Squirrel rescued by Florida woman now refuses to leave her side

The Independent

I rescued a squirrel. Now he refuses to leave.

Transcript

00:00 Somehow he was abandoned by his mother.

00:01 So he climbed down the tree, and that's when they found him.

00:04 Because a baby squirrel that small

00:05 wouldn't be leaving the nest.

00:07 And a couple hours later, my friend

00:09 brought Lichi in a little box.

00:11 I am Linda, and this is Lichi's story for "GeoBeats."

00:15 He was underweight, and he needed nourishment.

00:17 I think another couple of days out there,

00:19 if somebody didn't get him, he probably would perish.

00:21 He was a hungry little boy.

00:26 And I fed him with a dropper.

00:28 Felt an instant connection, and that was the end of it.

00:31 I just fell in love with him.

00:32 Soon after, his belly was filled.

00:34 We rubbed his belly to express like the mother does.

00:36 And then he went back to sleep until the next feeding.

00:39 Lichi is definitely a mama's boy.

00:41 He does interact with my partner, Steve,

00:43 but not quite as much.

00:45 He will jump to him, but given an opportunity to choose one,

00:49 he would choose me.

00:50 Right, Steve?

00:52 Here in Florida, we have Florida rooms or sun rooms,

00:55 and Lichi lived in the sun room.

00:57 Lichi is very playful.

00:58 He'll cuddle in my hair and kiss me.

01:02 If you're having a bad day, you can go sit out there with him.

01:05 There's something about being with nature

01:07 at that level and the calmness that you feel.

01:10 And it's just so sweet.

01:11 Come on, boo-boo.

01:12 Come on, Lichi.

01:13 I know you're hungry.

01:15 Come on.

01:16 Oh, there.

01:17 I'm so lucky that this happened to me

01:20 to be able to experience it, because most people don't

01:23 interact and play with squirrels.

01:24 You hang out with Lichi, it changes

01:26 your whole perspective.

01:27 It makes you realize it's the little things in life

01:30 that really matter, not the big things.

01:32 I don't recall Lichi ever being grumpy.

01:35 What I find is, because he's a scaredy cat,

01:38 loud noises scare him, and he'll immediately

01:40 run back into his nest.

01:41 And he'll peek his little head out to make sure it's OK.

01:44 Usually, if I'm out there, he feels more secure,

01:47 because he knows I want to protect him.

01:53 About three weeks after Lichi was given to me,

01:56 somebody contacted me that they--

01:59 in the same town-- that they had a baby squirrel,

02:01 and they didn't know what to do with it.

02:02 And they brought Coconut over.

02:04 OK, Coconut.

02:05 Coconut was substantially bigger and a little rougher.

02:08 When I did his release, Coconut came home every night

02:15 for about two to three weeks.

02:16 And then after that, he must have found a new nest.

02:19 I see him every day in the backyard.

02:22 Look at how cute.

02:24 He's in his little nest.

02:26 We got Lichi in September.

02:28 I'm thinking he's about 5, 6 months old.

02:31 He could be naturally in the wild.

02:33 And I open the door, and he goes around the area,

02:36 but he does not leave.

02:37 I hope he goes, but I hope he doesn't go.

02:39 I don't think he wants to leave.

02:41 He's smart.

02:42 Right now, he has unlimited food.

02:44 He's not out in the elements when it rains or it's cold.

02:47 He's safe and secluded.

02:50 But at some point, you have to let go.

02:52 I know of a mother of two grown children.

02:54 You have to let them go and find their own way.

02:57 It's his first little squirrel call.

02:59 I do not think that squirrels make good pets.

03:01 He's finding a voice.

03:03 He is a wild animal.

03:04 He deserves to be in the wild.

03:06 You're going to have to get a little louder for the wild.

03:10 Aw.

03:13 [music playing]

03:16 (gentle music)

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