Feeling Squirrely: Campus Animals at ChathamU

From Shadyside to Eden Hall Campus, Chatham University has lots of woodland critters. Student Chenoa Baker ’21 interviews Sustainability major John Mamas ’23 and Head Gardner Kristen Spirl MLA ‘12 about their wild encounters with animals (pun intended!).

Courtesy of the Chatham University Arboretum Instagram Account.

How is encountering wild life part of the Chatham experience?

Typically, animals and the Chatham experience go hand-in-hand. John says he has seen possums, weasels, deer, birds, coyotes, squirrels, foxes, bears, and ducks. He recounts, “It’s a great talking point and bonding moment among Chatham students.” Kristen Spirl, the Head Gardener at Chatham and Arboretum Manager, has worked here for eight years. She reports seeing chipmunks, owlets, once saw a wild turkey by the ADC, mallards, bunnies, groundhogs, fish in the pond, and red tailed hawks.

In 1997, Chatham became an arboretum. Since then, the arboretum program has grown to where many new trees are introduced to our canopy. Even non-native plants are successfully integrated, which shows that everyone has a place in our community. The arboretum supports biodiversity of many animals and encourages students to interact with the natural world through programs like Buckets and Blossoms, volunteer and work opportunities, and the Chatham Arboretum Instagram account that Ms. Spirl runs along with student gardeners that do takeovers. All this garners more appreciation for our Chatham environment.

Myth of the Screaming Squirrel

We’re all familiar with the Office of Student Engagement’s weekly newsletter The Screaming Squirrel, but did you know its name is based on a campus myth? Some places have a loch ness monster... Chatham’s Shadyside location has screaming squirrels. John Mamas talks about a time during his first semester that he met the legendary screaming squirrel: while walking outside of Woodland Hall, he saw a squirrel in a tree, screaming loudly and chucking acorns down. Kristen Spirl says that all squirrels have the ability to make a screeching sound. “I have not seen the specific screaming squirrel, but I imagine that squirrel is up there in age. We have every type of squirrel on campus and they scream to talk with their family. Sometimes it may even be the catbirds that we have that sound like cats.”

Courtesy of the Chatham University Arboretum Instagram Account.

Coyotes, and foxes, and bears, oh my! Fun animal stories

John fondly talks about Eden Hall Campus. At Eden Hall, he’s been a part of wildlife footage research project with graduate students in the summer, in which he saw pictures of coyotes. He says, “At one point they caught a black bear [on tape] on campus. We did not think that it was living on campus, but it was just migrating through.”

Kristen Spirl shares her favorite memory about a nest of owlets found on Beatty porch. She shares, “Right after winter, [Public Safety Officer] Chief Valerie said there was a report on Beatty porch about a cute baby owl— there were about four or five of them. I called Wildlife Rescue on Verona Road in Penn Hills/Oakmont and they instructed me on what we were to do.” A lot of folks were able to take pictures of the owls before they were supported and helped back into the wild.

The woods right near Fickes and Beatty attract a host of animals, including a vixen (female fox) that was rehabbed from mange and then released in the wild. The foxes came out more during the pandemic with less students on campus. John says, “experiencing Woodland creatures at Chatham is such a talking point and bonding moment with students. The start of fall semester my first year, I was put in situations where I didn’t know everyone in my group and talking about animals was a great way to connect. It’s a defining experience for Chatham students and it speaks to the foundation of Chatham’s values.”  When it comes to dorm life or just campus life in general at Shadyside and Eden Hall, animals are a large part of the Chatham experience.

Find out more by following Chatham University Arboretum Account and keeping updated on the research of Sustainability majors.