Family walks in the park with newborns are normal despite outdoor hazards. You can encounter different animals, from wild squirrels to dogs, cats, and pigeons. Sometimes these animals are also pets on a walk with their humans; other times they’re wild or strays without supervision.
A Twitter user shared a cute interaction between a family and a squirrel at the park as the animal invaded their private time searching for treats.
Scroll down to watch the video and see the reactions.
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Squirrel Searches For Treats
The family dressed appropriately for winter, wearing a windbreaker with a puffer hoodie for their child. However, the squirrel relentlessly searched for treats – circling the trio from the lady to the man and the baby.
Every time the squirrel moved to the baby’s stroller, the mother shielded her face with her palm to avoid the wildling pecking at it. Then when the squirrel realized it wasn’t getting anything from the stroller, it moved to the father.
The closer it got, the more it figured the father hid some treats in his pocket as the bold squirrel burrowed into her puffer pockets, determined to get them!
It Was An Abert’s Squirrel
The interaction looks cute but Twitter users got into the nitty-gritty of things especially the hazards of allowing a wild animal close to a baby.
One commenter rightly noted that the squirrel wanted something hence his constant search around the trio. However, it’s never a good idea to encourage wild animals to roam freely around vulnerable people like little babies.
Another person identified it as an Abert’s Squirrel, which lives in trees and is native to the “Southern rocky mountains of the US and Northern Mexico.” They’re very smart and athletic since they live inside trees.
They’re not dangerous to humans, but their bites may carry poisonous diseases, so it’s best to be safe than sorry.
Cute Interactions Aren’t Always Safe Or Healthy
Other Tweeps encouraged the parents to get health tested as soon as possible because they’re often riddled with fleas as wild animals. The animal jumping into the man’s pockets also indicated to some people that it wanted them to adopt it.
Don’t Adopt Wild Animals!
Adopting wild animals is bad because it messes with the ecosystem and distorts their nature. Squirrels are meant for the wild because of their habits such as running around, foraging for food, burrowing for shelter, and their mode of feeding (chewing through things). Caging them indoors would never work and if it does, it can only be done through inhumane means.
