Tame woodland squirrel takes shine to my shoe
Last night, recovering from a cold that started on Tuesday – the very day on which the sun finally came out – I needed some fresh air.
Walking through a nature reserve towards some local woods, where I knew I’d be likely to find bluebells, if there were any still in bloom, I snapped some ducks and a flock of of sheep: picturesque enough for me, although they really must have been suffering in the heat. A short while later, I saw a young deer hiding in the bracken but, just as soon as I’d got my camera out, it bounded away and was hidden behind a low-hanging branch.
I duly snapped my bluebell photo and then heard this strange purring noise from a nearby tree. As I wondered what it could be, up popped this friendly face from the top of a wicker fence: a tame baby squirrel that climbed down to the ground and proceeded not merely to approach me but to start clambering over my shoe and gnaw its sole, as you can see from the pictures below.
I started shooting towards the ground from a crouched position; the little creature completely ignored me. Our encounter lasted several minutes; it was a totally disarming experience.
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