The Story of Findus: A Little Miracle

Описание: This is the story of Findus, the tiniest survivor I’ve ever had the privilege of caring for. One morning, completely out of nowhere, this little one fell from our roof—a drop of about 10 to 12 meters. I still remember the sound. A loud smack as she hit the floor. It was an absolute miracle that she was even alive, let alone unharmed.

Oh yeah, and by the way—spoiler alert—she is alive and well.

The moment we heard the impact, we rushed to see what had happened. Our first instinct was to move our dogs outside, just to make sure they wouldn’t accidentally step on or stress out whatever had fallen. When we finally got a closer look, my first thought was, Oh no, it's a baby rat. Unfortunately, our thatch roof has a bit of a rat problem, so that wouldn’t have been surprising. But as soon as I saw her tiny, fluffy tail, it became clear—this wasn’t a rat. It was a baby squirrel.

I scooped her up, still in shock that she had survived such a fall, and placed her on a warm cherry seed bag to keep her warm as that’s the most important thing at first. The first thing I did was put her outside in a safe spot in the garden, hoping her mother would come back for her. But she didn’t. Hours passed, and we realized that, like it or not, this little one was now my responsibility.

Not that I minded—I was already attached.

Now, this wasn’t my first experience with a squirrel. Years ago, I had taken care of another one, though her story was much sadder. She had been older, wild, and paralyzed in one leg. Her own family rejected her, and despite my efforts, she didn’t make it. So, I already had some experience with squirrels, but Findus was a whole new challenge.

One of the biggest hurdles? Feeding her. Proper puppy or goat milk formula was impossible to find where we live, so I had to improvise. I ended up making evaporated cow milk myself. I know—not ideal, but it was the best I could do at the time. And before anyone says anything, it was better than letting her starve!

Now, here’s where things get funny. For the longest time, I thought she was a boy. It wasn’t until later that I actually learned something interesting about African tree squirrels—the female anatomy is outwards, which completely threw me off. I was wondering where there would be space for the tomatoes!

When I finally realized she was actually a girl, I celebrated! Not because I’m a feminist or anything, but because male squirrels tend to have huge balls, pee absolutely everywhere, and, on top of that, have lower survival rates due to competition. So yeah, finding out she was a girl was a relief.

Naming her, though? That took some time, which is rare for me. Usually, I just know names—like when our puppies were born, I had their names picked out the second they arrived. But with Findus, I was stuck. That is, until my mom came up with the perfect idea.

See, growing up, I absolutely loved the cartoon Pettson and Findus. The art style of that show was one of my biggest inspirations for wanting to become an illustrator. And on top of that, I found Findus! Get it? So, the name just clicked.

Now, fast forward a little, and as you can see in the video, she’s grown into an active, mischievous, and happy little squirrel. She’s around two months old here, running around like she owns the place. Unfortunately, though, she has to be kept separately from our dog pack. As much as we love our dogs and trust them in most situations, we don’t trust their instincts when it comes to a tiny squirrel. One or two of them might be fine with her, but pack mentality is a powerful thing, and we just can’t take that risk.

So, for now, she lives a very structured life. She has her outdoor cage, where she gets fresh air and climbs around and occasionally communicates with other squirrels, as she’s already turning heads! She has an enclosed room where she can be as feral as she wants, chewing on everything in sight. And she also gets time inside the house to run around and burn off energy—so that when the sun sets, she’s tired enough to sleep through the night.

Originally, my plan was to raise her and release her back into the wild. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how risky that would be. I’d hate for her to grow up, return for a visit (because they do remember and come back), only to get killed by one of our dogs. So for now, I’ve made the safe choice—she stays. She’s part of the family, even if she has to be a little hidden away.

I like to believe she has a good life here. She’s safe, she’s well-fed, and she’s got a family that loves her. And hopefully, she won’t be alone forever—I’m actively looking for a friend for her!

Also, if you want to learn more about African tree squirrels, I highly recommend reading up on them. They’re fascinating little creatures!

And with that, I hope you enjoyed this little story. If you did, feel free to leave a like or a comment to show some love. And if you’d like to see an update on Findus in the future, let me know!