Sometimes the most unusual and unexpected individuals become the best of friends. It’s always nice to see such a friendship develop. Sometimes it occurs when animals of different species suddenly start looking out for each other in ways that are almost contrary to nature. At other times, it is humans that bond with animals in a very special way. That is the case with this story that begins with an eight-year-old girl.
Gabi Mann is an eight-year-old girl that is just like many other girls, she loves seeing animals in the world around her. Perhaps we have noticed birds flying around our backyard and we may look at them with wonder but Gabi just seems to have a particular interest in them. We might even feed birds in our yard but we would never expect them to start feeding us in return, would we?
Gabi Mann lives in Seattle, Washington and she began to feed the crows that were visiting her family’s garden. It wasn’t long before the crow started to return the favor with different gifts to the little girl.
She was stunned when the crow started giving her gifts as a way of saying thank you for feeding them.
Perhaps one of the best parts of this story is that Gabi has tucked the way every gift she was ever given by that crow. She puts those gifts inside labeled bags and keeps them in a storage bead box. Each gift is a special possession and she doesn’t want to lose any of them.
As an example, she received a broken light bulb on one day and labeled it: “Black table by feeder. 2:30 p.m. 09 Nov 2014.”
Some of the many different types of gifts she has received include buttons, beads, paper clips, pieces of foam and Lego pieces. The favorite gift that the crow ever brought her is a pearl colored heart.
“It’s showing me how much they love me.”
When Gabi first started feeding the crows, she wasn’t actually trying to do it. She dropped food often and when she was getting out of the car one day, a chicken nugget fell on the ground. The crows started coming over to eat what was left.
When she saw what they were doing, she would leave them scraps when walking to the bus stop with her brother.
Before long, the bird started recognizing Gabi and they would wait every day for her when she got off of the school bus.
She started saving some of her packed lunches for them and her mother, Lisa was behind her, 100%.
“I like that they love the animals and are willing to share.”
By the time 2013 rolled around, the mother and daughter were making it a daily habit. That is when the gift-giving crow would begin returning with treats for Gabi. The intelligence of the animal and the bond that it formed with this special little girl is amazing.
