Local Wildlife:

Hi Gang:
    Today I found a nest of baby squirrels that had fallen from a tree right in my back yard.  Oh they were adorable.  Old enough for their eyes open, but not much else.

      I waited patiently from a distance for Mom to come and retrieve them, but she never came. After several hours I could hear them really start to fuss, and I knew something had to be done. 

      I carefully approached with gloves, and put the little guys in a bucket on a soft blanket.  Do you know they actually stopped fussing? They seemed content for the moment in that little bucket with the soft blanket.  They dozed off to sleep in a little pile. 

      Now I am not equipped to care for a litter of squirrels, so I made some calls.  First number led me to another number, and then yet another.  Finally I reached a very kind lady indeed who took care of just this type of situation.

       I drove the little guys out to her house, and she assured me they would be hand fed, kept warm, and even loved.  (I knew the last thing to be true as the short time I had the little things my heart just melted.)

      She will try not to domesticate them, but it does happen when they come to her so young. Regardless I knew they had a fighting chance, and would not starve to death or be picked up by predators in my yard. 

       I left feeling happy and satisfied I had done the right thing.
       I am such a softly when it comes to situations like this.
She promised me updates on their progress, and I'll pass them along..

              Thank you for letting me share:
                                       PMM2008
         

OK everyone all together!

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!! How sweet!

:D

That was nice of you PMM, again, shows you have a heart.

Many wouldn't have given a second thought and pitched them somewhere else.

also, could be Momma got hit or killed by car or animal.

oh pam, they must have been soooo cute.  i know they won't let you have squirrels...we had one once, real cool one named pokey.  he used to do somersaults in his cage.  he was the best.  he would go for a drive in the car and just sit on your shoulder.  but one day, when he was in his cage doing his somesaults, his leg got stuck in the wheel, and he broke his leg.
we got all upset, and rushed him up to the animal rescue league.  they said that we were not allowed to keep a squirrel, and even a good friend of mine worked there, and she couldn't do anything to help us.  they had to put him down.  i was all bummed.  we saved him from this bad place when we got him, so he had a good life as long as we had him, but it really was sad he had to go. 
i would have loved to have seen your baby squirrels.  i would have taken them, and mothered them like i did to my rabbits...it really is such an experience.
a few years back, a friend of mine had a litter of baby angora rabbits in her back yard, and said something happened to the mother, and it never came back.  she was trying to feed these littlest babies with CARROTS!!
i was freaken, so i came over, and took them all.  i called the animal rescue league, and asked them what i had to do to be their surrogate mother for the interrorim, while they were weaning .  i had to get a baby bottle, the size that you have for dolls, and fill it with special formula, that cost me a fortune, and held each one of "my babies" 6 of them, and bottle fed them, twice a day.  i watched them get bigger and bigger till they could fit into two hands.  i let them have one large room, and didn't cage them at all, just let them have their space, and have lots of cuddly blankets.  as they started getting more mobile, i wanted them to get used to the outdoors, so i brought in fresh grass and dandilions everyday, and introduced that to them by filling an area with it at all times.  when they finally started to eat the grass, and dandilions, and stopped taking the bottle, i had to let them go, and it was the hardest thing i ever had to do in my life.  but it was the most rewarding thing i have ever done in my life.  i found a safe place where bunnies go, low brush area...in MY neighborhood, and sometimes when i drive by i think...i wonder how my babies are doing

Awwww how cute!!!!  That reminds me... Miss Vicki, the day care provider for my sons about 5 years ago had found 2 BABY SKUNKS in her back yard, with no mother in site.  She figured the mom probably had gotten ran over since she noticed them in the morning, kind of trapped them between some boxes hoping the mom would come back, but she never did.  Miss Vicki being the wonderful woman that she was decided to take them to a wild life refuge on the outskirts of town.  She packed them up and away she went....... LMAO you know baby skunks STINK just as much as full grown ones.  !!!  Her Isuzu Rodeo smelled HORRIBLE for over a year.  It probably still smells like skunk.  hehe 

Awww, thanks for sharing your stories guys. I think alot of us have a story like this from sometime in out lives.  Our world and their world just isn't that far apart.

              Nal: I knew I wasn't allowed to keep those babies, and when I went to drop the babies off I had to sign a piece of paper that shows the Departmetn of Natural Resources where the squirrel came from as they visit this lady's home and see to it that everything is on the up and up.
            Shelli: That is a funny story, but I know I'd of done the same thing.  Skunk or not. hehe
           
The latest on the little guys is they were taking bottles, and sleeping well.  I am so pleased. 
                                                          PMM2008

I tell you, my closest experience with "Wildlife" (And I mean up close and personal) was one day I looked out at the bird feeder (Strung on 4 wires 2 on top, 2 on bottom for stability) and it was shaking like it was in a windstorm.

I went out to see what happened and heard thrashing sounds from our laurel hedge. Well, it seems some damn big ass bird was there. I got my heavy duty coat and went out and captured it. After I got it in a box, I got it to a local refuge for birds (Staff treatment was terrible, I let them know too) and left it in their cages.

I was happy to know it didn't get hurt, but maybe learned to stay away.

Seems it was a "Stick Hawk" (God what lovely golden eyes) and had dived for some of the small birds and hit the wires and was flung into the bushes. Never did have anymore of those birds (Big ones) around (Guess someone passed a message!) and the little birds I guess then ate in peace.

I'm glad that you told me your story too, because I forgot about those little guys..it really was such an awesome experience, fattening them up!!
You don't know how bad I wanted to keep one, but I made sure I kept there surrounding wild looking..it really was fun!  Except feeding time took soooooo long!  But it was cool...you would have loved it!