St. Nicholas/Volume 32/Number 2/Nature and Science/White Squirrel
A white squirrel.
A few years ago a snow-white squirrel appeared near the writer’s home among the Berkshires, and it was her good fortune to have this white-furred, pink-eyed little beauty for a pet. This albino was not captured until autumn, when it was full-grown. It was not quite as large or as strong as its companions, and so was more easily tamed.
Few of the young people who keep tame squirrels realize that a cage
A white squirrel. with plenty of nuts and water is as hard for their pet as prison bars with bread and water for a boy. We found “Frolic,” the white squirrel, eager for all kinds of fruit except grapes. In June he stained his paws with strawberries; in August he feasted on mushrooms; and during winter birch buds fresh from the snowy woods were always a great treat. Whenever the cage door was opened, this fairy-like pet would climb into the window-garden and eagerly nibble the shining Christmas ferns.
The young folks Who have seen wild squirrels at their games of tag in the June woods know how much those in captivity need to play. A large pan of snow on a bare floor makes an ideal romp for such a lively pet. Frolic would turn somersaults, and frisk and play by the half-hour in his delight over snow, which he had never seen until it was shown him in the house. Instinct seemed to tell him, as it does the boys and girls, that snow is just the thing to play in. He often tried to coax the kitten to romp with him, plainly showing that a caged pet longs for companionship. Sometimes tame squirrels, when frequently fed, will live for months in a dooryard and are far happier, healthier pets when allowed their freedom. I know of one case where a wild gray was coaxed to live in a country dooryard. This squirrel grew so tame that it would take nuts from the hand, although it made frequent trips back to its native haunts. One day an old hunter was out in the woods, and seeing a gray watching him, he pointed his gun at him. In the nick of time the thought flashed across his mind that it might be the village pet. The man took a nut from his pocket, and the confiding little animal jumped to his shoulder and ran down his arm for the feast.
Sometime in February this squirrel disappeared entirely; but when the family had given up their pet as lost, what was their surprise, one sunny spring morning, to see her returning along the rail fence with a baby squirrel in her mouth, exactly like an old cat with a kitten! The wise little mother made trip after trip, until she had her entire family of four safely housed in her old home in the spruce-tree, where she knew perfectly well that she would find protection and plenty of food. With mother-like instinct, she undoubtedly brought the weakest first, for the last squirrel kitten was too heavy for the panting little mother, and she coaxed it along behind her over the perilous rail fence.