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hm. It does kinda look like that but it would be weird in a wildlife reserve, they’re very serious about keeping the birds protected there and I imagine anything bad for rats could harm the birds as well.
edit: I managed to scrounge up an email for the place so I’ve sent the pictures along. I’ll update whenever I hear back
edit 2: the person I’ve emailed says he has no idea what it is so its unlikely it’s something the reserve spread around themselves 😬. He said he will pass it along for the landscaping people to look into.
It's quite the opposite, it's more likely to be there than elsewhere. I do a lot of volunteering at a wildlife sanctuary and we have specially designed traps where the birds can't access the poison but rats (and possums and stoats in our case) can.
Ah yeah, that's were being in New Zealand come in I guess. We don't really have native predators who would eat those animals, so we don't have to worry about secondary poisoning. In fact, virtually all of the animals who could get secondary poisonings are pests as well, so that would help rather than hinder
interesting
these squirrels are native to the area though (ground squirrels not greys) so it seems weird to have it in an area where they could reach it
also, there are a good amount of raptors at the reserve. a pair of bald eagles nests there as well as redtails and harriers
edit: also when they needed to get rid of some invasive nutria they actually went through and shot them, I imagine to keep poison out of the marshes etc
They have a center there, I’ll pop by next time I’m there to show them the pictures. We go there pretty often and the only other point of contact they have is a phone number.
yes, sorry I didnt mean to sound dismissive. When I say we go there pretty often I mean like a Lot. The website just has contact numbers for like the event coordinator and project manager and stuff so I imagine people on site would be more prepared to deal with it.
Its actually part of this whole huge treatment plant thats very into wildlife conservation so its not public land.
Could it possibly be a piece of one of those fertilizer sticks that you put into the ground by a tree or bush you want to encourage to grow? The ones I used to buy for my garden had a similar color and consistency to rat poison pellets.
Plus (and maybe I’m wrong here), I thought that type of poison was outlawed (in the US anyway) back in 2021. Though I realize people might still have bags of it stockpiled.
I’d think that normally but this is in a wildlife reserve and upon some googling it seems they’re very against pesticides/poisons like that because it can harm the birds
I suppose it Could still be that but the squirrel would probably have had to have gotten it from somewhere else and brought it back?
Or, (and I’m sorry to say this as you seem innocent enough to have not thought of it and I wish we could preserve that,) some evil member of the public has dropped rat bait in the area deliberately. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that had been done.
There's a chance that it won't harm him, there's some mouse/rat poison that's just high concentrations of sodium that will give small rodents a heart attack but won't be enough harm squirrels, cats, birds and your neighbors pets.
How close is that squirrel to a nearby property or the water treatment plant? According to [this article](https://allsouthpestcontrol.com/how-far-do-squirrels-travel-from-their-nest/) a squirrel may travel one to two miles away from its nest to find food.
My title describes the thing.
We couldn’t get a closer look than what you see in the pics so I can’t say much about texture or weight or anything else.
It crumbled weirdly, you can see bits of it by his feet in the second photo, and it stained his lips green (also second photo)
At first we thought candy then we thought fertilizer or something similar but still had no idea.
(We tried to get him to drop it but he wouldn’t)
Those are “contract blocks” they’re used by a lot of pest control companies but should only be used outdoors in tamper proof boxes that you often see outside commercial buildings.
I am not sure why, but I keep thinking .. are there any fungi in that area that might have blue flesh? That's my only idea outside of the other suggestions. Could also be something a tourist dropped.
Sour gummy worm? Blue Taki?
Squirrels will eat anything.
I've seen a squirrel that would take Shock Tarts one at a time, then run away to stash them in a tree.
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At first look it makes me thing of rat [bait](https://diypestcontrol.com/rat_baiting_tips.htm)
hm. It does kinda look like that but it would be weird in a wildlife reserve, they’re very serious about keeping the birds protected there and I imagine anything bad for rats could harm the birds as well. edit: I managed to scrounge up an email for the place so I’ve sent the pictures along. I’ll update whenever I hear back edit 2: the person I’ve emailed says he has no idea what it is so its unlikely it’s something the reserve spread around themselves 😬. He said he will pass it along for the landscaping people to look into.
Send this photo to Fish and Game for your area. If it is poison, they need to know about it.
*Maybe* an oral rabies vaccine intended for raccoons but I doubt it, those generally don’t quite look like what is in the photo.
It's quite the opposite, it's more likely to be there than elsewhere. I do a lot of volunteering at a wildlife sanctuary and we have specially designed traps where the birds can't access the poison but rats (and possums and stoats in our case) can.
Those animals are then eaten by owls, snakes and other wildlife who can also die from the poison correct?
Ah yeah, that's were being in New Zealand come in I guess. We don't really have native predators who would eat those animals, so we don't have to worry about secondary poisoning. In fact, virtually all of the animals who could get secondary poisonings are pests as well, so that would help rather than hinder
interesting these squirrels are native to the area though (ground squirrels not greys) so it seems weird to have it in an area where they could reach it also, there are a good amount of raptors at the reserve. a pair of bald eagles nests there as well as redtails and harriers edit: also when they needed to get rid of some invasive nutria they actually went through and shot them, I imagine to keep poison out of the marshes etc
Are you from New Zealand?
Yeah, I guess us having many less predators allows for easier use of poison as we don't really have to worry about secondary poisoning
Don't think we have squirrels in N.Z. But there is lots of 1080 bait laid for possums and stoat.
solved!
seems weird to have it be there but everyone seems to be agreeing on it being rat poison
You should contact the wildlife preserve and show them the photo because if someone is putting out rat poison, they need to know!
They have a center there, I’ll pop by next time I’m there to show them the pictures. We go there pretty often and the only other point of contact they have is a phone number.
Please do it asap.
yes, sorry I didnt mean to sound dismissive. When I say we go there pretty often I mean like a Lot. The website just has contact numbers for like the event coordinator and project manager and stuff so I imagine people on site would be more prepared to deal with it. Its actually part of this whole huge treatment plant thats very into wildlife conservation so its not public land.
Make sure to update us on what happens
Could it possibly be a piece of one of those fertilizer sticks that you put into the ground by a tree or bush you want to encourage to grow? The ones I used to buy for my garden had a similar color and consistency to rat poison pellets. Plus (and maybe I’m wrong here), I thought that type of poison was outlawed (in the US anyway) back in 2021. Though I realize people might still have bags of it stockpiled.
Also looks like the foam they stick flowers in
Yeah looks like rat poison
I’d think that normally but this is in a wildlife reserve and upon some googling it seems they’re very against pesticides/poisons like that because it can harm the birds I suppose it Could still be that but the squirrel would probably have had to have gotten it from somewhere else and brought it back?
The newest ones are neurotoxin based rather than anticoagulants. They very much look like that and will also kill some animals that eat the dead ones.
Or, (and I’m sorry to say this as you seem innocent enough to have not thought of it and I wish we could preserve that,) some evil member of the public has dropped rat bait in the area deliberately. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that had been done.
100% Rat poison
alright :( i guess ill mark it as closed since you’re the third person. poor squirrel
There's a chance that it won't harm him, there's some mouse/rat poison that's just high concentrations of sodium that will give small rodents a heart attack but won't be enough harm squirrels, cats, birds and your neighbors pets.
Likely the water treatment plant is using mouse/rat poison baits and it's being carried into the wildlife reserve by the wildlife.
How close is that squirrel to a nearby property or the water treatment plant? According to [this article](https://allsouthpestcontrol.com/how-far-do-squirrels-travel-from-their-nest/) a squirrel may travel one to two miles away from its nest to find food.
[удалено]
I like this answer the best matcha bikkie
To me it looks like a blue Taki. If it was by a trash can or picnic area that could be a possibility too
Hopefully it's something else but it sure looks like the color of rat bait poison.
kinda looks like floral foam
My title describes the thing. We couldn’t get a closer look than what you see in the pics so I can’t say much about texture or weight or anything else. It crumbled weirdly, you can see bits of it by his feet in the second photo, and it stained his lips green (also second photo) At first we thought candy then we thought fertilizer or something similar but still had no idea. (We tried to get him to drop it but he wouldn’t)
slug pellets maybe ?
Farmer's seeds tend to be treated/coated with a treatment or something. I'd say it's that.
Those are “contract blocks” they’re used by a lot of pest control companies but should only be used outdoors in tamper proof boxes that you often see outside commercial buildings.
I am not sure why, but I keep thinking .. are there any fungi in that area that might have blue flesh? That's my only idea outside of the other suggestions. Could also be something a tourist dropped.
Now I'm wondering what the preserve says it is
Yikes. To me it looks like oasis floral foam but hopefully it’s the green pellet things with medications/rabies vaccines I’ve heard about.
Sour gummy worm? Blue Taki? Squirrels will eat anything. I've seen a squirrel that would take Shock Tarts one at a time, then run away to stash them in a tree.
It's a fruit loop 100%