Wildlife: Heidi - Awaiting the Delivery, 1 by DreamOfSpring

DreamOfSpring wrote:
Heidi went over to dish #2 which, because Trouble had interrupted me before I could fill them, was empty. She then came over to dish #1, and much like Trouble seemed visibly disappointed to find it empty, again despite the quantity of food on the ground around it. She even turned the dish on its side before walking around it to eat from the ground.

Once again, the grapes proved to be the clear choice of the evening menu. Even Heidi who usually prefers the dog food chose grapes for tonight's meal.She handled the grapes in much the same manner as Trouble, turning them between her 2 paws to brush away the dirt that adhered to the moist exterior before popping them into her mouth.

Heidi I have learned is quite afraid of the plastic bag. Bowls and boxes are fine, but the plastic bag seems to represent to her some terror that I cannot imagine. I 1st learned this one evening last week. That night I had taken out the last 4 slices of bread still in the bag. There were 2 bags with that particular type of bread, a sealed inner bag and the usual outer bag closed with a twist tie. The 1st 2 slices I took out were only contained in the outer bag. When I reached deeper into the bag to remove the last 2 slices from the inner bag, the look of terror on Heidi's face was undeniable. It was a look that belied the fear that she had been wrong to trust me and might now be about to pay a heavy price for that mistake. Immediately she had fled, and had run all the way to the top of the fence before she would even stop to listen to me and to reconsider her retreat. It had taken a lot of coaxing that day to bring her back down.

That initial moment of terror I'd seen on her face when I 1st reached into the bag was such that I concluded my movements had recalled some frightening moment from her past, perhaps something someone else had done or had tried to do to her.

Tonight I had to be very careful in my efforts to get more grapes from the bag for her. Each time I reached into the bag she became visibly anxious. I would speak to her and show her the grapes. A few times she walked away a bit and I had to call her back. The bag is a convenient method for me to carry multiple dry foods but I will try to remember to use something else from now on.

I have also noticed that while they are willing to come near me - and in the case of Trouble sometimes even curious - it seems that our relationship is with respect to hands at least, much like that of cops and robbers. My hands must remain visible at all times. If they disappear too far into a bag or box and for too long a time there may be cause for concern.

I'm happy to report that Heidi seemed to feel a bit better today - and it was, in fact, still daylight even as she ate. She ate at a normal pace and without coughing.

After a while, and as with Trouble, before there was any evidence of waning appetite, she looked toward the forest for a moment and then left abrubtly refusing to even acknowledge my attempts to call her back. Minutes after she left, HRH appeared.

Below is another photo of Trouble from last night when he ate from station #1 near me. It was so dark out that I could not see anything but blackness through the camera's viewfinder and was forced to guess about the subject's location. As you can see, Trouble is less than thrilled by the rapid series of flashes set off in the darkness before him.