Photo: instagram
By Emily Francos — Written on Jun 30, 2020
Danielle Connor, a zoologist and wildlife photographer, recently became a mom to four baby red squirrels in Sweden.
Connor has become so attached to the little fur-family that she started uploading her favorite pictures on Twitter.
"It all started with their mum Remy. She was my favourite squirrel. She was confident, bold, and always was first to test my photography set ups," Connor explained.
Unfortunately, she lost Remy recently.
She posted, "Yesterday evening I discovered my favourite red squirrel Remy dead. She had been hit by a car that afternoon. I am devastated. She was the first squirrel to gain my trust. She also had little ones somehow in this forest. RIP Remy, I will never forget you."
After she laid Remy to rest, she set off into the forest looking for her babies. She wrote, "Suddenly I saw something hop in the grass."
This was the moment she became a mom to a family of baby squirrels.
And oh, does Connor love the baby squirrels! She feeds them and she loves being around them — once they got used to her being around.
She posted, "A week ago, I discovered three baby red squirrels. Their mother got killed by a car and I have been feeding them every day since. Today was the first day I was able to call the squirrels down with my voice. I sat in the woodland listening to music, surrounded by baby squirrels."
Connor takes care of them and visits on a daily basis.
In another Twitter post, she wrote, "I have recently become a 'mum' to four baby red squirrels after their mum was unfortunately hit by a car. Over the past two weeks, they have gained my trust and recognize my voice. They remain in the wild and I visit them every day."
She loves her little fur-family and Connor is always interested in their likes and dislikes. In another post, she wrote that she gave one of the squirrels a whole pear because he loves eating pears. It looks as big as him.
More recently, the squirrels have started letting her pet them.
She wrote, "The level of trust is extraordinary. I am the only human these baby squirrels have ever met. They have provided me with so much joy and gratitude. I will continue to protect them."
Her enthusiasm for animals and photography is seen in every picture she takes.
She writes that red squirrels become independent around 10-12 weeks old. So, on June 23, 2020, the squirrels were 7 weeks old.
Since she found the babies, Connor has spent 4-6 hours in the forest with them each day.
So, once they hit around 10-12 weeks, she will back off on providing food for them and she will not have to go out into the forest every day to check on and feed the squirrels.
You can follow Connor's journey with the squirrels on Instagram.
The 20-year-old photographer started her zoology career at the University of Exeter.
Connor first became interested in photography after borrowing her father's camera and walking in the woods searching for the best lights, textures, and colors.
In her autobiography on the Female Nature Photography page, she wrote, "In the future, I'd like to pursue a career in conservation and science, however, I doubt a camera will ever leave my side."
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Emily Francos is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture, and relationship topics.