Local Wildlife

What do I do if...?

On April 1st, my neighbor came asking for advice. I did notice that they cut down their yard's enormous tree but didn't give it much thought. Well, shortly after the kids found two baby squirrels and didn't know what the heck to do!

Here is what we did after frantic Googling:

1. Put on gloves
2. Grab boxes and towels
3. GENTLY inspect the animal for age, injuries, and fleas/larvae
    If the squirrel's eyes are closed or if the tail is not fluffy, it is a baby and not independent.
    If the squirrel's tail is fluffy, it is a young adult and doesn't need the mom.
4. Since these animals were dependent babies, and did not seems to have any obvious injuries or             infested fur, we chose to attempt to unite them with their mother.

5. We put the babies in warm towels, in separate open containers. The containers are large enough for     the babies to not escape, but small enough for the mom to notice them. We put them near where           they were found.
6. We did not give the animals any food or water.
7. Wait nervously and worry about the following- mom is dead, predators killing the babies, babies         dying before mom comes back, babies getting cold, call the local wildlife rehab for advice.
8. In our experience, yay! The mom did come back for her babies.
9. Document everything for future use.

 

I hope anyone in a similar situation finds my experience helpful. The local wildlife rehabber that The Drawing Zoo donates to is http://www.friskys.org/springwildlife.htm Please consider donating to support their facility and check out their "To Do" list if you ever find local wildlife.

Specifically in this case, I found http://www.orphanedwildlifecare.com/squirrelcare.htm#4 very helpful.

Please keep in mind that The Drawing Zoo is not a licensed animal rehab facility and it would not have been ethical or legal for us to keep these babies.

-Brittany Roger