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New month, new critters

10/2/2012

6 Comments

 
Well, technically, the new critters all came in last month, but hey, that doesn’t make for an interesting header, now does it?

The gray squirrels that were slated for return to their finders instead found the “escape hatch” on their pre-release pen, which I had neglected to latch properly out of habit—it’s to allow squirrels the opportunity to come and go as they please until they “don’t please” to come back anymore. These two are untouchable now and very seldom visiting their pen these days.  It’s actually best for the squirrels, though, honestly, as this is the area they now view as their home territory.

Another gray squirrel came in last week; the finder thought he was a fox squirrel because of his reddish tint. The squirrel was old enough to be on his own but was very lethargic and docile. I started him on fluids and meds, but he didn’t make it through the afternoon.

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This fledgling dove was luckier. She was found wandering around a back porch in a neighborhood of free-roaming cats.  The general rule of thumb with uninjured fledgling birds is to leave them alone and allow their parents to continue to care for them, but in cases where the bird’s life is in danger, it’s best to remove the fledgling from the potentially life-threatening situation. This baby was pretty close to independence, so she’s in the flight pen with the other doves, and they should all have flown the coop by the end of the week.

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As an example of what happens when cats are allowed to roam freely, take a look at this poor female summer tanager. She was found wandering the sidewalk in a town a few counties away on Sunday the 30th , and when the finder brought her to me, I knew with one glance that she was the victim of a cat attack. The cat had punctured the tanager’s head right at the beak, and the right wing had a nasty open fracture.  She died during the night.

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Soapbox time: People, domestic cats belong INDOORS! If you absolutely must allow your cat outside, there are cat runs that will protect our native wildlife while safely giving the cat a taste of the great outdoors. Check any pet supply website, catalog or store; I’m sure you’ll find numerous variations on these safety enclosures, and many of them are portable.

A second flying squirrel came in last week; he was found on the porch by a husband headed to work in the early AM, and his wife brought the little fellow to me. He’d fallen from somewhere hard enough to bloody his nose, his jaw was a bit swollen, and his left front leg was bruised and swollen but not broken. I started him on meds, and he’s doing just fine now. He and the older flyer are in the same cage and share layers of the same blanket but otherwise ignore each other.

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The older flyer is more active at night now and is eating solids, but will remain on formula feedings for a while yet, as well.  Flyers mature a bit more slowly and tend to stay with their mothers longer than gray squirrels:  fall babies often overwinter in the nest with their mothers.

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6 Comments
Pipette
10/2/2012 04:39:20 pm

Poor tanager; that was a really horrible set of injuries. Glad most of the rest of your "crew" are doing OK.

I am getting fonder & fonder of flying squirrels (even though I have never met one in person!) just from seeing photos of them on here. They are SO tiny!

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
10/2/2012 06:23:28 pm

It's impossible to see a flyer--even in photos--and not fall in love with the sweet little nocturnal beauties. (And yes, I tend to gush over flyers!) Full-grown, from nose to tail, they're only app. 6-8 inches long, so yeah, they're tiny even as adults!

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Ida Blanche Suskind
10/3/2012 04:24:01 am

Strange, I cannot remember wandering cats as I was growing up; dogs yes - but it seemed they did belong to someone - just were permitted to wander! In the beginning my grandson & I tried very hard to teach Kiku to wear collar - we would then have walked him - but no - Kiku would fall down as soon as collar was around his neck!!! I would love to walk Kiku in the immediate neighborhood - he is far more handsome than those tiny little dogs one is permitted to have in our apartment buiding. But, bon't tell anyone I said that.

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
10/3/2012 04:57:54 am

Rural/suburban areas tend to see more free-roaming cats and correspondingly more wildlife casualties. People want "mousers" but don't take into account that their "mousers" are also killing birds, squirrels, rabbits, etc.--until they catch said moggie with one of the aforementioned in its mouth. THEN they berate the poor cat for doing what comes naturally! People need to keep their cats inside or learn to grit their teeth and turn away for the cat to finish the kill; the cat doesn't distiguish between prey that's acceptable to humans and prey that's unnaceptable to humans. In feline eyes, prey is prey, period. As I've said over and over again, the cats are best--and safest--kept inside.

As for walking Kiku, I tried a figure-eight harness on one of my moggies...one time...Same results as your experiment: cat fell over and refused to move until the offending hardware was removed!

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neener
10/3/2012 10:37:27 am

So sorry about the grey squirrel and tanager... :( I guess you will be over wintering at least one flyer then? Don't tell Kiku!! :) lol Will the older one be released this soon before winter? Happy it seems to be a bit slow for you so a little r+r can be achieved! So grateful that you are there to help these poor defenseless creatures as well!! Thanks and keep up the great work!! ♥

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
10/3/2012 11:18:06 am

Neener, the flyers' release will depend on how quickly they're both fully weaned; we're still at 3 formula feedings a day right now. They're only a couple of weeks apart in age, so I'll release both at the same time, so they have each other until they join the colony that lives in the woods near my house. Flyers are very social, unlike gray squirrels, and form colonies that live, forage and play together. Sadly, they haven't been as fully studied as grays, but one researcher estimated that their populations are at least as numerous as, maybe more numerous than, grays.

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