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An encounter with an unexpected visitor

Posted on April 19th, 2009

Recently the gentle silence of a balmy early afternoon was suddenly and dramatically broken by alternating life threatening barking and harrowing screams.  This loud frenzied noise was enough to suddenly waken me from my slumber on the garden lounger, it took me a few minutes to determine that what I was hearing was in fact real and not the remnants of some slumberfilled dream. It took a while for my senses to return and for me to realise what was the source of all this sudden commotion.

In the far corner of the garden shed, the ever vigilent and absolute fearless Jack Russell ‘Rusty’ had appeared to have cornered some creature which had managed to find temporary protective shelter  beneath an old garden riddle. Rusty made determined advances full of threatening intent to expose the captive creature.  It was quite clear that his efforts would be successful and the encounter would end in tragedy and certain death of the captive creature. Rusty with venomous aggression made repeated snapped filled advances with scary snarling and gnashing of teeth. The more Rusty lunged forward,  the more the creature critically tried to recoil from Rusty’s perilous attempts to snatch and bite. It was clear that whatever living creature trapped here in this corner was literally only minutes away from a painful but certain death. I managed to get a quick peek under the riddle and realised that it was not a rat, had it been I would have left Rusty to do the ‘dirty task’ of quickly dispatching an unwelcomed rodent. The fact it was not a rodent persuaded me to try and rescue it and in order to do so I first had to somehow persuade Rusty away from what would be a probable bloodfilled scene.

Having managed to get Rusty out, I secured him in the house and  I returned to the garden shed. The unfamiliar and unknown creature which had come so perilously close to being torn limb from limb, was clearly in a state of total shock and was obviously very reluctant to leave. I too was also reluctant to come too close, firstly the creature had a very sharp scent/odour which acutely attacked the senses and secondly I was reluctant to be bitten. Gently and slowly I removed the riddle and there cuddled in a tight ball was the poor unfortunate unexpected visitor. A victim of circumstance most definitely, a victim of death, most likely? At first, I  thought it might have been a squirrel but it had unusual colouring to be a squirrel. Then as I tried to encourage it to leave by gently prodding it with a bamboo cane  it started reluctantly to crawl along the insidewall of the garden shed towards the entrance. As it moved  it seemed to more resemble a ferret?

At the door entrance, I left it alone for a while and I returned to my garden lounger. After a few minutes it left the sanctuary of the shed and entered some nearby shrubs. Slowly and to my great surprise it made tentative advances towards me, firstly running to and fro in a zig zag fashion from lawn to shrubs and back on lawn along the border edge. Slowly but clearly it was heading towards me. Had it decided that I was in fact a friend or at least had it recognised that in all certainty I had saved it from certain death? It was simply quite amazing to see the little creature make clever use of the protective cover of the shrubbery as it ventured towards me. I was deeply surprised and indeed fascinated by the apparent trust the little creature was displaying towards me.

Moments later it had reached the spot where I had been relaxing earlier and to my surprise it crept underneath the lounger where it rested for a while. For a thrilling moment the rescuer and the rescued sat together and the acute smell of the creature seemed to electrify the excitement. As it lay under the lounger, I managed to slip a way and returned a few seconds later with Rusty’s water bowl, a nice stainless steel bowl, which the creature immediately enjoyed. It seemed to have an unquenchable thirst. Perhaps if it is so thirsty, it must certainly be hungry? I asked myself, what would it eat ? I quickly returned from the kitchen where I had taken a fresh packet of breadcrumbed ham slices. A feast for a small fellow? Well why not! At first I broke off some tiny pieces and placed them nearby. This was no time for shyness, and immediately the little fellow began to gorge himself on all the tiny morsels. Gradually I offered larger pieces and within a matter of only a few minutes, the little fellow had gorged his way through three whole slices of ham. In between eating he regularly drank from the water bowl.

The feast was followed by a few minutes of a playful display of rolling around, running here and there and it was plain to see that this little fellow was really enjoying himself. Rolling around my feet he seemed to tempt and invite me to touch him, but I was reluctant to do so. After a few minutes of playful activity, I decided to test his interest.  After I had walked away an din response to some gentle coaxing, the little fellow follwed me, first here then there. Soon he was walking near me like a ‘man’s best friend’. An extraordinary encounter and a memorable experience really.

When I did manage to get my camera and started to take some photos, the little fellow continued to dance around me but alas not for much longer. As I only managed to get 3 photos before he decided to ramble away. At first veering towards left then right but nonetheless moving away. The distinctive up and down motion of his hindquarters was amusing and now and then he briefly stop and look back. Eventually he reached the side gate, he slipped his body under and was away. All in all he probably spent 20 minutes with me in the garden, but there is hardly a week that goes by when I don’t remember him and wonder if he is safe and alive. I’m grateful for the packed 20 minutes he shared with me,  from rescuing him from a life threatening encounter followed by a feast of sorts and ending with a playful display before departing for the uncertainty and  adventure of elsewhere.

I often wonder if  the unexpected visitor will ever return?  Thank you little fellow for the unexpected visit and for the memorable encounter which I will cherish for some time.

Unexpected visitors to the garden is nothing new, situated as it is my garden is near old wooded areas and also a large golf course, the garden would be visited regularly by Foxes and Badgers, but mostly after dark. 

Finally I’m not quite sure what type of animal our little fellow is. My guess is, he is probably a ferret but there is also a resemblance to the stoat and weasel. Perhaps someone might confirm?