This Siberian Flying Squirrel was photographed on a country resort with a very fascinating story.

In 2007, this resort was home to two Siberian Flying Squirrel families, consisting of at least six individuals. The owner was really fond of observing birds and mammals on his property, which was lying deep in the vast woods around Sotkamo. His resort was located on the edge of a large lake, which was home to many water birds such as Whooper Swans, Black-throated Divers and Common Goldeneyes. More than a decade ago the owner began to hang up nest boxes for the Golden-eyes and passerines. About ten years earlier, while he was having a new-year barbecue with friends on his resort, he was very surprised to observe a Siberian Flying Squirrel. He started to get fascinated by this lovely and mysterious little creature. He decided to hang up a lot of nest boxes, which could be used a home by the Flying Squirrels. He also started to feed the squirrels on a very regular, often almost daily basis. His attempts to attract more permanently Siberian Flying Squirrels soon turned into a fascinating success story. The spot had become during the last years home to several Flying Squirrel families. And what's more, the usually very shy and extremely difficult to observe squirrels became really used to the owners presence: after a while they allowed him to approach them at a distance of about one meter, when they came down to the feeders. We witnessed about six individuals coming out a while after sunset, and we were able to observe the tiny creatures for almost an entire hour. The tameness of the Squirrels allowed us to make some acceptable pictures in the difficult and dark circumstances.

The individual on this image was feeding on nuts form a feeder.