Well, this was too fascinating not to share with you.
Theft is a problem everywhere–and that includes cemeteries. So, when American flags are put out at the graves of veterans–in a massive effort by Green-Wood volunteers, we put 4,000 out for Memorial Day 2011 to honor our Civil War veterans–one must pause, take a deep breath, and hope those flags don’t disappear.
Now read this!
Thanks to Jim Lambert for spotting this one–the article, not the woodchuck.
Green-Wood has had woodchucks in the past, although I haven’t come across one this year. http://matthewwills.com/2011/04/04/brooklyn-woodchuck/
The woodchucks of Green-Wood Cemetery have plenty of food with the abundance of grasses and fallen twigs, seed pods and nuts, so I don’t think our flags will disappear. That would happen if they had a scarcity of food. If you are lucky, you will get to see them happily grazing. They are deathly afraid of humans as we are their #1 predator so if they spot you, they will surely run as fast as they can to hide from you and will no doubt hear you before you can see them. They are very elusive. Consider yourself lucky if you get to spot one in Green-Wood. They are rare in NYC. They hibernate during the winter. Here is a link to the mammals of NYS:
http://nyfalls.com/wildlife/Wildlife-mammals-squirrels.html
Marge Raymond
Historic Fund Tour Guide