tTAKE CARE PLEASE - by E. Nora H. Amrani

By Estelle Nora Harwit Amrani

I happen to be one of those people who like squirrels. I have a family of squirrels who have lived in my yard for many years - having generations of babies. I feed them unsalted peanuts and consider them my friends. I protect them. When I'm out of peanuts, they eat the fruit from my trees. I don't mind. They are very telepathic with me and whenever they are in need of food, they come to my window ledge, or even a neighbor's wall, and stare at me sitting in my office. I always feel their presence and need for food. I get up and say hi to them and they meet me at my front door where I give them a pile of peanuts.
A couple of them have known me for years and totally trust me. One in particular is a male who I took are of when he was a baby and his nest was destroyed. He now has grandchildren. He comes right up to me like a pet and eats out of my hand. I can take a nut and place it into his mouth, and he gently and delicately accepts it with gratitude. He also will take his hand and take a peanut from my hand. He's not afraid of me or my sons. The squirrels have never been a nuisance or posed any danger for us. They are healthy, fun to watch and I truly adore these very sweet creatures. The only thing that worries me about them is that they don't understand cars, and every day I see a squirrel that has been hit and killed by a car.
The other day I drove down an alley to the gas station a couple of blocks from my home when I saw a squirrel lying face up on the road. He must have been hit by a car and thankfully he was in one piece, not bleeding out. His mouth was slightly open, he was stiff except for his tail that flapped about in the light breeze. It seemed he was dead, but I stopped the car to look at him to see if he might have just been shocked and was not dead. I knew he wasn't one of my family of squirrels because my family stays close to my house.
Another squirrel came through a wooden fence a few feet away and walked slowly up to the one in the road. This squirrel was a close friend or relative to the one lying there. She didn't know what happened to him, I could see it in her face. She kept going up to him and backing away, looking around, going back to him to see if he'd wake up and continue playing with her. I watched for a couple of minutes then continued on to the gas station.
On my way back I went back through the alley to see if anything had changed with the squirrels. Nothing had. He was dead and his confused and concerned friend didn't know what to do. She didn't want to leave him, and I could tell she didn't know why he didn't move. I watched her for a few minutes and tried to send her a message about what happened. I felt horrible watching her. Maybe this was her first experience with death? Maybe this was her dad or brother, or mate? Maybe it was her child? I was concerned that she'd be hit by a car, too. If I had a way to pick up the dead squirrel and move him out of the road, it would have been good, but I had nothing. I drove home feeling very sad for the lady squirrel.
How may people would have just hit her, too, or not stopped to even think what she must be going through? How many people drive fast on streets where squirrels run and find it a sport or just the squirrel's bad luck if they hit them? Without cars and uncaring drivers, those squirrels would still be alive, enjoying their family and friends.
It's always hard to see a dead animal or bird and know that these beings do know something's not right, something awful has happened even if they don't always understand why. They aren't stupid, they have feelings. Not all of them are predators living off of other living beings, but even if they are, they still have feelings for their families and friends, their flock or herd.
My reason for sharing this is to remind you to think about the life around you. It's not all about humans. It's about co-existing with respect for all of life on this planet. Is it so difficult to pay attention and use a little more care when we drive so we don't kill these lovely creatures. Put yourselves in their position - would you want someone to hit and kill a friend or family member?
I know sometimes these animals come out of the blue so quickly we don't have time to react. But if we don't speed, and if we look around while driving, stop talking on cell phones and being distracted by other things other than the road, we can avoid many accidents with people and the rest of nature. Thank you.