the_morning_after raze you might have heard that squirrels, who are an intriguing blend of social and solitary, will bunk together during the winter months, consolidating their body heat to stave off the cold. what you probably don't know — and what i wasn't aware of myself until i talked to a conservation biologist and expert in the field of squirrel behaviour — is that the roommates are almost always related. and they're usually female. he said he once saw seventeen squirrels sharing the same cavity den. a whole family_tree, from grandmothers on down the line. only occasionally will they allow an interloper into their communal bed. sometimes a male suitor will fill his mouth with leaves and offer to help fortify the foreign fortress he aims to infiltrate in an effort to prove his worth. even if he's accepted as another warm body, you can bet he'll be cast out the morning after and given no incentive to return. 251106 what's it to you? who go blather from