Baby squirrels

BlackSheep · May 1, 2016

Hi, most of you won't know me but I'm dxq's wife. Thanks to those of you for the kind comments about the baby squirrels!

Watchful, those little guys were definitely not weaned yet, they were very small and needed help. Here's a (really bad, sorry) iPhone photo that shows how small they were, you can see 2 of the 3 of them at the front of the cage:

Zombiesniper - thank you! for posting the link to Toronto Wildlife, sadly they won't help in our area (we are located about 1km north of Toronto). I did call them and leave a message asking for advice on what to do with the little guys yesterday but they did not call back because they are currently in some sort of a political bun-fight with our region. Luckily we were able to find another place about 1 hour northeast of here that would take them in.

Watchful · May 1, 2016

Sometimes what seems like a good thing to do really isn't when dealing with nature. There is a Saguaro nearby that has 5 baby cactus wrens in it, they will not all survive, the mother will provide food at regular intervals and the most aggressive and dominant babies will stay well fed, the smaller and weaker babies that stay back more tend to get underfed. As the larger birds continue to eat more due to their growth, the smaller weaker ones will get even less food and they will eventually starve to death. This will ensure that the genes of the dominant aggressive animals will be passed on more frequently.
I could collect up the 3 smallest baby birds and take them to my friend that does wild bird rescue and rehab, but should I? No. Would it make me feel better? Of course, we have a natural love for the underdog and want to help when we can.
Fallen Feathers bird rehab and hospital has recently been inundated by people that have great intentions but little understanding of the ways of nature. She told me that she has received over 100 baby quail in the past couple of weeks because in nature, a desert quail in the area where she lives will lay 12 to 18 eggs, and they all hatch within minutes of each other, like popcorn popping. When the mother decides it's time to start moving, she leaves and those that follow survive, those that don't were meant to feed the other animals that also live in the eco system. It's a common thing to see a mother quail leading 4 or 5 babies along, what happened to all the rest? They died as they got left behind, if they couldn't keep up with momma, they didn't have a chance against the predators of the eco system they live in. But if the babies are in a persons yard, and they find them, they gather them up and take them to Jody. Once she gets them she feels obligated to care for them, as that's what she does, but she would prefer that people left them alone in nature.
I asked her about the wrens, and she said it's best for the species to allow them to die naturally rather than save them just because you can.
This is also why, as a nature photographer, and videographer, you should not interfere with any animals you photograph or video, and why you see on nature shows, they do not intervene, even though we all feel great when that little bunny escapes the wolf, bobcat, or coyote, if they all escaped, the eco system would collapse.
Here is a little piece about Sir David Attenborough ( a name you may recognize) and why a wildlife photographer should not intervene in what they film:
Attenborough

BlackSheep · May 1, 2016

Thanks Watchful, I appreciate your post. I am not a person with "great intentions but little understanding", though. I have wildlife care experience and do understand what you are saying. And yep I am quite familiar with David Attenborough.

The squirrels that we were dealing with were much too young to be left alone, and the mother had been confirmed to be missing for at least 2 or 3 days, which is why the wildlife shelter asked us to bring them to them. This wasn't a case like your cactus wrens, where some of them are culled by the parents in the best interest of the others. This was a case of the mother squirrel being killed before the young could fend for themselves. If our squirrel situation was like what your example was, than we would of course have let nature take its course.

Watchful · May 1, 2016

I really do understand your position and sympathize with you, but I would have taken a different tack and looked at it as in 'what would occur here if I wasn't there?'
I respect your decision, really, and at one time I would have done the same thing. I saved a baby cliff dove that would have died because of human intervention, so I felt that since a human caused the situation, it was ok for a human to try to remedy it. I still have the dove and he will live for 25 years or so, so I will be caring for him for a quite a while. I have taken in birds that were hit by cars to be bandaged and broken wings mended and then released for the same reason (and I get some crazy looks from passing motorists as I chase down a wounded bird with my towel I assure you).
Everyone has to make the decisions at the time and go with what they feel is right, I completely understand why you did what you did. I respect your decision, well done.