Lord of New York squirrels: how a descendant of immigrants from Ukraine became the star of the city

In 2019, squirrels were counted in Central Park. It seemed like a strange job. Although today in New York there is an amazing resident who has all the proteins of the city registered and fed, reports Voice of America.

Ron knows the squirrels in City Hall Park by their eyes and tails, giving names and teaching manners.

- It's Tippy.

-How do you know?

-I know, I can tell them apart. Look at his tail, the tip is special. It doesn't have a name yet, but it will soon.

On the subject: Wild New York: Animals Surge in City Parks

In the park near New York City Hall, squirrels get nuts twice a day. In a good way. Ron Sosenko is a scientist, he works with medicinal herbs. His love for flora and fauna comes from his grandmother Katya.

“My Ukrainian grandmother Katya introduced me to this world when I was 5 years old,” says Ron.

Photos and family documents, unfortunately, have not been preserved. But the name Sosenko speaks for itself. Both grandmothers and both grandfathers of Ron are from Odessa and Kyiv. They settled in New York shortly before the First World War:

- My grandmother had a garden here. She grew different plants and herbs, as she did in Ukraine. When I arrived, she asked: “Roni, do you want to help me in the garden?”. And I'm only 5 years old. What a garden-garden for me, but she knew how to capture me. She said if I help her, she will show me magic flowers.

He remembers his grandmother's stories, although he has never been to Ukraine. And keep an eye on what's going on right now.

- It's just impossible to imagine the reason why it started. I don't want to go into details about the specific people who are the catalysts for this. But if something depended on the good people of Ukraine and Russia, this would not have happened.

“Squirrels are soothing,” says Ron. They distract from disturbing news, set them up for work and inspire optimism. He never had better therapy.

– I spend less in a month than in a 50-minute session with a psychologist. And I'm not sure that after 50 minutes with a psychologist, I'll feel good. But when I feed squirrels, I always feel better. Look how adorable they are.

-But some say that these are the same rats, but their fur is more expensive.

-If you give rats fluffy tails, they will be adorable. Rats, by the way, are also here. They are much smaller than squirrels. They are really very nice, they just have a bad reputation.

Ron wore new jeans for the shoot. He says it's uncomfortable in front of the camera in those pants that he usually wears to the park. His furry friends gradually turn his pants into a sieve with their claws.

-There is one squirrel here, I call her More. Because no matter how many nuts you give her, she always wants more.

Ron is ready to teach the technique of building interspecies bonds to anyone who stops nearby. He generously supplies both advice and nuts. Such attention from the townspeople will be envied by the mayor of New York. From the window of his high office, he probably sees the whole street. By the way, like the mayor, Ron strictly monitors the budget. He allocates at least $200 a month for nuts.

Local pigeons periodically mimic under squirrels, and they get it too. Equal Opportunity Society in a single park.