Black squirrel of Mirkwood (from LOTRO)
“Time was when a squirrel could go from tree to tree from what is now the Shire to Dunland west of Isengard.”– Elrond, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two Chapter 2: “The Council of Elrond” by JRR Tolkien
This is the first in a (hopefully) ongoing series called “Rana’s Lore: Astron’s Eggs” looking at lore and Easter Eggs within LOTRO.
They are wanderers of woodland, gatherers of acorns and pinecones, with fur so varied they may compete with the woven robes of Saruman of Many Colours!
Each year Squirrel Appreciation Day is celebrated on 21 January. In 2023 I’ve made slight updates/amendments to this previously published blog post and I aim to run the “The Tale of the Trollshaws Squirrel” storytelling event on the Laurelin server of LOTRO once again. I tweeted a Squirrel Appreciation Day 🧵 thread with Tolkien connections. And as an extra bonus, I’ve also written a new blog about squirrel mentions on and off-screen in Amazon Studio’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” TV show here: "The Númenórean and the squirrel: adapting lore from J.R.R. Tolkien’s works".
Squirrels in Lord of the Rings Online
In LOTRO we find many types of squirrel, all non-combat creatures (“critters”) across the landscape:
Enedwaith Squirrel
🌰 VARIOUS AREAS
🌰 NORTH DOWNS/ELDERSLADE
🌰 FOROCHEL
🌰 TROLLSHAWS/SWANFLEET
🌰 ENEDWAITH
🌰 LONE-LANDS
🌰 THORIN’S
GATE /
🌰 MIRKWOOD
As well as the landscape squirrels, there are also squirrel pets which players can have besides them as they adventure – one for Lore-Master only (non-combat pet) and five types for all characters (cosmetic pets). These pets do not enter combat when you do.
🌰 LORE-MASTER NON-COMBAT PET
🌰 COSMETIC PETS
There are currently six squirrel cosmetic pets. Details on how to get them can be here:
🌰 SQUIRRELS IN QUESTS
There is one squirrel that deserves a special mention. Part of the Flying the Coop series of quests, the Bree-land quest has George the Rooster (at Sanderson’s Farm) sending you out into the wild, looking for animals to talk to after he tells you about his fear of wolves taking over the Shire. In the Southern-most part of Nen Harn you find a bold Grey Squirrel who has visions of grandeur in mind:
"Wolves? Ha! We fear no wolves! They will not withstand our onslaught. They will be the next to fall!"
"After we destroy the helpless red squirrels, we shall conquer the wolves, and then the world! No one can stop us!"
-- Grey Squirrel, Nen Harn, Bree-land [21.6S, 42.6W]
…quite
the charmer! And perhaps a little nod to the real-life issues of the
introduction of greys into the
A squirrel also plays a part in another storyline, “Confront the Old Took” in Adelard Took’s library in the Great Smials, the Shire.
There is also a squirrel wandering around the Haunted Burrow during the Harvest Festival.
There is a barter item from Radagast in Rhosgobel called the Whistle of the Lone-Lands. This is based on an earlier quest where you saved animals with him. When you use it, five non-combat pets will be called for 90 seconds – a raven, fox, rabbit, frog and a squirrel. These can be summoned alongside your normal cosmetic pet (and also Lore-master pets).
Radagast in Eryn Lasgalen asks for help with various animals who have been poisoned, one being a squirrel in the “Plight of the Innocent” quest.
Squirrel house in Eastfold
Finally, just outside of Aldburg in Eastfold, Rohan (68.9S, 61.4W), lies a small ruined house with some rather furry occupants! This house lies close to the “Goldilocks” house, two fun Easter Eggs put from the developers.
Further reference: Tolkien Gateway
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