The video of the rescue alone is heart-warming enough, but many in the comments speculated that they could have witnessed a squirrel adopting an abandoned squirrel."I wonder if that's the mom or just another squirrel that just adopted it," wrote one user.
The study concluded that squirrels learn who their relatives are by the unique sounds they make, and if they fail to hear them for a few days, they may investigate why."We suspect that if they find pups on the territory, they remember that their neighbor was a relative and carry the pups back to their nest. This would be quite intelligent behavior for a squirrel," noted the study.
However, it is unlikely that this is what the viral video portrays. The study also found that cases of"adoption" in squirrels was extremely rare, with the researchers studying 2,230 litters and 7,000 individual squirrels over 20 years, but finding over five cases of adoption. Regardless of the relation between the infant and mother, the video has shown a warm side to the animals, generally seen as less-than-kind in their reputation.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.