"It's a baby squirrel! She's fallen from her nest!"
Indeed, the little squirrel cries and cries for a mother who never arrives.
Our town has an emergency service for wildlife. In particular, we have specialists in squirrel rehabilitation. These specialists know how to feed orphaned or injured baby squirrels and train them how to find food and build their nests. Once healthy and trained, the squirrels return to the wild.
The rehabilitation expert tells us that mother squirrels sometimes push sick or injured babies out of a nest when they think they might die anyway. They don't want to waste resources on a dying baby or spread sickness to healthy babies.
How terrible! How cruel nature can be! This tiny thing doesn't have a chance on her own.
Thankfully, those skilled in squirrel rehabilitation come to our aid. There's hope after all for the abandoned, pushed out, and left for dead.
I know it's just a squirrel, but I want to teach my daughters that everyone deserves a chance.
________________________
You can even call the rehabilitation center to check on the injured or abandoned baby. I want to know how in the world they get their stores of squirrel milk! Have you rescued and rehabilitated a wild thing?
I have rescued and rehabilitated squirrels, birds, a raccoon, and an owl. It's a wonderful feeling, but also sad when I let them go. I tend to get very attached.
ReplyDelete