LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When you post something on social media, you never know how people are going to respond.
Clearly, squirrels are a hot topic around Kentuckiana.
On Friday, we posted on the WHAS11 social pages asking for pictures of squirrels in honor of the totally-legit "Squirrel Appreciation Day" - and the posts went nuts!
Within a few hours, we had hundreds of comments on Facebook - plus dozens of pictures and videos of these fuzzy, mischievous creatures.
"I love my squirrel friends!" said Miranda Meador on Facebook.
Others shared their cautionary tales, like Lee Williams, who said he used to feed the squirrels in his yard until they ate the wiring out of one of his trucks chewed the gas lines off of his van.
Want to share your own submissions? Use the Near Me function on the WHAS11 app - that's the best (and quickest) way to get us photos and videos.
Here are some of your photo submissions:
Jamie Johnson on Facebook shared a picture of his "buddy" - named Sting.
Many of you captured pictures of squirrels searching for something to snack on - whether that's from a bird feeder or in a trash can.
Both Nichole Dowdle-Abell and Stacy N Adam on Facebook shared photos of squirrels sneaking around their garbage cans.
At least two of our viewers, Sara Dausman Metten and Angela Gilbert - shared pictures of white squirrels. According to the Coastal and Marine Laboratory at Florida State University, these squirrels get their coloring due to a condition called leucism, which reduces pigmentation in animals.
They aren't considered albino because their coat is the only part of the animal lacking color (they don't have red eyes like animals with albinism).
While the squirrels are out enjoying their lives outside - our pets often have to stay inside and watch. Both dogs and cats are interested in squirrel activity - as evidenced by photos submitted by Steve Martiny and Melanie Steele.
Steele said she feeds peanuts to the squirrels - and they come running the moment they hear her front door unlock!
According to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, there are three species of tree squirrels in Kentucky: the eastern gray, northern fox and southern flying squirrel. Their favorite foods are nuts, twigs, buds, and fruit, although some have been seen preying on birds' nests and insects.
The National Wildlife Federation said squirrels aren't afraid of a little snow; in fact, they can find food buried underneath a full foot of it! They're also clever - the NWF said squirrels use a zig-zag running pattern to escape predators and have been known to pretend to bury nuts to throw off potential thieves.
Here are more pictures of squirrels shared by WHAS11 viewers:
Squirrel Appreciation Day: WHAS11 viewers share their nutty photos
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