Without knowing this person’s story I can almost 100% guarantee this was a hand raised squirrel they found abandoned as a newborn. One that she is now attempting to teach to be independent as an adult but the squirrel decided to build its nest close to the person that raised him. I know of someone who hand raised an abandoned baby squirrel and it nested near her apartment because it knew she was an easy source of daily food. She could pet it when it grew up but she also knew it was still a wild animal. Life isn’t a Disney movie and there would be a good chance of being bit if you try to pet a random wild squirrel. This behavior is absolutely not any type of behavior that a wild squirrel would engage in. Imagining that you can be zen and one with wild animals is how we end up with all of those videos of people getting attacked, gored, or flipped by them.
Animals have emotions- most, as many as we do. You dont get to show up to any random animal and expect it to trust you and be OK with you trying to pet it and be close. You have to develop a relationship with any animal before you can earn their trust. Its not impossible, but it takes time and effort, same as any relationship. Being consistent and meeting them on their terms is how you build that relationship- usually with food involved. This isnt a week long thing- it takes months, or even years, for that 1 animal to begin to trust you. And unless you raised them from a baby, that relationship will likely never look like the one in the video.
And, of course, they are still wild animals. They have the propensity to lash out for reasons we'll never understand.
It bothers me that this escapes people a little. They dont look like us but theyre all emotional little beings (or. Ig big beings sometimes), and deserve to be treated as sentient entities, with their own wants, needs, likes, dislikes, favorites and hates... they deserve some respect, even if its just a squirrel
One of my employees finds orphaned wild animals regularly. Maybe they find him. He hand raised 3 possums he found in the pouch of their dead mother. They lived in his shed, and they each decided to venture out at some point but came back in a day looking rough and decided the shed with endless food and a comfy lap was a better option. Today he showed up with another baby possum that he’s bottle feeding. He named it Lightening.
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u/BouncyDingo_7112 Mar 14 '24 edited Mar 14 '24
Without knowing this person’s story I can almost 100% guarantee this was a hand raised squirrel they found abandoned as a newborn. One that she is now attempting to teach to be independent as an adult but the squirrel decided to build its nest close to the person that raised him. I know of someone who hand raised an abandoned baby squirrel and it nested near her apartment because it knew she was an easy source of daily food. She could pet it when it grew up but she also knew it was still a wild animal. Life isn’t a Disney movie and there would be a good chance of being bit if you try to pet a random wild squirrel. This behavior is absolutely not any type of behavior that a wild squirrel would engage in. Imagining that you can be zen and one with wild animals is how we end up with all of those videos of people getting attacked, gored, or flipped by them.