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m3erds
Joined: 22 Feb 2010
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 4:22 am Post subject: What animal is this? |
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I was in Insadong today and I saw a guy with these strange little animals. My friend called them 'da-ram-chui' which comes up as squirrel in my dictionary. They weren't squirrels as I know them. They looked like some kind of gliding animal but I've never seen one up close. They were cute as hell and very affectionate. Anyone seen these and know what they are? Also, are they native to Korea? |
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jvalmer

Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 4:35 am Post subject: Re: What animal is this? |
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m3erds wrote: |
I was in Insadong today and I saw a guy with these strange little animals. My friend called them 'da-ram-chui' which comes up as squirrel in my dictionary. They weren't squirrels as I know them. They looked like some kind of gliding animal but I've never seen one up close. They were cute as hell and very affectionate. Anyone seen these and know what they are? Also, are they native to Korea? |
A 'da-ram-chui' is a catch all word that includes a lot of squirrel related rodents. Maybe it was a flying squirrel?
Also, generally (not 100%) if there is a Korean word for an animal, that animal is probably native to the region or the Chinese have known about it for at least a couple hundred years.
Two examples of animals with really no Korean word are skunk and beaver, hence good chance they aren't native to Korea. |
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PCRamplified
Joined: 25 Jun 2010 Location: PA, USA
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 5:32 am Post subject: |
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"Cute as hell" sounds like a sugar glider to me.  |
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georgeperec
Joined: 04 Aug 2009
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jrwhite82

Joined: 22 May 2010
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 6:10 am Post subject: |
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Looks more like a chipmunk than a squirrel.
But chief exports? It goes 1) Cell Phones, 2) LCDs, 3) Cars, 4) Squirrels? |
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pangaea

Joined: 20 Dec 2007
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 6:14 am Post subject: |
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I agree, it sounds like a sugar glider to me. Was it a cute little rodent with tiny paws, a pointed nose, and comparatively big eyes? They are adorable and I hear they are very affectionate. I think they are supposed to make good pets but they can be quite high maintenance because they bond with their owners and need regular attention from them. |
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nautilus

Joined: 26 Nov 2005 Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 8:10 am Post subject: |
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Thats a chipmunk. A siberian chipmunk. i guess people mistakenly call them squirrels.
m3erds wrote: |
They looked like some kind of gliding animal but I've never seen one up close. |
was it a this?
http://www.moscowzoo.ru/search.asp?search=pteromys+volans&x=9&y=7
if so, its a siberian flying squirrel.
This is an endangered species and protected national monument in south korea.
The guy you saw with them has no right to be keeping them, let alone taking them out of the wild. Call the police and tell them. |
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laguna
Joined: 27 Jun 2010
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Smee

Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: Jeollanam-do
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 1:12 pm Post subject: |
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Always surprised me that squirrels and chipmunks were called under the same catch-all term, as they're quite distinct (and quite common in the wild in Pennsylvania, not so in Asia).
I've seen chipmunks sold as pets a few times in Korea, usually with a hamster wheel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5X4zBgfC5g |
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m3erds
Joined: 22 Feb 2010
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 11:01 pm Post subject: |
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based on the pictures, id say they were sugar gliders |
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Senior
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
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Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 12:16 am Post subject: |
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nautilus wrote: |
Thats a chipmunk. A siberian chipmunk. i guess people mistakenly call them squirrels.
m3erds wrote: |
They looked like some kind of gliding animal but I've never seen one up close. |
was it a this?
http://www.moscowzoo.ru/search.asp?search=pteromys+volans&x=9&y=7
if so, its a siberian flying squirrel.
This is an endangered species and protected national monument in south korea.
The guy you saw with them has no right to be keeping them, let alone taking them out of the wild. Call the police and tell them. |
How do you know he didn't breed the animals? In which case he is doing the animal and Korea a massive favor and service by helping ensure the it survives. |
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nautilus

Joined: 26 Nov 2005 Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!
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Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 12:49 am Post subject: |
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Senior wrote: |
How do you know he didn't breed the animals? In which case he is doing the animal and Korea a massive favor and service by helping ensure the it survives. |
Don't make me laugh. They're flying squirrels. They glide through the air from tree to tree over fair distances. You're saying that mr rag-and-bone ajosshi has a 50 X 100m arboretum in his appatuh stocked with the correct range of insects, fruit and nuts?
Its an endangered and protected species. Nobody has the right to keep them or take them from their natural forest habitat in the far NE of the country.
Call the police, those animals should be temporarily taken into care either at the zoo or re-released into their native area. |
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pangaea

Joined: 20 Dec 2007
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Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 1:05 am Post subject: |
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Quote: |
Quote: |
Senior wrote:
How do you know he didn't breed the animals? In which case he is doing the animal and Korea a massive favor and service by helping ensure the it survives. |
nautilus wrote:
Don't make me laugh. They're flying squirrels. They glide through the air from tree to tree over fair distances. You're saying that mr rag-and-bone ajosshi has a 50 X 100m arboretum in his appatuh stocked with the correct range of insects, fruit and nuts?
Its an endangered and protected species. Nobody has the right to keep them or take them from their natural forest habitat in the far NE of the country.
Call the police, those animals should be temporarily taken into care either at the zoo or re-released into their native area. |
m3erds wrote:
Quote: |
based on the pictures, id say they were sugar gliders |
But by all means, continue to argue over a situation that doesn't actually exist. |
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Senior
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
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Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 1:06 am Post subject: |
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nautilus wrote: |
Senior wrote: |
How do you know he didn't breed the animals? In which case he is doing the animal and Korea a massive favor and service by helping ensure the it survives. |
Don't make me laugh. They're flying squirrels. They glide through the air from tree to tree over fair distances. You're saying that mr rag-and-bone ajosshi has a 50 X 100m arboretum in his appatuh stocked with the correct range of insects, fruit and nuts?
Its an endangered and protected species. Nobody has the right to keep them or take them from their natural forest habitat in the far NE of the country.
Call the police, those animals should be temporarily taken into care either at the zoo or re-released into their native area. |
How could you know this? We don't even know 100% what animal it was. Maybe it was a common old squirrel or chip munk. Maybe he came by it legally. Besides, animals in captivity tend to live longer. "Protecting" them, actually makes it more likely that they will become extinct.
Way to save the environment dingus.
EDIT: It seems that we do know what the animal is (sugar glider, a decidedly unendangered species) and that once again you have no idea what you are talking about. |
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nautilus

Joined: 26 Nov 2005 Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!
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Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 1:17 am Post subject: |
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pangaea wrote: |
m3erds wrote:
Quote: |
based on the pictures, id say they were sugar gliders |
But by all means, continue to argue over a situation that doesn't actually exist. |
Sugar gliders do not exist in Korea.
There are only 3 "squirrel-types' found in korea.
The red squirrel, the flying squirrel, and the siberian chipmunk.
The OP said they were a gliding animal.
Only "gliding animal" (excluding bats) in Korea (and indeed the whole of Eurasia)..is the flying squirrel.
They live in the NE of the country anround the taebek mountains, and have been much reduced in numbers by pesticides which have eliminated the food they eat.
In Korea its common for people to go find and pick up creatures they find in the wild then either show them off or try to hawk them on the streets out of a sack. usually the poor creature dies because people don't know how to look after them. Nor should they be: they should have left them where they were, in their natural habitat. |
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