Coeur d'Alene man a squirrel socializer
COEUR d’ALENE — Just about every morning, rain or shine, Paul Parla spends a few quiet hours in Coeur d'Alene City Park.
He brings his radio and turns the music on low. He'll set an acorn-filled sack on a picnic table and greet his squirrel friends as they climb down the trees and bound across the grass toward him.
"They come from all over, and they actually know my car when I pull up. They’re extremely intelligent,” Parla said Thursday morning. "They are magical. In their own way, they are magical. They relate to you almost like people. They know how to feel you out. They know how to approach you if you approach them with kindness.
"They know, 'He’s our friend. He’s all right.'”
This has been Parla's routine for several months. He and his wife enjoy interacting with the vivacious tree-dwellers, many of which will come right up and accept a hazelnut or acorn right out of their hands.
“They’re very gentle. Some are skittish,” he said, starting to grin. “I have one who holds my finger for about 30 seconds with one hand and she’ll eat with the other."
They've even named many of their squirrel friends — Peggy, the siblings Walter and Wendy, Jake, Kimberley.
"That’s Willow. See her tail?” Parla asked, pointing to a dainty female squirrel with a missing chunk of tail. "The tips of their tails are releasable. They’re like chameleons. If they’re ever caught by a predator, they release the tip of their tail. She was probably chased by a squirrel rival that grabbed it and it’s just starting to grow back."
The Parlas moved to Coeur d'Alene in January and fell in love with the park and its inhabitants, as well as other creatures that make appearances from time to time.
"I’ve just always loved the parks," Parla said. "I love a lot of wildlife. I love watching the deer, like a lot of people do."
Kristina Wasylko of Sagle happened to see Parla interacting with the squirrels and asked to take a photo.
"This makes me so happy," she said with a smile as she snapped a phone picture of a squirrel sitting up on its haunches to take a nut from Parla.
Wasylko said her young daughter is obsessed with chipmunks and even went as one for Halloween.
“I think the connection of animal and earth is the deepest connection that you can actually have,” she said. “It enriches your soul."
Parla said when it's windy, cold and rainy, he'll lie in bed at night worrying about the squirrels, but he's always happy to see them in good spirits the next day.
"I have really no reason to complain about anything, because these guys are true survivors,” Parla said. "They live in trees that have virtually no shelter. Some have all the shelter they want. They live in freezing rain and the next morning they’re so good-natured, they’re running around playing and I’m going, ‘I’d be dead or sick.’ They survive and they have such a good nature about them."
Parla said he understands that some people have concerns about squirrel encounters and would rather keep their distance, but he’s not one of those people. Parla said he has been approached by city employees, but he was told squirrels are exempt from the city code that discourages feeding wildlife.
"People walk through all over the country and throw peanuts to the squirrels," he said. "What’s the big deal about it? They’re not bothering anyone.
"They’re mischievous, but in such a beautiful way," he continued. "They don’t have the respect that they deserve. They’re so misunderstood.”