In October 2009, a wildlife rescue group found a baby squirrel that, at four weeks of age, had been attacked by an owl. The squirrel ended up with a Family, who already had three squirrels, and nursed the baby back to health. After she was released into the wild, the squirrel kept coming back to the family who saved her. Bella now has her own Instagram page with regular contributions from the family and some of her adventures can be seen throughout this article.

Family rehabilitates baby squirrel

As reported by Bored Panda, Bella the squirrel was only four weeks old when she was badly injured in an owl attack.

If it wasn’t for a wildlife rescue group, she would never have made it in the wild. After the group passed Bella on to Brantley Harrison, her family cared for and rehabilitated the squirrel.

Bella got to spend time with three other squirrels in the Harrison home, Larry, Curly, and Moe. As she wasn’t yet old enough to head back to the wild before winter struck, the family kept her and she and the other squirrels spent time until spring, living in an outdoor release cage.

Fed on baby formula and a mixture of vegetables and fruit, Bella thrived and was eventually released into the wild. The family never expected to see her again, but they were wrong. The Dodo quotes Harrison as saying the squirrel’s personality was no different from any other they have rehabilitated or raised.

She said they never treated her like she was a pet and she acted no differently than any other wild squirrel.

It was in April 2009 that Bella and her three squirrel pals were released and all four were obviously thrilled to be running up and down trees and exploring the forest. The family checked up on the squirrels for a week or so, to make sure everything was going well.

However, it turns out Bella wasn’t yet ready to leave the family who had so lovingly raised her.

Harrison said Bella started coming back within days of her release, enjoying a treat or three. She said it is normal for the squirrels to come back, but normally after around a week, they stop coming. However, Bella is different.

She actually sits at the front door and waits for the family to notice her. She has even been known to jump to the dining room window in the hopes that someone will spot her.

This has been going on for the last eight years since her release. Not only does she enjoy a few treats, she is also known to jump into people’s laps, getting loads of attention. While the squirrel doesn’t consider herself a pet, she does enjoy being with the family and they love seeing her too.

But it wasn’t just temporary visits to the family. Bella was injured again a few years back and the family treated her, giving her antibiotics and keeping her in a rehab cage to heal. When she was just about ready to be released, she gave the Harrison family a huge surprise.

It turns out she was pregnant and gave birth to three baby squirrels, meaning the family had to care for them all until her babies could be released into the wild. Harrison said it was amazing to get to watch the baby she had raised, while she raised her own little ones.
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