Link: http://tinyurl.com/ncv5f7

As a couple spends vacation time in Canada,they stopped to take a photo. After setting the automatic timer on the camera, they pose beside the lake. A squirrel passing by, heard the camera noise and became curious. Check out this photo of the newest squirrel star. Very cute!

I have 5 baby squirrels between 2-3 weeks of age. This is such a fun age to feed. They are eager eaters. I love watching their little tails wag as they eat!

It never ceases to amaze me how well and how quickly wildlife can heal. I received a young, juvenile, male possum in a week or so ago. He had been caught by a labrador retreiver and the wildlife officer had to chase the dog and then force it to release the opossum. When the possum arrived at my house, he had rapid, shallow breathing, palpable subq emphasema over the entire right side of his body, major bruising across the abdomen, right eye filled with blood and protruding, left cornea white.

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Until a fawn, this is a deer that still has its spots, is 2 months old and able to travel with the herd, a doe will “park” her baby and leaving it alone. This actually reduces the chance that a predator will find and kill the baby. Typically, the doe will have 2 fawns and she will leave them in separate areas. She may or may not move the babies during these two months. The mother will come to feed about 5 times a day but, will not stay as her scent may attract preditors.

If you discover a fawn, do not approach it. Leave the area as soon as possible as the doe will not return to the fawn until she knows you are gone. If the fawn is lying down with its legs tucked under him and the head either upright or its neck twisted and the head lying on its back and the baby has no apparent injuries, the fawn is not in need of rescue or rehabilitation. However, if there are obvious injuries or the baby is laying on its side with head and legs pushed straight out from the body, this is a baby in distress. Call a local fawn rehabilitator for instructions on capturing the baby. Keep all children and pets away from the area to reduce stress on the fawn.

Virginia Opossums are interesting creatures. They are the only marsupial native to North America. The gestation period for the Virginia Opossum is 13 days which means they are very “premature” when born. At birth, they crawl up into the mothers pouch, attach themselves to one of her 13 nipples, and continue to grow and develop for another 2 months. When they are about 2 months old, they begin to leave the mom’s pouch for short periods of time. They will stay with mom—first in her pouch, then riding on her back and finally running along side her—for approximately 5 months when they are fully weaned and able to live independently.

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