Red squirrels have again chewed off and carried away hundreds of dollars worth of festive lights from one Ottawa neighbourhood, making spirits not so bright this Christmas. "This is the first time we have received customer feedback about squirrels damaging Christmas lights," wrote Meghan Furman, a spokesperson for Home Hardware, where the McCabes purchased their lights. Dowd's company also installs seasonal lights and is frequently called upon to replace bulbs that have been stolen by red squirrels. They'd know that after bite one," he said, explaining that the red squirrel's unique survival strategy is to constantly experiment, testing their environment for possible new food sources. The McCabes have had enough of the experimentation — they say that next year, they'll be keeping their Christmas lights inside the house.

Source: CBC News December 05, 2020 09:56 UTC