A deer swims in Okanagan Lake in Vernon in July.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Facebook/ Sandra Nelson
July 11, 2025 - 4:00 AM
Nature is full of surprises with wild animals getting up to adorable antics, and some entertaining moments were captured in the Thompson-Okanagan this late spring and early summer.
Kamloops resident Sammy Schafer is watching and photographing a mother squirrel and her babies as they grow up in a tree on her family’s property.
“They chase each other, play, and get into mischief,” she said. “The mother is obsessed with my dad. She visits him daily and waits on the balcony for him to come outside in the morning. She squeaks through the screens on the windows wanting him to come outside, it’s quite adorable.”
This pair of baby squirrels live in a tree on a property in Kamloops.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Sammy Nicole Schafer
Schafer's family named the mother squirrel Sandy after the squirrel from the SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon.
"It’s been such a joy watching the baby squirrels grow, a heartwarming experience we’ll never forget," she said.
READ MORE: Mammoth-sized marmot spotted in Kamloops park
Included in this photo collection is a deer going for a swim in Okanagan Lake, marmots duelling in a park in Kamloops and a loon trying to steal a fisherman's catch in Merritt.
If you have awesome wildlife photos to share, send them to news@infonews.ca.
Baby squirrels play in a tree in Kamloops.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Sammy Nicole Schafer
A loon chases after a caught fish in the Merritt area.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kurt Komonoski
A couple of marmots duke it out in a park in Kamloops.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Lorraine Corrigan
A bear appears to snarl while snacking at a marsh in the South Okanagan.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Curtis Zutz
A bear peeks out from an abandoned structure in the Kamloops area in spring.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Nola Cardinal
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