Celebrate the acrobatic antics of the city's most resourceful resident with this Tree Rat Urban Wildlife Series Poster by Swell Scenes. Featuring a dynamic gray squirrel mid-leap in sleek, modern vector style against an abstract urban backdrop, this cheeky artwork honors the nimble navigators of parks, backyards, and city streets. Perfect for urban dwellers, nature lovers with a sense of humor, apartment decorators, and anyone who appreciates the entertaining chaos that squirrels bring to city life.
Why You'll Love It
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Humorous Wildlife Art: Playful "tree rat" title adds witty perspective on the ubiquitous gray squirrel—celebrating their acrobatic brilliance and occasional nuisance with equal affection.
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Urban Wildlife Series: Part of a collection celebrating city-dwelling creatures—mix and match to create a complete urban ecosystem on your walls.
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Modern Minimalist Style: Sleek vector design with energetic composition captures squirrel dynamism while fitting contemporary apartment and office aesthetics.
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Perfect City Gift: Ideal for apartment warming, city dwellers, nature enthusiasts, animal lovers, or anyone who's watched squirrels steal from bird feeders with grudging admiration.
About Gray Squirrels and the Urban Wildlife Series
The gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), affectionately or exasperatingly known as the "tree rat," reigns as one of urban America's most successful wildlife inhabitants. These acrobatic rodents have mastered city living with impressive adaptability—thriving in parks, suburbs, college campuses, and anywhere trees meet human habitation. Native to eastern North America, gray squirrels have become so ubiquitous in urban environments that city dwellers often forget they're observing genuinely wild animals performing remarkable feats of agility and problem-solving daily. Their athletic prowess is legitimately impressive: squirrels can leap distances up to ten times their body length, rotate their ankles 180 degrees to climb down trees headfirst, and reach speeds of 20 mph when evading threats (or pursuing dropped sandwich crumbs). Their bushy tails serve multiple purposes—balance during daring jumps, communication flags, warmth in winter, and shade in summer. Gray squirrels' success in cities stems from exceptional adaptability and intelligence. They've learned to navigate urban obstacles with creativity that borders on genius—tightrope-walking power lines, raiding supposedly "squirrel-proof" bird feeders through persistence and innovation, memorizing thousands of food cache locations through spatial memory that would impress neuroscientists, and timing street crossings with remarkable traffic awareness. The "tree rat" nickname captures the dual nature of our relationship with these creatures: we admire their fluffy tails, entertaining antics, and undeniable cuteness while simultaneously cursing their determination to ransack gardens, dig up flower bulbs, and monopolize bird feeders meant for cardinals and chickadees. This contradictory relationship makes squirrels perfect subjects for urban wildlife art. Our Urban Wildlife Series celebrates the often-overlooked animals that share city spaces with humans. While nature documentaries showcase exotic species in remote locations, urban wildlife quietly thrives outside our windows—adapting, surviving, and occasionally stealing pizza directly from park picnics. Gray squirrels embody the resilience and resourcefulness required for urban survival, making them worthy of artistic recognition despite (or because of) their mischievous reputations. Whether you've watched squirrels perform death-defying leaps between apartment fire escapes, witnessed their elaborate bird feeder heists, fed them peanuts in Central Park or Washington Square, or simply appreciate their chaotic energy as they tear around trees at maximum velocity, this poster celebrates the tree rat in all its acrobatic, nut-hoarding glory. The minimalist design captures movement and energy—the blur of gray fur and bushy tail that defines squirrel existence. Perfect for apartments where nature comes primarily in rodent form, offices overlooking parks, or any space that appreciates the humorous intersection of wildlife and urban living. This artwork acknowledges that while we may not have chosen squirrels as neighbors, they've chosen us—and their entertaining persistence deserves recognition.
Print & Frame Details
- Premium 189gsm matte paper using archival pigment inks
- Modern vector illustration with energetic urban aesthetic
- Framed options include a 0.75″ (1.9 cm) Ayous wood frame in black, white, or natural
- Lightweight Acrylite front protector and hanging hardware included
- Available in multiple sizes perfect for apartments and urban spaces, framed or unframed
- Printed to order to reduce waste and support sustainable practices
Thoughtful Craftsmanship
At Swell Scenes, every print is made to order with museum-quality materials. Our Urban Wildlife Series brings humor and appreciation to city-dwelling creatures — made for urban dwellers, nature lovers, and anyone who finds entertainment in the wild animals thriving outside their windows.
About Swell Scenes
Swell Scenes creates art that celebrates the unexpected beauty in everyday places—including the chaotic wildlife sharing our cities. With a passion for nature, humor, and design, our posters bring personality and conversation to urban spaces.
