We often have the opportunity to interact with animals in the world around us. At times, we can do so in our backyard and at other times, it may be while watching a documentary on television. In either case, it provides us with more information about animals that truly show us they bring something special to our lives. Every once in a while, we are given an even greater opportunity to interact with animals and they may just take us by surprise.
Melinda Green is a woman who loves animals but she lives in San Francisco, so her access to those animals in her day-to-day life is somewhat limited. She decided to get to know the crows in the area a little better. They would come to her fire escape to rest on occasion and she didn’t want to let the opportunity pass. In fact, she decided to take the opportunity to say hello and show some kindness.
“I just started putting out some food on my fire escape when I’d see them,” Green told The Dodo.
She was happy with the gift she was giving to the crows but then they decided just eating the food was not enough.
On one particular day, a crow visited the fire escape and was carrying an object. It placed it where she could get to it.
It was some tinfoil from the top of a champagne bottle. Some people may have considered it to be litter but the crow must have seen it as something beautiful.
It was a gift for Green and she was happy to accept.
“I was thrilled, of course,” Green said.
At first, she wasn’t sure if the foil was actually meant for her but then she started receiving even more gifts.
They brought her a wide variety of items, including bones, nuts, colorful rocks and even a gummy bear.
Even though Green decided not to eat the gummy bear, she was happy with the gesture.
The most recent object the crows brought is somewhat mysterious.
Perhaps it is just a piece of machinery that has broken off but it seems as if the crows thought she would like it.
They were right!
“The fact that it really is a gift makes it precious,” Green said.
Nobody is really sure why the crows decided to be so generous to her but it seems as if they were just trying to repay some kindness that she showed to them.
“I suspect it’s similar to young human crushes,” she said.
Over the years, Green has become acquainted with the birds and she saw them grow from individuals to parents with their own children. There is even a new generation of crows that are now coming to the fire escape.
“I’ve learned just how similar crow families and dynamics are to human families,” she said. “They seem to have long-term relationships and to raise one or two children at a time in nuclear families. The parents are clearly actively teaching their children. They clearly want to show them where the nice lady lives and how to get treats from her.”
She feels that the experience has helped her to “recognize and respect their personhood.”
Source: The DoDo