The local humane society, Marin Humane, confirmed to ABC News that there have been attacks from a wild squirrel in the area that may be the result of public feeding.
I’m a volunteer at a wild animal rescue. Squirrels have babies twice a year, and whichever ones end up displaced for one reason or another end up with us.
We’re starting to wrap up for the year, but at the peak of both breeding seasons we have over 200 baby squirrels in our care, and depending how big they are, we need to take care of them 3 or 4 times a day.
They get fed, weighed, a good general inspection to look for any health problems, and their enclosures cleaned out. We give them hammocks and toys and things to build up their squirrel behaviors.
They’ll eventually graduate to an outdoor enclosure with a lot more room to move around and/or we release them back to the environment where they resume their lives as nature intends.
As a larger and stronger than average person, squirrels are quite impressive little critters. They are extremely fast and agile, and you just can’t appreciate it until you start to handle ones that aren’t cooperative! They barely seem bound by the laws of physics. They can move any direction, in any orientation, stick tone everything with those tiny claws, have insane bursts of energy, and even ones with their eyes barely open have insane upper body strength to climb anywhere. When they are angry, they will hiss, spit, lunge and bite like the scariest of feral cats. They have sharp, reinforced teeth that can bite through our leather gloves if they really want to. They are no joke!
But they are also soft, loveable, and adorable critters that need a helping hand sometimes.
Here’s a recent photo I grabbed while feeding one. You can make out those biceps and cannonball shoulders under the fur, and this one is on the small side, so it’s a wimp compared to the big guys.
All us volunteers start our education on squirrels, as there are so many and they are pretty safe as far as wild animals go since they’re small and typically not too aggressive.
I’m looking to get vaccinated for rabies next month so that next year I can work with the foxes and raccoons and the rest of the rabies prone species. My main ambition is raptors, but we don’t get near as many of those as other animals, and they’re all amazing in their own ways, so I just want to be able to work with all of them.
I think that’s a good basic summary of everything. I’m far from an expert on any specific topic, but if you have any more questions, feel free to ask. It’s a great job, and nearly anyone can do it if you have a few hours a week to do a shift (ours are 4 hours) and it’s an indescribably positive experience for the most part. I recommend it to anyone who loves wild animals.
I’m a volunteer at a wild animal rescue. Squirrels have babies twice a year, and whichever ones end up displaced for one reason or another end up with us.
We’re starting to wrap up for the year, but at the peak of both breeding seasons we have over 200 baby squirrels in our care, and depending how big they are, we need to take care of them 3 or 4 times a day.
They get fed, weighed, a good general inspection to look for any health problems, and their enclosures cleaned out. We give them hammocks and toys and things to build up their squirrel behaviors.
They’ll eventually graduate to an outdoor enclosure with a lot more room to move around and/or we release them back to the environment where they resume their lives as nature intends.
As a larger and stronger than average person, squirrels are quite impressive little critters. They are extremely fast and agile, and you just can’t appreciate it until you start to handle ones that aren’t cooperative! They barely seem bound by the laws of physics. They can move any direction, in any orientation, stick tone everything with those tiny claws, have insane bursts of energy, and even ones with their eyes barely open have insane upper body strength to climb anywhere. When they are angry, they will hiss, spit, lunge and bite like the scariest of feral cats. They have sharp, reinforced teeth that can bite through our leather gloves if they really want to. They are no joke!
But they are also soft, loveable, and adorable critters that need a helping hand sometimes.
Here’s a recent photo I grabbed while feeding one. You can make out those biceps and cannonball shoulders under the fur, and this one is on the small side, so it’s a wimp compared to the big guys.
All us volunteers start our education on squirrels, as there are so many and they are pretty safe as far as wild animals go since they’re small and typically not too aggressive.
I’m looking to get vaccinated for rabies next month so that next year I can work with the foxes and raccoons and the rest of the rabies prone species. My main ambition is raptors, but we don’t get near as many of those as other animals, and they’re all amazing in their own ways, so I just want to be able to work with all of them.
I think that’s a good basic summary of everything. I’m far from an expert on any specific topic, but if you have any more questions, feel free to ask. It’s a great job, and nearly anyone can do it if you have a few hours a week to do a shift (ours are 4 hours) and it’s an indescribably positive experience for the most part. I recommend it to anyone who loves wild animals.