Squirrel mania!

We are all still a little overrun with squirrels!

 On top of a lot of late babies coming in, there are several people who have called with single  older squirrels that they took in and raised themselves, and now that they are older and ready for release they want some place to send them. Once again, very well intentioned people, and great job raising them, however detrimental in the end. So back up on my squirrel soap box I go, forgive me! You can't just throw strange 13 week old squirrels in together and expect them to get along. Had we gotten them younger, we could have easily incorporated them into a group. At this age they can be very territorial and downright nasty to each other.

We rehabilitate a large volume of squirrels that we want to fear humans, so they don't get a lot of personal quality time with us. That is what their siblings are in there for. We have barely enough time to feed, potty and clean them and move on to the next group anyway! As they wean, they get less and less attention from us and wild up quickly. By the time they are ready to go outside they are impossible to catch, nasty, and eager to beat the crap out of any strangers.....of any species! They have all the tools they need to give them the best chance to survive out there. A strange singleton added to an established group like that runs the risk of some serious stress and being attacked and injured. 

Because of all the late babies, we still have a lot of our own squirrels, and as a result, all of the outdoor pens are full with more waiting in the indoor pens to go out there! There just aren't any empty pens to put any extra singles into!

There is so much more that goes into rehabilitating orphans than just getting them to live.....they need to learn to survive out there so they can be released. So please, as awesome as it is to rescue and save a baby in need, contact an experienced rehabilitator when you find an animal so it can have the best chance to be raised and released properly. 

You are awesome for stepping in and making the effort to save a little critter in need....(not many people would be bothered). Now give us the chance to make the time and emotion you put into helping that critter worth it!!

Life in the woods.....

So I finally went through some of the video of the "extended family" here at home and here are some of the more interesting ones! They certainly know how to keep me amused.
First we have a  coyote, raccoon and stinker all enjoying a meal together....and peacefully at that!

Remember the saying a bird in the hand is better than 2 in the bush? It's a lesson this silly coyote should learn! He kept trying to fit all the rolls in his mouth at once. It was pretty comical to watch, and he tried many times.

A grumpy raccoon decides it doesn't want to share with a poor unsuspecting possie! Coons, skunk and possie all in the melee. Of course the coons are smart enough not to mess with the skunk.

Not to worry though....the possie has been back with a few moves of his own. No more bullying him around!

The little stinker from the window well is  doing awesome and is just as sweet as can be. Mary has a couple spending the winter so I think we are going to try to see if they might all get along and spend the winter together.

The last raccoon I was waiting for has arrived. She's a big beautiful girl, Roxy, and is sweet as can be. She's much bigger than Henry, but very gentle. It took Henry a little time to get over his apprehension, but he has since learned how fun it is to have a friend to play with and they are officially cuddle buddies now! None to soon either with the very cold weather that has arrived.

Trying to settle the overwinters.

The overwinters are doing great and loving the seasonal treats they are getting. They were beyond thrilled with the goose berries I picked......

.......and will be just as thrilled with the huge bucket of acorns my beautiful and wonderful Niece went out and collected just for the critters! Thank you so much Ella....something both the squirrels and the raccoons will absolutely LOVE!

The older group is pretty well established and I don't think Henry will be going in with them....at least not while he is as small as he is. I am not comfortable with the way a couple are treating him. Tuk is acting especially aggressive towards him so it's probably not going to happen. I do, however, happen to have another single coon that will be coming here. She's older than Henry, but having been a single, I anticipate her being pretty receptive to a friend. I think once they get over their initial nervousness, they will make a great pair and I think Tuk is done with letting newcomers into the group.

So for the time being, little Henry gets to go on walks with mom and get some supervised playtime with a couple of the bigger kids who don't mind going over to his place for a visit! He loves his walks and is getting braver. At first I couldn't peel him off me!

But he soon learned how much fun he can have out there when not clinging for dear life to my leg!

He is absolutely adorable and we've progressed from the bottle to a bowl of formula, along with eating puppy chow like a pro!

 Another new guest is this cute little stinker. I got him out of a window well after 3 days! Poor thing! There was some question as to whether he was ill or not, so I held on to him for a quarantine. It's not over yet, but I'm happy to report after a week he has greatly improved and is acting perfectly normal, so his symptoms were most likely due to dehydration and hunger! I anticipate being able to vaccinate and release him in the future.

All 4 squirrel release pens were full. The doors to 3 have been opened and the 4th should be opened this weekend, weather permitting. Once they clear out, they'll be filled with the next round! A group of Laurie's reds will be overwintering here as well as the 5 youngsters I still have on formula here.We are still trying to juggle squirrels around and figure out where they will all be going, as we have a lot of late babies that came in this year! Lisa has a group of flyers also that I believe are overwintering as well. Cute little buggers!

Home invasion, wilderness style!

So, the other night I went over to my brothers house with Boomer. The journalist that saved him and his brother, Bruin, was back in the area and wanted to catch up with them and see how they've grown! (Operation Syria is another wonderful rescue story that resulted in Boomer coming to live with me in February....a story I will have to fill you in on soon!)

When I came home and opened up the garage, I discovered this! Needless to say, I knew something (or someone!) was amiss in there!

It did not take long for the culprit to be exposed....and I must say I was not surprised! When the little bugger scurried under a cage to hide, I decided to take a closer look...

....and the real culprit was exposed! River! She's raided the garage in the past so I'm not surprised she took advantage of the open door before I left and locked them in! Last time she was with one of her kids, and turns out this time she was too. I think her accomplice was Amazon.

Once they realized the gig was up and it was just me in there, River just came out and headed out the door with a look that said it's about time you let me out! All it took was a few almonds to bribe Amazon out of there!

Ahhh life in the woods! Gotta love it!