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Baby Squirrel Named Stormy Which Was Found 'shivering' And Close To Death Is Nursed Back To Health By Rescuers Who Put Together A 'little Cave' With A Pintsize Hammock For The ...
A baby red squirrel which was found close to death has been nursed back to health by rescuers who even fashioned a pintsize hammock for the animal.
The 'almost-lifeless' animal was discovered in a woodland 'shivering, soaked and sodden' after it was thought to had been blown out of a tree during high winds last week.
Two boys found the poor creature, who they named Stormy, near the Necessity Brae area of Perth, Scotland, on Saturday and carefully wrapped it in tissues and a plastic doggy bag before calling local wildlife volunteers.
Katie McCandless, from Missing Pets Perth and Kinross, said he is thought to be only eight weeks old.
She and volunteers swiftly arranged a 'little cave' for the animal - with a squirrel-sized hammock, and daily snacks consisting of nuts, broccoli and apples.
A baby red squirrel which was found close to death has been nursed back to health by rescuers who even fashioned a pintsize hammock for the animal
The 'almost-lifeless' animal was discovered in a woodland 'shivering, soaked and sodden' after it was thought to had been blown out of a tree during high winds last week
Katie McCandless (pictured), from Missing Pets Perth and Kinross, said he is thought to be only eight weeks old
Katie said: 'We received a phone call and our volunteer Christine Faulds Quinn was straight on the case.
'It was essential to get him warmed up - so when Christine first got Stormy, she put him down her top to get him all dried up from the rain as it's the quickest way!
'We always would want to help any animal, but as a protected species, him being so young, and the condition he was found in, we wanted to make sure he had the best chance of survival possible.
'Stormy is doing extremely well and is living is the best life in squirrel paradise.'
Christine added: 'He was literally in a poo bag and tissue and he was just absolutely drenched.
'I just sat with him down my top and cuddled him and dried him off with a towel. We then took him to the house of one of our volunteer's for him to look after him.'
The animal is now under the care of another volunteer who is experienced in rehabilitating red squirrels, Judith Hogg - and is being 'spoiled with love'.
The team have confirmed Stormy will be released back into the wild in two to three weeks - in a countryside location with lots of woods, no main roads and with others of his kind.
A selection of squirrel boxes are being made by the team, which will be placed around the new area for him to move into.
Two boys found the poor creature, who they named Stormy, near the Necessity Brae area of Perth , Scotland, on Saturday
Wildlife rescue volunteers swiftly arranged a 'little cave' for the animal - with a squirrel-sized hammock, and daily snacks consisting of nuts, broccoli and apples
The team have confirmed Stormy will be released back into the wild in two to three weeks
A selection of squirrel boxes are being made by the team, which will be placed around the new area for Stormy to move into
Red squirrels are classed as endangered on The Mammal Society's Red List for Britain's Mammals due to their overall population decline.
Scotland supports 75% of the UK population, yet even there they are classed as near threatened.
About 150 years ago, grey squirrels from America were introduced in the UK.
This has led to competition between the two species for food, with grey squirrels coming out on top and red squirrels being 'starved out', the trust says.
Grey squirrels also carry diseases which can kill red squirrels.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust encourages the public to report sightings of squirrels, to allow populations to be monitored.
Updates on Stormy and the other animals in the care of Missing Pets in Perth and Kinross can be found on the group's Facebook page.
How To Stop Squirrels And Other Animals From Eating Your Pumpkins
It's that of year again – you and your family spend time carving the perfect pumpkin to decorate for fall and Halloween only to find that squirrels and other critters are munching on your hard work.
It's frustrating to have wildlife making a meal out of your carved pumpkins, but there are some tips and tricks to try and squirrel-proof your spooky holiday decor.
WHY IS THE PUMPKIN A SYMBOL OF FALL AND HALLOWEEN?
There are a few different things you can do to try and keep squirrels and other animals away from your pumpkins.
One way is to buy an animal repellent that you would use in a garden, or you can make your own.
According to The Pioneer Woman, if you're a pet owner, you can use their fur to your advantage. Cats and dogs are natural predators of squirrels, so you can put their fur or something covered in their fur around the base of your pumpkin to try and keep pests away.
You can also cover the gourd in a thick layer of petroleum jelly, which will not only deter squirrels from eating your pumpkin, but it will also prevent the carved edges from rotting quickly.
HEAT IS ENEMY NO. 1 TO YOUR JACK-O'-LANTERN
FILE - A squirrel bites into a pumpkin at the "Halloween at Descanso" event at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge, California. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
According to David Hillock, a consumer horticulturist with Oklahoma State University's Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, capsaicin is probably the most effective deterrent.
Capsaicin is the chemical in chili peppers that makes them spicy. So, you could sprinkle cayenne pepper on the pumpkin. You can also blend crushed red pepper with water and a drop of dish soap to spray on the pumpkins as well, according to the Bob Vila website.
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A squirrel stands on pumpkins carved into Halloween jack-o'-lanterns Oct. 25, 2004, in Washington, D.C.
Looking for something else to use to try and keep rodents away from your pumpkins? Martha Stewart's website says some essential oils like peppermint and eucalyptus oil could keep animals at bay.
Vinegar, too, is also thought to be a deterrent for squirrels and other animals due to the strong scent, according to Martha Stewart's website.
It's also a good idea to remove all seeds and strings from the inside of a pumpkin. That could make it less tempting for scavengers, according to BobVila.Com.
WHEN IT IS METEOROLOGICALLY OK TO DRINK A PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE
If that doesn't work, you can always just keep your pumpkins inside where they're safe from animals.
"If the pumpkins are in a small garden and there are only a handful, they could build cages out of a woven wire mesh and secure it over the pumpkins," Hillock said. "If they are on the porch, carved or not, taking them indoors (or in a garage) during the day or when no one is around can reduce damage."
Original article source: How to stop squirrels and other animals from eating your pumpkins
Squirrel Café To Predict The Weather From Customer Data
Physicist and squirrel gastronomer [Carsten Dannat] is trying to correlate two critical social economical factors: how many summer days do we have left, and when will we run out of nuts. His research project, the Squirrel Café, invites squirrels to grab some free nuts and collects interesting bits of customer data in return.
Animals are said to have a predictive sense for natural events, and [Carsten's] experiment is about verifying this. The hypothesis [Carsten] is trying to prove with this setup is the following:
The amount of nuts taken by red squirrels from a squirrel feeder correlates with upcoming winter weather conditions significantly.
To prove this, [Carsten] regularly fills a wooden squirrel feeder with a known amount of nuts. A mercury switch on the feeder's lid triggers the execution of a Python script on a Raspberry Pi. The script then polls a Dallas DS18B20 temperature sensor and takes a photograph through a Raspberry Pi camera module. All gathered data is automatically compiled into a tweet and also sent to ThingSpeak for further processing.
The setup works well, providing squirrels with peanuts and [Carsten] with precious data. The video below suggests that the little fellows tend to take one nut at a time, so the mercury switch effectively counts individual nuts. When refilling, [Carsten] checks how many nuts have actually been taken from the station, which allows him to track the nut consumption more accurately.
Yet, for some mysterious reason, the local squirrel population recently decided to boycott the café entirely. For two weeks now, not a single guest has shown up. The outside temperature was around 35° C (95° F) for these days, so regarding the hypothesis, the appetite loss could already be an indicator for a certain weather dependency of the squirrels' nut consumption. There are certainly some more factors to consider, like the overall food supply, instinctive behavior, and software bugs, but we're already curious if we will see more squirrels when the temperature drops again. What do our readers think, can squirrels really predict the weather?
Enjoy the video below, which shows the café's furry guests before they took summer vacation:
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