Guy Finds A Baby Squirrel That Can’t Even Walk Yet, Takes It Home And Now They’re Best Friends (26 Pics)
If you haven’t seen enough cute animal pictures today, here’s something I bet you weren’t expecting: a pet squirrel!
28-year-old Igor Grishin, who lives in the small town of Konchezero in Karelia, Russia, was walking in the woods when he found the squirrel unable to walk about a year ago. He brought the baby animal home, where Chippy, as the little critter is now called, has lived ever since. Chippy’s Instagram account shows him lounging on pillows in Grishin’s home, eating fruit, and even being roommates with a cat.
“He is always making me laugh, distracting me from the worries of everyday life. I am very happy that we met each other,” Grishin told Bored Panda. He also shared that Chippy has a squirrel house built especially for him, and has successfully learned some commands.
Scroll down for pictures of Chippy the rescue squirrel
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
You can find many heartwarming stories of people rescuing and caring for wild animals, like this wildly popular squirrel named Jill, who Bored Panda posted about a few weeks ago. However, the owner of another popular Instagram squirrel named Tintin is vocal about the difficulties of caring for a squirrel and urges his followers not to get one on purpose just because they saw some cute pictures.
We admire people like Grishin and these other adoptive squirrel parents who are able to provide them with the care they need, since animals that have been rehabilitated by humans cannot always return to the wild, but we remind readers that rescuing a squirrel or any other wild animal means taking on the responsibility of their sharp claws, unpredictable moods, specific dietary requirements, and destructive behavior.
If you find an orphaned or injured squirrel, and there is a wildlife rescue near you, your first course of action should be to call them.
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
Image credits: belkchippy
all these pics are so f*****g cute. i remember the squirrel i saved from a garden snake. (NO I DID NOT KILL THE GARDEN SNAKE) the squirrel's mum found me with her baby and climbed my my leg, grabbed the baby from my damn hand, and just went back to one of the 5 nests i have in my walnut tree. i have a lot of squirrels for being a city teen.
Chippy is living his best life. Red squirrels are adorable- Chippy makes me think of the character "Squirrel Nutkin" from Beatrix Potter's (writer of "Peter Rabbit") books.
Omg... I've still got all of my Peter Rabbit books! I just went through them to find Squirrel Nutkin and Chip looks so similar to him! I love red squirrels... I hope Chip can be an ambassador to the Red Squirrel community
Load More Replies...Awesome that he gets to have a squirrelfriend! Friendship with animals is really fulfilling.
For the reasons listed & linked above, I know that having a pet squirrel is a terrible, terrible idea. BUT having said that, if I lived in a fantasy land where magical pets existed, I would choose a squirrel. It could ride on my shoulder, scout out tiny/tall places for me, and just be super cute and pettable. Squirrel familiars for the win.
While Chippy is very adorable, it’s still risky to adopt a wild animal. The Grishin family may be lucky and Chippy may be more docile than the average squirrel, but that’s no guarantee another squirrel will be the same, or that Chippy, as he reaches maturity, won’t become way too hard to handle. There’s a huge difference between tame and domesticated. Tame is still wild, and can still turn on you—-maybe not violently, but at least destructively. Domesticated means the wild has been bred out over numerous generations. The Siberian foxes that were part of the early 1960s domestication experiment, initially for the fur industry then for pure science, took at least 30 or so generations of breeding for docility before they could be declared domesticated—-and it was discovered that the more generations the better. Knowing this, I have to agree with other commenters that it’s best to take abandoned young or injured wild animals to the experts who know what they’re doing.
Amen, Kathy. I still have a scar to prove your words are true. Wild needs to be respected as such. These cute little f----ers can Bite!
Load More Replies...I dont know how things are in Russia, but what I would do if I find an injured baby wild animal, I would take them to a wildlife hospital or something like that where it can get proper help and maybe be replaced back into the wild. Why do people think its a good idea to just keep the animal at their home?
It appears that in Russia, you can have any animal as a pet.. Google Messi the cougar/puma...
Load More Replies...Yes, and I also love that the cat and squirrel get along together
Load More Replies...Lovely little guy... but boy, howdy - if you have ever been on the toothy end of a squirrel, you develop a very healthy respect for distance with them. Had a "tame" one who would come into my home daily to be fed, get cuddles, etc. One day she just spooked and bit my thumb. To the bone. The bone was chipped. Hurt like a --- Thereafter I respect them fully as WILDlife!
If you replace Chippy in the car video by a cute rabbit you have mine. They always jump around in the car, obsessed with the moving things around them. They don’t like it by the way, but they are always going on adventure in the car. (Most of the time I put them into a case, you know, just in case)
I miss squirrels so much, ( no squirrels in New zeland ) he is adorable and those ears!!!!
Yes, it is great responsibility, not everybody can take up this task; but it seems that Chippy is happy and well cared for.
Love the story, and I hope people will understand the difficulties of having a squirrel, or other tiny critters, after major damage in your home, it's too late to let the critter return to the nature, some situations don't run smooth !!!
I know Squirrels belong in the wild but I probably would do the same as I have an instinct to take care of animals.I think I would like it to have the best of both worlds Outside and Indoors with me.
Be proud with what you did rescuing the squirrel . There are many that would have just walked by and let it die. However, there are many that would have done the same as you . And so. There are many of us that are proud of you, and the cat.
How stupid to drive with an animal unsecured in the car, what happens if you have to make an emergency brake?
My rabbits always wants to run around in my car and they haven’t break anything and idk what happens by an emergency break. I always put them in a case btw
Load More Replies...I love this story and the pictures. I may be one of the few people in Minnesota who love squirrels but I can't get enough of them.
Make sure he is comfortable around cars and cats. That should work out well.....
all these pics are so f*****g cute. i remember the squirrel i saved from a garden snake. (NO I DID NOT KILL THE GARDEN SNAKE) the squirrel's mum found me with her baby and climbed my my leg, grabbed the baby from my damn hand, and just went back to one of the 5 nests i have in my walnut tree. i have a lot of squirrels for being a city teen.
Chippy is living his best life. Red squirrels are adorable- Chippy makes me think of the character "Squirrel Nutkin" from Beatrix Potter's (writer of "Peter Rabbit") books.
Omg... I've still got all of my Peter Rabbit books! I just went through them to find Squirrel Nutkin and Chip looks so similar to him! I love red squirrels... I hope Chip can be an ambassador to the Red Squirrel community
Load More Replies...Awesome that he gets to have a squirrelfriend! Friendship with animals is really fulfilling.
For the reasons listed & linked above, I know that having a pet squirrel is a terrible, terrible idea. BUT having said that, if I lived in a fantasy land where magical pets existed, I would choose a squirrel. It could ride on my shoulder, scout out tiny/tall places for me, and just be super cute and pettable. Squirrel familiars for the win.
While Chippy is very adorable, it’s still risky to adopt a wild animal. The Grishin family may be lucky and Chippy may be more docile than the average squirrel, but that’s no guarantee another squirrel will be the same, or that Chippy, as he reaches maturity, won’t become way too hard to handle. There’s a huge difference between tame and domesticated. Tame is still wild, and can still turn on you—-maybe not violently, but at least destructively. Domesticated means the wild has been bred out over numerous generations. The Siberian foxes that were part of the early 1960s domestication experiment, initially for the fur industry then for pure science, took at least 30 or so generations of breeding for docility before they could be declared domesticated—-and it was discovered that the more generations the better. Knowing this, I have to agree with other commenters that it’s best to take abandoned young or injured wild animals to the experts who know what they’re doing.
Amen, Kathy. I still have a scar to prove your words are true. Wild needs to be respected as such. These cute little f----ers can Bite!
Load More Replies...I dont know how things are in Russia, but what I would do if I find an injured baby wild animal, I would take them to a wildlife hospital or something like that where it can get proper help and maybe be replaced back into the wild. Why do people think its a good idea to just keep the animal at their home?
It appears that in Russia, you can have any animal as a pet.. Google Messi the cougar/puma...
Load More Replies...Yes, and I also love that the cat and squirrel get along together
Load More Replies...Lovely little guy... but boy, howdy - if you have ever been on the toothy end of a squirrel, you develop a very healthy respect for distance with them. Had a "tame" one who would come into my home daily to be fed, get cuddles, etc. One day she just spooked and bit my thumb. To the bone. The bone was chipped. Hurt like a --- Thereafter I respect them fully as WILDlife!
If you replace Chippy in the car video by a cute rabbit you have mine. They always jump around in the car, obsessed with the moving things around them. They don’t like it by the way, but they are always going on adventure in the car. (Most of the time I put them into a case, you know, just in case)
I miss squirrels so much, ( no squirrels in New zeland ) he is adorable and those ears!!!!
Yes, it is great responsibility, not everybody can take up this task; but it seems that Chippy is happy and well cared for.
Love the story, and I hope people will understand the difficulties of having a squirrel, or other tiny critters, after major damage in your home, it's too late to let the critter return to the nature, some situations don't run smooth !!!
I know Squirrels belong in the wild but I probably would do the same as I have an instinct to take care of animals.I think I would like it to have the best of both worlds Outside and Indoors with me.
Be proud with what you did rescuing the squirrel . There are many that would have just walked by and let it die. However, there are many that would have done the same as you . And so. There are many of us that are proud of you, and the cat.
How stupid to drive with an animal unsecured in the car, what happens if you have to make an emergency brake?
My rabbits always wants to run around in my car and they haven’t break anything and idk what happens by an emergency break. I always put them in a case btw
Load More Replies...I love this story and the pictures. I may be one of the few people in Minnesota who love squirrels but I can't get enough of them.
Make sure he is comfortable around cars and cats. That should work out well.....
369
45