Portland, yes, the squirrels are tame here

Walking through Deering Oaks Park in Portland yesterday, I came across this scene. Three people were feeding a squirrel. They patiently held out the bread and kept still, so as not to frighten the little, whiskered creature. The squirrel, somehow, had the courage to trust the humans, even though we are, as a species, not especially kind to rodents of his nature.

The brief contact delighted both parties. The city-living humans got a squeal-inducing brush with nature. The squirrel got a meal bigger than its head. Everybody won with equal doses of kindness and trust.

We all could learn from that.

A squirrel takes a piece of bread from man's hand in Deering Oaks Park in Portland on Wednesday afternoon. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

A squirrel takes a piece of bread from man’s hand in Deering Oaks Park in Portland on Wednesday afternoon. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.”

          — Dr. Albert Schweitzer

A squirrel munches a piece of bread after taking it from man's hand in Deering Oaks Park in Portland on Wednesday afternoon. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

A squirrel munches a piece of bread after taking it from man’s hand in Deering Oaks Park in Portland on Wednesday afternoon. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

Troy R. Bennett

About Troy R. Bennett

Troy R. Bennett is a Buxton native and longtime Portland resident whose photojournalism has appeared in media outlets all over the world.