A 16-year-old girl from Zimbabwe is rearing an abandoned baby squirrel – in her hair! Abby Putterill’s parents run an animal sanctuary about 25 miles from the capital of Harare. They rescued the baby squirrel and named it Hammy. Hammy is a mopane squirrel who climbed into Abby’s tied-up pony tail one day and decided to stay. Abby and her furry companion have been together for two months now and he sure looks happy.
Abby Putterill shows off her new friend Hammy and how he has made a home for himself in her hair.
Hammy was only a few days old when he was found on the cold floor of the Bally Vaughan Wildlife Sanctuary. Abby’s mother Debbie Putterill, who co-owns the park with her husband Gordon, took the newborn squirrel back to her home. Surprisingly, the little squirrel went straight for their daughter Abby, ran to her head and made a little home inside her hair. Abby wears her hair in a loose ponytail which she usually has tied up at the back, making a perfect snuggle spot for little Hammy.
Hammy the squirrel was severely injured when he was found on the office floor.
Aside from sleeping and showering, Hammy and Abby are practically inseparable. Mrs. Putterill said: “He’s doing really well and is growing up so quickly. When we first found him, he was lying on the concrete floor of the office. He must have fallen out of the thatched roof after being abandoned. If we hadn’t taken him in, he would have died because he was only around ten days old. The youngster was nursed back to health on a diet of baby formula and cereal, regaining his strength and quickly becoming a welcomed member of the family.”
Abby’s mother also added: “When he was tiny, he refused to sleep anywhere else but on the palm of your hand but as he got older he started treating us like trees, burrowing under our clothes. But one day he was playing with Abby, and he managed to crawl into her hair.
He seemed to make himself at home and still does it now. We’ve never had a squirrel do this before and it’s really quite funny to see but he’s happy enough to lie there and watch the world go by.” Bally Vaughan Wildlife Sanctuary was founded in the early 1980s by Abby’s grandmother and grandfather, fulfilling their dream of caring for sick and injured African wildlife.