Trio of squirrels hold onto each other to keep warm

The Kruger National Park is one of the most visited wilderness parks in Africa. Tourists flock to the park every year to see the great variety of African wildlife living in their natural environment and habitats. The most sought after animals are called the big five and consists of lion, leopard, buffalo and elephant. While these big animals steal the show, there are many other smaller species of wildlife to be seen that can add to a great safari experience. It is the smaller animals that people tend to miss and overlook while on their search for the more popular and bigger animals. We went on a recent safari in the park and the weather turned for the worse. It was cloudy and miserably cold.

On days like these it is usually difficult to spot any animals as they tend to lie down and not move. We had to make the best of the situation and still went out on safari to see what we can find. While braving the cold safari on an open game viewer vehicle, our guide suddenly noticed a large fury ball up in a dead tree. We drove closer to see what it was. To our amazement we came across the most adorable sight. Three cute squirrels were holding onto each other to keep warm while the cold wind was blowing. Such caring and loving behavior by the squirrels made for heart-warming viewing. The squirrels used this snuggle time for mutual grooming which is an important part in strengthening their family bonds.

The video shows how much they do enjoy these grooming sessions with armpits, eyes, ears and the rest of the body thoroughly check for any irritating parasites. The squirrels would then rotate positions, giving each one a chance to be groomed while holding onto each other to keep warm at the same time. We never anticipated for squirrels to deliver such an amazing wildlife sighting and we were glad we made the effort to go out on safari during the unpleasant weather conditions.