Gray Squirrel Accident and Recovery

Accident and Recovery
A Baby Gray Squirrel Is Nurtured by Mom

September 13, 2010

On May 13, 2010, a mom gray squirrel brought her two babies to what Sue and I call the feed area, where we have bird and squirrel feeders. We occasionally joke that parent animals bring their children here as a day care center.

On this particular day, all seemed to go well. The two baby squirrels enjoyed the corn holder.

And they ran back and forth across the grass from one feed station to another.

The problem came when it was time to go home. There are several routes from the feed area. Squirrels come and go via the grass, via the feed tree (jumping into neighboring bushes and trees), or via the feed tree and across the roof.

Mom squirrel chose the roof exit, but one of the babies missed the jump and fell perhaps twenty feet to the ground. At first the baby squirrel was still, but then the baby rose on her paws and ran up the feed tree. There, Mom and sibling checked out the baby for any possible injury.

Once Mom knew that her baby didn't suffer any harm, Mom led her children to the jump from feed tree to the roof. While the sibling who made the jump was willing to do so again, the baby who fell balked at the jump.

Mom went back to her child and then made the jump again. Baby refused to go. This was repeated a number of times, and then Mom and her two children ran in circles through the feed tree, probably to give the baby more confidence.

Mom gray squirrel and her two babies running around the feed tree

That went on for over an hour: the running through the tree. I'm not sure how long the running continued (I stopped watching after the hour). However, when I checked back later, Mom and her kids had left. I trust they went to a warm and cozy squirrel nest.

Photo note: I used a Pentax K20D, with the SMC-DA 55-300mm lens, for these photos, which were taken on May 13, 2010.

A squirrel with personality: Tiny Scoiattolo Jr., and Dashing through the snow
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