Artist Robert E. Fuller gets his inspiration from one source: nature.
The photographer, painter, and sculptor even transformed his backyard in North Yorkshire, England, into a nature reserve of sorts. Now, it’s a place where he can study native species up close.
“I film the everyday lives of animals for my paintings and sculpture,” the artist wrote on YouTube. “I have created homes in my garden in North Yorkshire for badgers, weasels, stoats, owls, and kestrels, and use wildlife cameras hidden in their nests to record their stories for my artwork. I share my films in the hope of connecting more people with the natural world.”
Not long ago, Robert found a tiny baby stoat, a short-tailed weasel also called an ermine, who had been abandoned by her mother. He estimates that the baby was only about 4 weeks old at the time, so small that her eyes weren’t even open yet!
Robert began to painstakingly care for the baby stoat, bottle-feeding “Whisper” until her eyes opened and she grew stronger. He bonded with the little animal, but quickly became worried that she would become too fond of humans to be released into the wild.
Luckily, he received word that someone had rescued another baby stoat, a female named Stuart, who was the same age as Whisper!
Robert put the two babies in the same enclosure and recorded the moment when they saw another animal who looked just like them for the very first time. Their reaction was just plain adorable!
Whisper and Stuart became instant friends! Before long, they were playing and fighting like long-lost siblings. Even better, Robert was able to move them to an outdoor enclosure, where they continued to thrive.
When they were finally big and strong enough to survive in the wild, Robert released them together.
“It’s been an amazing experience being a part of these stoats’ lives, and I look forward to catching up with them in the future,” the artist said.
It seems like Stuart came along at the perfect time! Now that these stoats have gone back to the wild, we can’t wait to see what gorgeous artwork Robert designs in their honor.
Watch the entire stoat encounter in the video below, and be sure to share this sweet story.
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