Holy Squirrels Batman...... and more.

First of all a long overdue GREAT BIG THANK YOU! goes out to John for the awesome den boxes he made for the coonies! Four luxury suites....the babies won't want to move out! He brought them by on Easter, the last day of calm before the storm, and I've been so crazy since then I have done nothing but weed through phone calls and gather squirrels!

So I'm feeding the squirrels...(what squirrels you ask? I'll get to that.....) and I look out my window and see this guy prance by checking out the yard! Ran around the whole yard and finally just into the woods in the back yard. One of the girls from the Gobble Gang was none to thrilled either! She didn't totally panic as the fox's curiosity led it to check her out, she was just a little anxious. She is after all bigger than the fox and would definitely come out on the winning end of that battle! Managed to snap this just as the fox came out of the wood line into my backyard again.....saw the flash and off it went. Mom or dad out looking for breakfast for the kits I imagine...

Yes....lots of nocturnal animals are out during the daytime (especially this time of year!) and no....it does not mean they are sick! Many have little mouths to feed and it's safer leaving them during the day to go get food.

So....as I said the last week has been so crazy I can't even describe! I managed to finish getting the newly extended release pen ready but haven't had a second to get the gang over there! Phoenix is doing much better....most of the swelling is gone so she will be able to head over there with them if I ever get a second!

Back to the squirrels....a total explosion of orphans has left all of us loaded with babies to feed! First these 2 cuties had their tree cut down and no luck reuniting with mom.

Big yawn.....this is the life!

The ever adorable food coma after a feeding.

Then 6 more! These guys were very well taken care of for 2 weeks before coming to me...big, beefy little piggies! Just a little comfy...ya think! LOL

This VERY tiny mouse came in .....the nest was disturbed, mom moved them all but never came back and collected this little guy. It is so tiny I was cross-eyed trying to get a close enough look to see if it was eating! Poor little fella didn't make it.....I'm not surprised as mice don't even do well with mom half the time. The reason mice have a lot of babies is because a lot don't make it to adulthood....more babies insures some make it to keep the species going. (Doesn't make me feel any better about it, but it takes a little of the sting out of it!)

JoAnn and Mary are also loaded with squirrels...they probably each have around 6-8 as well and Lisa has about 14!! Luckily help is on the way for her! Laurie was on vacation for the past week during the squirrel explosion (lucky wench! LOL) but she just got back last night and no doubt Lisa was waiting to greet her with an armload for her to take over! Welcome back to baby hell Lau! LOL

Also ended up with a mom raccoon and her 3 kits in need of help. They are safely tucked away in Mary's release pen now thank god!.....I'll get to her story next....

Silly raccoons!

They are in a huge cage with 2 den boxes in it....plenty of room for 9 growing coons to find comfortable sleeping accommodations! But do they take advantage of that?? Nooooooooooo!

Instead they all have to squish into one den box.....and the coon that draws the short straw???

Well a picture is worth a thousand words!

LOL!! Last coon to the den box plugs the hole!

A Tragic Day for Belle

It is with a VERY heavy heart that I tell you that once again, Belle's babies were attacked and killed. I discovered it yesterday afternoon. This time all 3 kits were killed and Belle is pretty beat up. She obviously put up a good fight, but she's such a little girl and whatever it was got the better of her. I had to bring her in to keep an eye on her. Her eye is a little swollen, she's not using her right front leg and she's pretty scratched up. Nothing life threatening, but in no condition to be out there defenseless right now with her limited mobility.

I'm guessing a rogue male coon. The bodies were mutilated and left there. A fisher would take them with it. Although if Belle battled with it, maybe it didn't have a chance to take them. Who knows, either way I'm miserable! I'll never put a den box back up there...it's obviously not safe for moms to have their kits in and I don't want to invite future moms to use it. It's not right at the feeding station, but it's apparently close enough to attract unsavory company.

We also discovered Popeye with a nose injury. Looks like someone gave him a good bite and ripped the front of his nose apart. Poor guy. It looked awful, but he was brought to the vet and he stitched him up like new! It looks great and he should heal up well.

These are some pics of his ordeal. He was such a good boy at the vet also. He let everyone do their thing without a hassle.

We got to wondering if maybe whatever got Belle's babies may have paid a visit to the release cage and managed to get him through the cage. The release cage is chain link....easy enough for a nose to poke through and something to grab it. For now, the poor guy has his own suite at Hotel Raccoon and he seems to be enjoying his privacy! All the treats and attention don't seem to bother him either! haha

And Belle too!

I forgot to mention! Went out around 4pm today to check the coon cam etc. Belle was out in the tree near her den box lounging high up in the branches watching me do my thing. Until the downpour and thunder and lightning drove her inside, that is! The downpour that suddenly had to start just when I had to go outside to take care of the coonies.....and stopped when I was finished and back in the house of course!

Growing like a weed!

Baby Bella is growing fast! She's up to 158 grams and cute as ever! I can't wait until her eyes open. She's got such long fur for a little girl too....she's quite fluffy.

I ended up releasing Red last night. Her foot was so much better and she was able to run around like a maniac trying to play with me when I went in to see her. Since we are going to have such nice weather it was a good time for it. I'm sure I'll be running in to her again!

Belle was hanging out early last evening in the tree above her den box. Taking a much needed break from her kids I imagine since the weather was mild! She watched Laurie and I in the pen with the overwinters for a few minutes before climbing back down into her den box.