Squirrel as Pet: Tamil Nadu youngsters teach a lesson in compassion

THOOTHUKUDI(Tamil Nadu): There are instances of people adopting lost and stray animals to ensure their safety, but these animals are mostly popular domesticated pets, rarely rodents. However, exemplifying this rarity, a family in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi has opened its doors for a squirrel to be their house pet.

A tiny life has found a loving home in the ‘Pearl City’, where Sri Damayanthi, a resident of the port city, has been raising the squirrel as a house pet after nursing it back to health. The squirrel, who has been named ‘Pachai Baccha’, fell from a tree in her garden one day and was nursed back to health.

“He fell from a tree in our garden. We took care of him, gave him milk through an ink filler. Slowly, his health improved, and now he has become our house pet. He eats with us, sleeps with us, and plays with us. He goes out and comes back home later. We have named him Pachai Baccha,” Damayanthi told.

Meanwhile, in another example about compassion, a Chennai couple, Sudarson and Vithiya, have been feeding parrots, pigeons, doves, and house sparrows on their residence’s terrace for over 15 years, turning it into a paradise for birds and a major attraction for visitors, including foreigners and celebrities.

Sudarson said, “My parrots call me Sudarson. We’ve been feeding birds here for the past 16 years. It started after my father passed away. One day I went to the terrace and saw hungry parrots looking for food. With more than 10,000 trees cut in the city, birds had no place for shelter or food. I started placing food for them every morning and evening, and slowly more birds began to arrive.”

#WATCH | Tamil Nadu | A tiny life finds a loving home in the ‘Pearl City’, Thoothukudi. Sri Damayanthi, a resident of the port city, has been raising a squirrel as a house pet after nursing it back to health when it fell from a tree in her home’s garden one day. Her family has… pic.twitter.com/gVm4dN2gii

— ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2025

Explaining the birds’ preferences, he added, “We initially gave them sunflower seeds, but our South Indian rose-ringed parrots don’t eat them. Now, we give them raw groundnuts, soaked rice, and seasonal fruits. We cook this fresh every day.” (ANI)