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The mother squirrel carries her baby across a branch to a nest she had just finished building


This baby squirrel coils up into a tiny ball while his doting mother gently carries him across a branch and to the safety of his nest.

The affectionate parent was taking her young son to their dray by softly picking him up by her mouth as he clung on to her fur.

The mother, an African tree squirrel, scurried along the branch with her child wrapped around her and took him to a new nest she had just finished building.

Father-of-one Morkel Erasmus captured the intimate moments while in a park after he noticed movement high up in the tree.

Morkel, 28, who was on holiday with his wife, said he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

He said: 'We were driving around on a quiet loop along the river when suddenly I noticed movement up a large tree.

'There was this squirrel scuttling along a thick branch and immediately I saw something was strange - her face looked huge.

'After looking through my camera lens I noticed what was going on. The African tree squirrel was carrying her young son in a most unusual manner.

'It seemed that she was holding the child with a biting grip to its tummy, while the child was clinging on to her with all its might.


The young animal coils up into a tiny ball as its mother, an African tree squirrel, takes him to their dray


'It was to prevent him falling off the branch and possibly becoming some predator's lunch.

'You can see it gripping tightly, so I also doubt that the young one was sleeping on the move and they were quite high up the tree.

'She was moving it from an old nest to a better, safer nesting site.'

Morkel, from Secunda, near Johannesburg, South Africa, made the discovery in the Kruger National Park.


The affectionate parent was spotted in South Africa's Kruger National Park


He added: 'I am a firm believer that you don't need to see something "traditionally spectacular" like a leopard or elephant in order to enjoy an excellent sighting in the wild.

'Even the smallest creatures can provide hours of fun and excellent photographic opportunities.

'I love the way the photo speaks to the human heart.

'We all remember the nurturing we received from our parents and how it shaped our lives, it echoes in us when we see animals doing the same in the wilderness.

'If we had been dead set on seeing a leopard we would have driven past this amazing sight without blinking.'

source: dailymail