DrPH, Deer,Bear,and hogs all carry Trichnosis. A girl that I with caught Trichnosis from eat under cooked pork. She damn near died.It the Drs. a long time to get the diagnosis.Johnray1
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote onefluover Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 14 2015 at 12:46am
My dad is convinced that all hogs are now treated and you can have rare pork every time. He gets mad at me because I cook my pork done every time. He calls it cooking it to death. I also cook some pork for hours to tenderize it. I hate rubber meats. Hogs may now be treated for trich but I don't care. They carry other ***** that's not treated. As does everything else.

Top ramen and a can of tuna with a dash of mayonnaise and anything else i can sruce it up with is my favorite survivalist quickie. I suppose when the tuna runs out I'll be seeing if JR left me any squirrels. I love biscuits and gravy and tender meats.
"And then there were none."
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Johnray1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 14 2015 at 9:40pm
onefluover,Hogs raised on concrete and treated with meds may be safe,but we will probably not be eating those kinds of hogs.Johnray1
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hazelpad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 16 2015 at 9:28am
Seems some squirrels come already marinated. Read this on BBC news today:



A "drunk" squirrel has caused hundreds of pounds of damage at a private members' club.
The secretary of Honeybourne Railway Club said he originally thought someone had broken into the premises, near Evesham in Worcestershire.
The floor was covered in beer and glasses and bottles smashed, Sam Boulter said.
Mr Boulter, 62, said he then saw a squirrel "staggering around" after coming out from behind a box of crisps.

He added: "There were bottles scattered around, money scattered around and he had obviously run across the bar's pumps and managed to turn on the Caffrey's tap.
"He must have flung himself on the handle and drank some as he was staggering around all over the place and moving a bit slowly.
"I've never seen a drunk squirrel before. He was sozzled and looked a bit worse for wear, shall we say."
Mr Boulter, who estimated he lost about £300 in the incident, eventually caught the squirrel in a waste paper bin and released it out of the window.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-33541502
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Omg that is hilarious!!!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2015 at 1:52am
Willoby Brat commented to me:  

"I wonder how many stories up the release window was?  

About £300?  ...[pause]...That's about how much I can spend on Caffery's in a night!  Hey Maggie,  Can you embroider a squirrel on my Caffrey's T-shirt?"

Look at the trouble those pesky beasts cause.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hazelpad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2015 at 3:34am
It also highlights the damage that just one squirrel can do to supplies.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CRS, DrPH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2015 at 2:47pm
Originally posted by Johnray1 Johnray1 wrote:

CRS,DrPH,FluMom is correct. One squirrel with mashed potatoes and squirrel gravy and biscuits or other extras will make you a good meal. I prefer two or 3 squirrels with extras of masked potatoes and squirrel gravy and biscuits and any other extras that you like can make a good meal for 3 or four people.

If you are roasting or cooking the squirrel in the woods and have no extras ,one squirrel will go further than you think. But two squirrels are really better.I really like the taste of the squirrel meat.Johnray1

If you catch a squirrel while it is chowing down on a snake, I suppose you get an extra serving? 


Not sure if I believe that story or not!  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 03 2015 at 8:04am
Sorry, Hazlepad!

The squirrels have developed improved camoflague practices:   http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p036ynwl
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 03 2015 at 8:14pm
As I was looking at this thread I have one suggestion. All game that you kill must be cooked WELL! I mean well done not tasty! I would do as the pioneers did have a pot cooking most of the day over a fire or in the solar cooker. If I have to do this I will cook in the solar cooker all day and then put on the fire for an hour or two just to make sure any bad stuff is gone.

If you are on the go then make sure you roast any game well done over a fire. If the game is a deer or something big like that slice the meat in thin strips skewer on a stick and cook well done. Rabbit, squirrel, birds split game in 1/2 or quarter, if there is more than one person to cook, less meat to cook so it cooks faster, skewer and make sure they are well done.

Home can goods must be boiled for at least 5 minutes to make sure they are good.

When TSHTF there will be no meds and no docs to help so you must keep your family well.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 06 2017 at 9:49am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jacksdad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 06 2017 at 10:53am
You have no idea how long I've waited for an opportunity to post this one... LOL


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 06 2017 at 3:56pm
That is destructively funny JD!  My entire family is convulsed with laughter.  Daughter just had asthma attack! - not serious.

Go on....... How long?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jacksdad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 06 2017 at 4:45pm
A loooong time - it's been on my tablet for at least two years. Now to find an excuse to clear out the rest of the pics I've saved.




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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CRS, DrPH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 07 2017 at 4:46pm
Originally posted by FluMom FluMom wrote:

We have tons of rabbits and in Colorado we have lots of rabbits with tularemia. In the last week I have been seeing lots of dead squirrels in my area. Not sure why maybe they have tularemia.

I guess the big question is if TSHTF how would we know if rabbits or squirrels have tularemia?

Here is what I learned:

"Heat kills F. tularensis, so cook meat to the right temperature — a minimum of 165 F (73.8 C) for ground meat and game meat — to make it safe to eat.

Tularemia can be effectively treated with antibiotics such as streptomycin or gentamicin, which are given by injection directly into a muscle or vein. Depending on the type of tularemia being treated, doctors may prescribe oral antibiotics such as doxycycline (Oracea, Vibramycin, others) instead.

You'll also receive therapy for any complications such as meningitis or pneumonia. In general, you should be immune to tularemia after recovering from the disease, but some people may experience a recurrence or reinfection."

So if it you get antibiotics and you get cured you most likely will not get it again.

Let's face it if TSHTF we will need to eat rodents to survive if we have a long term survival situation.


If you are hunting any wild rodents, you have to be especially careful during butchering.  This is when you are likely to get tularemia, not during cooking/consuming the meat. 

The infectious dose of tularemia is ridiculously low, only one or two organisms is enough (which is why it is an FBI select bioterrorism agent of concern).  The Soviets and others sought to weaponize tularemia, I don't know how successful they were.  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CRS, DrPH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 07 2017 at 4:54pm
I've not heard of a specific squirrel virus before, but it is possible that they may become carriers for Hantavirus, which is a nasty piece of work:


I used to hate the little suckers, but my wife and I have trained them to come up to the porch door and take animal crackers with peanut butter out of our hands (they are amazingly gentle)!  

Yeah, I know, one bite = rabies shots.  Livin' dangerously in Illinois. 


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