Page 17 - Sentinel March 2018

ROCKY Continued from page 16 so if you aren’t trained on how to feed them as babies, you can
our kitties something to watch out the windows, hanging on our certainly do more harm than good.
bird feeders, chewing into our attics, and keeping rehabbers of
small mammals very busy. Newborns first venture out of the nest a few days after they
have opened their eyes, around 6 – 7 weeks, and initially return
Here in our area we regularly. They will be fully weaned at around 16 weeks old.
have several varieties As they get older and more developed, they visit the nest less
of squirrels, but did often and leave permanently after weaning. Males will go on
you know that chip- to claim their own territories while females will perhaps stay
munks, prairie dogs around and share territory.
and marmots are also
part of the squirrel fam- When squirrels feel threatened, they run away in a zigzag pat-
ily? The tree squirrels tern. Throughout the years, squirrels have been hunted for hu-
we see around here are man consumption, but they are also an important food source
Abert’s, Fox, and Pine for lots of nonhuman predators, including snakes, coyotes,
Squirrels, also known hawks and owls. That zigzag pattern can come in pretty handy
as Douglas Squirrels when running from the big guys! Poor squirrels just can’t get
or Chickarees. They are all acrobatic, intelligent and highly a break!
adaptable.
Tree squirrels don’t hibernate in winter, instead relying on
Squirrels belong to the order Rodentia and are considered ro- caches of acorns and other nuts they buried earlier in the year.
dents. The word “rodent” actually derives from the Latin “ro- They may create hundreds of caches per year, but thanks to
dere,” which means to gnaw. Their teeth grow continuously a detailed spatial memory and a strong sense of smell, they
at a rate of about six inches per year. When I rehab squirrels, recover about 40 to 80 percent. And the ones they lose aren’t
I always keep something similar to a compressed steel wool really lost, since unrecovered acorn caches just turn into new
block in their pen to gnaw on to keep their teeth ground down. oak trees. They’ve been known to practice “deceptive caching”
I have learned the hard way that if I don’t, they’ll chew out where they dig a hole then vigorously cover it up again, but
almost immediately! Although considered granivores (animals without depositing the nut. It seems this is done to throw off
that eat grains and nuts), they will eat almost anything. They potential food thieves.
use their sharp incisors to gnaw food and defend themselves
(again – hard won experience!). Squirrels communicate using complex systems of high-frequen-
cy chirps and tail movements. Studies have also found they’re
Newborn squirrels, called capable of watching and learning from each other — especially
pinkies, are about an inch if it relates to stealing food.
long, hairless, blind and
helpless, born in what is We’re lucky to have these clever, charismatic creatures living
called a drey. The dreys among us, but like most wild animals, the best way to appreci-
are usually composed ate squirrels is to watch them, not interact with them. Feed-
of twigs, grasses and ing wildlife is always generally a bad idea, since it portrays
leaves, although some people as a food source and could discourage natural foraging.
lucky squirrel Mommas Squirrels can also transmit a few diseases to humans, and even
will line their dreys with healthy ones aren’t above biting our fingers or faces. (Just ask
me about being bitten!)
dryer lint, bits of cloth
and animal fur (when If you have found a baby squirrel, please put it in a warm, dark
you brush your dog place like a shoebox or something similar. Handle it as little as
out, allow the wind to possible. Do not attempt to give food or water! Please look on
take the hair and make AHNow.org for the rehabilitator nearest to your Colorado loca-
some squirrel babies tion for help. Again, if you aren’t with us already, please feel
really cozy!). They free to join the Larkspur Wildlife page on Facebook.
are very hearty, even
though they are so
incredibly small, and
under Mom’s watchful care, they grow quickly. Adult squir-
rels can eat their own body weight weekly, which is roughly 1.5
pound! Fast fact for your next Trivial Pursuit game: Squirrels,
like many rodents, can’t vomit. They also can’t burp or expe-
rience heartburn. They can, however, easily aspirate formula

Perry Park Sentinel March 20187 - Page 17