Mother Squirrels

I was reading a post the other day by one of my favorite online yoga instructors, Erica Vetra, who is a mother to actual squirrels, and works in squirrel rescue and rehab. She shared:

“A mother squirrel is among the most attentive mothers in the animal kingdom. She's a single mother; father squirrels don't parent. She spends weeks preparing for her babies' birth by collecting and storing food, building several backup nests in case of the many dangers that squirrels face. Her pregnancy will last for about 45 days and then she'll give birth to between 2 and 5 babies. They're blind and deaf for their first 5 weeks. She'll nurse them around the clock for 7 to 8 weeks, taking small breaks to feed herself, guard against predators, and repair her nests. Then she'll be busy foraging for them and bonding with them. And when they're old enough she'll start teaching them how to move through the trees.

A mother squirrel will adopt an orphaned baby as her own, if she has enough milk to go around and space in her nest. She will rip out her own fur to make soft warm nest bedding for her babies. She'll move the babies from nest to nest to protect them from storms, wind, tree trimmers, and birds of prey. She's got to fend off all kinds of predators both on the ground and in the sky, and show her kids how to do the same for themselves.

A mother squirrel does all of this all by herself. You can see her running across the street carrying stuff in her mouth, either food or the babies themselves. You'll see her lounging on a tree branch in the afternoons trying to catch a little rest. She eats and drinks fast so she can get back to feed her babies. She'll come home exhausted and lie on her back while her babies nurse and climb all over her until they fall asleep.”

Written proof that I truly am a Squirrel Mama. I feel so completely validated.