Woman who feeds a squirrel every day returns home to find a wholesome gift from the rodent

A human being’s love for animals is easily understood and expressed because of the ability of humans to communicate in a language. The other way around is also a beautiful experience but there are some limitations to how animals communicate and express their love towards the humans that matter to them. Much research has been done to decipher the behavior of animals and understand their feelings through their actions. A recent example of this is a viral TikTok video captured and posted by Ethan (@ethznn). It shows a beautiful gesture on the part of a squirrel that used to be fed every day by the woman in the video. 

The title of the video explains the background story. “This woman always feeds this squirrel and the squirrel returned the favor by leaving a cookie out for her.” This almost seems unbelievable, but then again, kindness is usually a surprising affair. The video is captured by the CCTV camera outside the main entrance of the lady's house. It shows the woman returning from a round of errands, probably because she can be seen carrying large and heavy bags. She places them on the side, looks for her house keys and begins to unlock the door when her eye catches sight of something red and round. She picks it up and realizes that it’s a cookie.

The video goes back in time to capture the kind culprit behind the cookie and it shows a squirrel climbing the railing to the top with a red cookie in its mouth. It then hops on the windowsill next to the entrance door, gently places the cookie on the windowsill, hops back on the railing and down on the ground to head its way. This sweet gesture on the part of the squirrel must really have made the woman’s day. That’s what is said about karma and good deeds: somewhere, somehow, they find a way to come back to you as a thank you or as an opportunity for you to feel good in that moment.

The video went splendidly viral and was liked by 2.3 million viewers and shared over 56K times. It’s no surprise that such a warm and compassionate video’s comment section was flooded with nothing but admiration and love. In fact, a user narrated her similar experience: @888356lisa said, “I have squirrels outside my house that I feed every day and one day I came out and there was a flower where I put their food every day.” It sounds like squirrels have an inclination toward thanking their caregivers. Looking at the bigger picture, @km083020 threw some motivational light on the incident and said, “Imagine having a tough time and realizing a squirrel loved you enough to leave a cookie for you.”

Editor's note: This article was originally published on November 29, 2023. It has since been updated.