A squirrel finds its feed!

Anna and I watched the above sight of Rambutan shells open with its pulp missing, while we were plucking the fruits. We knew then that squirrels in our garden were feeding on the fruit.  

Today being Sunday, I felt inclined to stay near a tree in the morning, looking out for squirrels to come searching for the morning feed. I noticed one squirrel smelling and feeling a fruit and moving away to another bunch! 

When it found a ripe fruit, it took about three minutes to shell the fruit and to get it in its mouth. As it was drizzling, I needed to protect the camera from getting wet. I therefore missed a close up view of the shelling of the fruit.

The squirrel managed to get the fruit between its paws and settled to relish it. It turned the pulp with its paws and took small bites to gulp them with ease and pleasure. 

 

Finally, when it had enough of the juicy fruit, it left the seed behind and moved on to its next climbing expedition of the day. 

It was the first time I was able to watch the full process that a squirrel follows to shell the Rambutan and eat of its fruit inside. 

The ingenuity of the squirrel from the very start caught my attention. It knew which fruit was ripe. It used the hand-mouth skills precisely and dextrously. I didi not drop any of the pulp. It took small bias and paused to take the next. It did all of this tidily and swiftly. 

I wish parents would capture such sights isn their gardens and get the phots of such live demonstrations of exercising skills and planning of birds, squirrels, etc. 

What benefit do pre-school children get by watching cartoons and other entertainments on the TV or mobile. Such programme actually dull their social and language consciousness and  social skills. 

Instead, if families can captures such live sights in nature, how much more children would become observant, curious and engaging of all that happen around them in nature!

What I saw this morning was more than entertainment- it was a vivid realisation of the heightened level of abilities of survival that every species is endowed with!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)