Wildlife: Heidi Chronicles: The Next Chapter, 1 by DreamOfSpring

DreamOfSpring wrote:
Thanks, Debbie,

Yes, she is adorable and unbelievably sweet as well. You just could not ask for a better disposition than Fraidy's. From what I have read, yes, much like dogs and cats, the females may start breeding as early as 6mo while the males may not reach full maturity until the age of 2. Fraidy is about 2 to 2.5 now. One night recently I saw one kit who I believe was with her over in the brush area. The kit appears to maybe be normal size. He/she seems large in comparison to Fraidy. I am hoping she only has the one kit. That is how it appeared to me.

Last night, BTW, I saw at least 2 kits in the Heidi tree shortly before dark. They were in the 'crotch' formed where a decent sized branch meets the trunk just above the top of the fence and were sort of dangling over the branch by their tummies while trying to grip it with their paws in a manner that seemed to show their lack of experience in navigating branches. Moments later I was shocked to see the as yet unnamed furry red-gold one (that I also once thought to be a male) come down the tree to eat. So now she is a mom, too!

And, yes, they do have some incredible 80's, Elvira-style nails, don't they? I've always marvelled at the way they are able to walk face 1st down a tree or fence post with such apparent ease - never could really understand what was holding them up there. It looked as though they had Velcro on their feet or something. Once I started seeing their paws up close in the photos, I began to understand how those nails could hold onto just about anything.

Another thing I find just as incredible is the way they can touch me with those 'hands' without me even feeling the nails. They seem to have incredible control over their 'hands' unlike my dog whose nails gouge me anytime he tries to stand on my bare leg.

Here is Fraidy again, this time trying to steal my flashlight. This was also from before I went back to get her the food. During her rather determined search for the food she was so sure I had, she also turned my bucket over (twice). It was a large 2 gal bucket, empty except for empty containers and such from earlier in the meal. The 2nd time the pulled the whole thing down on top of her. It was a very light, plastic bucket, so she wasn't hurt. I tried to get the photo of her turning all that stuff over on top of herself, but by the time the shutter closed all I got was a bucket on the ground. They are fast little stinkers.