Furry Tales

The word “bonding” took on a completely new dimension for me today. Up until this morning I had known bonding to mean ‘unifying, connecting, being close’ etc. However, the amazing experience that I had this morning made me think that this word has many and deeper layers to it. And I will forever be reminded of my chipmunk family when I come across that word again!

To give you a little background…We have a family of chipmunks (squirrels) living on the roof of our penthouse. Though technically not pets, since we did not adopt them, this family of delightful little creatures have adopted us instead. My husband and I take turns to lay out a handful of nuts for them every morning on the balcony and we spend hours watching them joyfully munch on the nuts. These noisy, cute little creatures are totally fearless and remain undaunted in our presence! In fact, the tiniest one, not more than a couple of inches from the tip of its nose to the base of its tail, dares our cat, Mischief, to come and get it…knowing full well that the cat is behind French windows and will never be able to reach him! It is pure delight to watch the whole family come and grab the nuts and nibble at them- their tiny mouths champing away like well-oiled machines.

This morning for some reason the nuts lay untouched and the family of happy nut hunters were nowhere to be seen. Their quietness was quite eerie. I remember mentioning this to my husband who agreed that he hadn’t seen any of the squirrels all morning. Thinking that perhaps they weren’t very hungry, I went upstairs to clean the penthouse. To my utter amazement I found a tiny chipmunk hiding in a two-inch by two-inch gap behind some pieces of furniture. It was dazed with fright and I realized with a pang that our dogs must have scared the tiny mite and forced him to take refuge in that spot where they could not reach him. Making sure that the little one was unhurt, I set him free and within minutes his parents came and took him back into their fold.

Lo and behold! Soon after the whole family was back at the balcony merrily gnawing away at the nuts! And then realization dawned on me…the whole family of chipmunks were so distracted at having lost their young one that they had not shown up all morning. I learnt a remarkable lesson from these beautiful creatures this morning. We humans consider ourselves superior to all other creatures, but the unity, discipline, bonding and caring that the chipmunks demonstrated today elevates their position and puts them on a pedestal in my eyes. The sophistication of the social structure and familial attachment amongst these cute little animals has humbled me and taught me a lesson I’m not likely to forget in a hurry.