Scroll to end of this post.
Young Squirrel came home this morning.
My friend Sarah arrived shortly before 8 a.m. to witness the event. Shortly after 8, Melissa arrived with two volunteers. The squirrel was covered by a blanket inside in a towel-covered crate.
At the same time, a mama bunny was feeding her babies in the back yard at the base of the tree the sibling squirrel had clung to after I carted the sister off to rescue. So we calmly walked around the other side of the yard and Melissa set the crate down at a tree near the back of my property.
Melissa removed the towel, opened the crate, removed tiny containers of food and water, plus the blanket, then stepped back. At this point we had 5 people in the back yard, two of us with cameras, and a squirrel that didn't seem inclined to leave.
Melissa walked back and tilted the crate. Young squirrel clung to the walls of the crate, but eventually leapt out, then onto a nearby tree. We expected her to climb up, but instead, she clung and watched us. I could see her chest heaving as she breathed. Then, she leapt down, onto another tree and back off, then over to the fence and into the neighbor's yard. Last we saw, she was hanging on that fence before disappearing into that wooded back yard.
Success. This young squirrel had a traumatic start on her road to independence. We've done what we could, now it's up to her.
Latest photo of the teen girl squirrel below. I've continued to see her off and on. My neighbor asked how I knew it was her. Honestly, I didn't know how to explain. So I went out to take a photo and sure enough - see the scar? Near her shoulder blade. Of course, I can't see that from a distance. A connection? Some subtle characteristics? Makes no matter. Sometimes you just know.
No comments:
Post a Comment