Wild Squirrel Waits Patiently At Window Each Morning To Receive Peanut

Nov 09, 2020 by apost team

Squirrels can either be the subject of contempt or of total adorableness. No matter where you stand on this issue, you cannot deny that this video from earlier this month is pretty darn cool.

In it, you can see a Portland, Oregon homeowner walking to his sliding door where a squirrel is patiently waiting. It is sitting on its hind legs with its front legs, or hands, together as if saying look at what good posture I have! The reason for the squirrels morning visit is the peanut the homeowner gives out each day.

As the homeowner, who is also taking the video, approaches the door where the squirrel is waiting, you can see a black and white cat lounging in what appears to be a shoebox. This is a pretty typical cat behavior, but his reaction to the squirrel's morning visit is definitely not.

The cat just stays in his box without even turning to look out of the sliding door. Most cats would jump at the chance to get at a squirrel. Likewise, the squirrel seems blissfully unaware there that it is so close to this cat. Or maybe, the treat it receives is worth the risk to its life!

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The homeowner greets the squirrel with "Good Morning, would you like another peanut?" as the squirrel quickly inches closer to the door. Upon sliding it open, the squirrel is clearly answering "yes," as he leans inside the door to grab the peanut with his mouth.

The homeowner says the squirrel has been coming around every day to retrieve his snack. It simply waits outside the door, almost begging for its nut! We don't know about you, but we just love this! It seems so rare that man and, er, the beast (okay, maybe we're overshooting here) have bonding moments beyond the confines of places like zoos and rehabilitation centers. The fact that this squirrel seems to trust this human just warms our collective hearts!

Squirrels hide upwards of 10,000 nuts each year in preparation for winter. They choose a variety of different hiding spots that can be spread over an area of up to five football fields. Wow! Humans sometimes have trouble remembering where they put their shoes after coming home!

Since it is harder for squirrels to find food in the winter, these hidden nuts provide sustenance. Squirrels are also notorious for "tricking" other animals who may be spying for their hiding spots, even going so far as to create decoy hiding places other animals may discover. So the reputation squirrels have for being tricksters is well deserved!

But this is only true if it is to protect their food supply. They will also pretend to bury their food in a certain spot while others are watching. Then, while the other animals are focused on where they think the food is, the squirrel escapes with the unburied food and buries it elsewhere. Sly little guys, eh? 

That's not the only trick squirrels have up their sleeves. They also run about in erratic patterns in order to throw off any predators. These guys are way smarter than many people ever give them credit for!

Some squirrels, like the gray squirrel in this video, live in trees and build nests just like birds. These nests can be as large as a footballs. They line them with moss, bark, and feathers for comfort and to keep them warm in the cold months.

When it becomes harder to find food, the squirrels will go back to their hiding places and retrieve their nuts. The guy in our video might not have to hide his nuts if he continues making his daily visits to this home.

Personally, we wonder if this peanut is like a delicacy for the squirrel. Most of the time, we see them eating acorns, walnuts or hickory nuts that fall from their respective trees. Sometimes, much to our chagrin, they go after our birdseed.

However, a peanut is not technically a nut but a legume, closer in relation to beans. Still, it appears that squirrels are quite happy to eat all things nutty, or nut-like. The gifted peanut in our video is still in its shell. You can see as the man hands it off with two fingers to the squirrel, remarking that it is a "nice and big" size. The squirrel first chomps the nut in his teeth and then secures it with his little squirrel hands.

We are left to wonder just how the squirrel ended up consuming the peanut. Did he lick the salty exterior before cracking it open? Or, perhaps he at the whole thing at once. He runs away as soon as he has a firm grasp of the nut.

The homeowner will wait for the following morning in hopes of seeing the bushy-tailed squirrel again. Check it out here to see for yourself. Has anything like this ever happened to you?

Tell us all about it in the comments and don't forget to share this video with your animal-loving friends and family. We're sure they will get a kick out of it!