A little over two weeks ago I came upon an injured baby squirrel returning from a walk. I heard some high-pitched noises that I first mistook for a bird, but when I went back to look, I realized they were baby squirrel screams. The baby had just fallen, and was sitting on the ground, awake but not moving. Its back leg was in a bad state. I have no idea what caused it - predator, abandonment, another rival, misadventure...
Thankfully I knew exactly where to go, and got it into the hands of qualified squirrel rehabbers within an hour, and after a week was told that it is expected to survive.
However, since then, the mother acts differently. I see her often around the grounds at my apartment, and usually comes over for a nut when I call it as I pass by, but lately, she's been a whole other level of friendly. She runs over to me even if I don't call her.
If I do give her a nut now, she doesn't immediately pick it up and eat it - just gives it a quick sniff and turns back to look at me. If I don't keep throwing more, she just keeps walking closer to me, like WAY closer than she ever has before, like an inch from my feet. So close that I have to back up to put a little distance between us. Mind you, she's not waggling her tail or acting threatening at all, actually the opposite - her movements are slower and more deliberate.
What I'm wondering is, do you think it's she's under the impression that I have her baby? After all, when I came back with a box to take the little fella to get help, she was right there watching me.
I feel sad that there's no way to cheer her up - to let her know that her baby's going to be okay, or to be able to reunite them ever again. Unfortunately, she lives in a giant fir tree right next to a busy road, so returning the baby after it recovers is out of the question. It will be released on a parcel of land set aside for rescues.