We had a squirrel and we loved it. It was a baby. It came to us. It was lost maybe, I don’t know. Maybe it just stepped away from it’s nest for a moment, its mom watching, smiling, proud of her baby’s first little solo adventure. Maybe it just felt ready to start a life of it’s own.
“Look, Weeze, a baby squirrel!” I said, pointing to the base of a tree in our front yard.
“Oh my God.” Louisa whispered.
“I have literally never in my life seen a baby squirrel,” I said as I walked towards it.
It’s true, I’d often wondered why one never sees baby squirrels. You see baby raccoons trailing their mom across the street late at night when you’re sitting on your front steps trying to sort out what happened to your life. You see baby birds when their parents make a nest in your browned, 6 month old Christmas wreath on your front door. You see baby possums when their mom gets hit by a car and you turn it over and see the babies still alive, wriggling on their mother’s soft white belly. You see baby bunnies when your dog brings them (dead) to the back door. But you never see baby squirrels.
The right thing would’ve been to leave it there on that tree. I know that now. I actually knew it then. But Louisa didn’t. And this was a good opportunity to show Louisa the importance of leaving wildlife alone and not taking it into your home.
Here’s a video I made for her in case she ever forgets this…
