Baby squirrels, originally uploaded by ucb411.

After about 44 days of gestation, baby squirrels are born–hairless, blind, and unable to leave the nest for several weeks. A mother squirrel might have two to six or so babies, so she must somehow eat well but stay close so she can nurse. All this happens during the dead of winter, when food is likely to be scarce, and the weather harsh.

It never ceases to amaze me how hard these wondrous animals work for the wellbeing of their young. One winter I watched for an hour as a mother carefully moved one baby at a time from one tree to another, probably because the nest had fleas.

Grasping the baby gently in her mouth, she would carefully climb down the tree, run across the street and up the new tree. After she would place the baby in a hollow, back she would go to get another baby. I counted six babies!

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Yet other pedestrians were oblivious to the wonder that was happening right above them. When I would tell them excitedly what was going on, I got some strange looks, and mostly people would just rush on by.

Humans! I can’t figure them out sometimes.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)