Just when I was ready to put away all my various baby formulas and baby animal nesting materials for the season, who should arrive but the Itsys! These 2 week old Grey Squirrels fell out of a tree that was being cut down. In this situation the mother squirrel will almost always come back and find them, moving them to a new nest, but as it's been so cold outside the people at the site thought it best to bring them into rehabiliation. It's a hard call as obviously mother squirrels are better than me at bringing up baby squirrels, but it has been below freezing, so I was happy to take these 3 into WTS. There are 2 boys and one girl; the little girl is much smaller, she is the runt.
Though they arrived weak and dehydrated, in the last week they have put on about 15g each and are doing great! However, owing to how late it is in the season (they may well be nursing into early December), they may have to over-winter at Wild Things. We'll see how they do.
In other exciting Wild Things news, the entire rehabilitation area has been torn down and construction has begun to build a bigger and better animal facility. Here are pictures from the first 3 days of construction. The old structure was built poorly and leaked and got below freezing in the winter. The new sanctuary will be able to cater to all the recovering wild things' needs. It is a long and expensive process, which is why everyone's donationas & support means so much! Stay tuned for progress!
I was worried that the construction would confuse & displace a lot of animals, but so far everyone seems just fine. As you can see (below), Pepina, a young wild Hooded Skunk, seems unpreturbed, as does this little Eastern Ribbon Snake who lives in the front yard of Wild Things, and all the young squirrels who still come to WTS for breakfast. I've constructed special squirrel feeders for the latter, which keep out chipmunks and other critters looking for food, the appear to be a success, and the young just-released squirrels can eat without their food being stolen!
And as much as I love WTS,with most of the animals now living on their own and just coming for snacks, I was able to get away for a few days (bringing the Itsy's with me). And every new place means new wild things to see! Here is a picture of a few Double-Crested Cormorants (dark ones drying their wings) & a Great Cormorant (white breast) just outside a friend's house in Eastern Massachussets. What a lovely sight!
