Wild squirrel forms unusual relationship with a human
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00:00 California ground squirrels in the wild only live two to three years.
00:03 She's at least 11 years old.
00:05 And you're still mad?
00:07 I'm Luann, and this is Miss Bonita's story for GeoBeats.
00:11 We moved into our house in 2012, and there was a squirrel in the backyard.
00:18 She would sit on top of the fence and stare at us, and I felt slightly judged by her.
00:23 She was always there. I had a busy corporate job.
00:26 And then one day, I didn't have that job anymore.
00:29 I started working from home, and that's when my eyes opened up to the world outside.
00:34 I started watching Miss Bonita more.
00:36 I began to understand how to provide resources for nature.
00:40 Water for drinking, or native plants.
00:43 I started to research what squirrels eat, and this is when I discovered there are different types of squirrels.
00:50 Hi, Miss Bonita.
00:53 Miss Bonita is a California ground squirrel.
00:56 She lives in underground dens.
00:58 It's like a whole apartment complex.
01:00 Miss Bonita.
01:02 Each den has a kitchen, it has a sleeping quarters, it has somewhere where they use the restroom, where they store their food.
01:08 So it's literally like our places where we live, but theirs is in the ground, and that's what protects them.
01:14 I learned that California ground squirrels eat vegetables, whereas tree squirrels would not eat this.
01:19 And I was talking to a friend, and she suggested maybe get a little closer to Miss Bonita.
01:25 Hi, Miss Bonita.
01:27 And I did.
01:28 Miss Bonita allowed me to approach her and just stand right in front of her.
01:32 Hi.
01:33 Can I get some help, please?
01:35 For years we had been looking at each other, and suddenly I was just inches from her.
01:39 And it was magical.
01:41 She's very different from the other squirrels.
01:43 She's very gentle.
01:45 When she takes something from my hand, I can't feel her teeth on my skin.
01:51 She's been a mom every year since I've known her.
01:56 I don't try to form relationships with the babies.
01:59 I like that they have this great sense of caution.
02:02 Sledge is the baby daddy for Miss Bonita's little ones for the last couple years.
02:09 Sledge is very muscular.
02:11 He has tons of scars.
02:13 He's missing part of his lip.
02:15 I know he's been in tons of fights, but with her he's super gentle.
02:18 I've never seen any other male squirrels have the same relationship with her.
02:22 So I think she likes him.
02:24 Once the females have had the babies, they will chase the males off.
02:28 But she's allowed Sledge to stay in the general vicinity for the last two years.
02:34 And I find that remarkable.
02:36 Like, what kind of agreement do they have?
02:39 Why is he different?
02:40 You would think with all the babies that they have, we'd have a thousand squirrels in the yard.
02:47 But somehow nature keeps its balance.
02:50 And Miss Bonita fortunately has stayed with us, and we can learn through her what these life cycles are.
02:57 She's just always watching.
02:59 If there is a hawk, she will emit a bark to let everyone else know that there's a predator.
03:05 But the vulture, Scout, who also hangs out in our backyard, she is not worried about.
03:10 That tells me she knows a vulture is not going to go after her.
03:14 Hi, beautiful.
03:18 She's seeing these birds up in the air.
03:21 She can identify.
03:23 Sometimes I have to really look.
03:24 Is that a hawk or a vulture circling above me?
03:26 But she'll know.
03:28 And she also has specific calls.
03:30 Like, if the coyote is in the backyard, I know by the way she barks that the coyote is here.
03:35 I'll look out the window, and sure enough, the coyote is walking through the backyard.
03:38 And then I wonder, how much am I not picking up on?
03:41 How much are we missing?
03:42 Because we don't have their senses.
03:44 She allows me to check her for ticks, which I've pulled off of her before.
03:49 Put a little disinfectant on it.
03:51 She's really good about letting me do that.
03:54 Good morning.
03:55 When I first go and see her in the morning, and I say, "Miss Bonita," she rubs her face.
04:01 To me, that's showing, like, "Oh, I'm happy to see you."
04:03 I'm going to fix my fur, like we might brush our hair when a friend's coming over.
04:07 And then she'll run down the hillside to see me.
04:09 Sometimes she'll just sit there on her favorite spots, and we sit together.
04:13 Hi, Miss Bonita. Hi.
04:16 If she wants something, she uses my hand as sort of her reclining chair.
04:21 I don't advocate feeding wildlife from your hand.
04:24 I only started feeding Miss Bonita because I read that ground squirrels will live within 100 yards of their den for their whole life.
04:32 So I didn't have to worry, if I fed her from my hand, that she would go to my neighbor's house and approach them and possibly get hurt.
04:41 Right now, she's putting on weight because I believe she's going to go into estivation.
04:46 Estivation is the same thing as hibernation, but it happens in hot weather.
04:51 So she'll go underground in extreme weather.
04:54 She's gone underground for up to six months at a time.
05:00 Then she'll emerge when the weather is more favorable.
05:03 She's super skinny when she comes out.
05:05 And now I've learned, when she comes out, she wants romaine lettuce.
05:10 She doesn't want nuts.
05:11 Miss Bonita, what are you going to... OK, you want your lettuce.
05:14 And I think it's because romaine lettuce is full of water and fiber and vitamins.
05:19 And she'll just eat that for a couple days.
05:22 She can absolutely survive on her own, but I always offer her a variety of things.
05:26 Sometimes I'll give her something and she doesn't want it.
05:29 She just puts it down and she'll look at me.
05:38 So I bring a variety of things if she doesn't want what I'm offering to her.
05:42 Want a strawberry?
05:44 No? Not so much?
05:47 What about a blueberry?
05:49 Do you want the blueberry?
05:51 Oh.
05:52 I know how old she is. I worry about her.
05:58 But I try not to focus on that too much.
06:01 I'm so thankful every time I see her.
06:03 I find that the more you sit still and watch, the deeper you go into this alternate universe.
06:10 It's right there.
06:11 When I do that, I feel like you're tapping into some magical river of energy that is always flowing.
06:18 But we're too busy to pay attention to it.
06:21 Miss Bonita, thank you for accepting me as her friend.
06:27 It's a gift that never gets old.
06:29 [Music]