This is a special pair that comes to visit me often, and I always see them together. It’s a gray squirrel and a turtle dove. They are very good friends and often help each other. As you can see, the squirrel has broken the thin ice on the grass. This is directly underneath a bird feeder. Doves like to eat on the ground and they eat almost exclusively seeds, whereas squirrels will eat a variety of things just about anywhere. The squirrel has freed the seeds that were trapped under the ice, and now the turtle dove can eat them.
She helps him, too. I
have seen larger squirrels or other animals threaten this little squirrel, and
the dove will actually pretend to be injured with a broken wing. When the predator is distracted from the
squirrel by the dove’s antics, the squirrel escapes. Once he gets away, the dove flies off and the
predator is left with nothing. This is
real cooperation! It’s also true
friendship. Turtle doves (also known as
mourning doves) will build their own nest, take an abandoned bird’s nest, or
use a squirrel’s nest. It does not have
to be a bird’s nest. This sets my mind
to wondering.
They get along quite well together. I know it’s a bit unusual because animals
usually stick to their own kind, so I’m not sure how this partnership came
about. The best part, though, is that
these two are the least afraid of me out of all the wild animals that come to
visit. They both stay when I come around
and just nibble and stare at me a bit.
If there’s no food left, they’ll come right up to me and squeak a bit to
let me know.
If this kind of cooperation can exist between different
kinds of animals, just imagine what we could do if we set our minds to it.
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| The squirrel and his turtle dove. |
