The Contented Naturalist

Rescuing squirrels at Great Falls Park, beside the Potomac River

There’s a hickory tree at work that, every time I walk by it now, reminds me of squirrels. Not because of the nuts that are currently ripening, nor even because of squirrels in general enjoying those nuts. I’m reminded of three very small squirrels I had the privilege of encountering and assisting this summer.

In August, I was working at Great Falls Park’s Mobile Visitor Center (a box truck & some information tables set up to replace the long-closed Visitor Center building), when a visitor came up, anxiously reporting that people were playing with some squirrels near the picnic area. “Has anybody been bitten?” I asked. No, there’s just some baby squirrels that people are petting or picking up. “Ok, I’ll check it out.” Since my shift replacement had already arrived, I told her I’d find out what was going on and report back.

It was clear where the excitement was when I got closer to the bustling picnic area. Several people were clustered around a tree, staring at something I couldn’t yet make out. When I got closer I spotted a tiny squirrel pup, and then another and another, clinging to the rough bark of the tree. Ocasionally they would climb up or down, but mostly they just hung there in place- seemingly exhausted. The pups were grown enough to be out of the nest, but only just barely. And I can’t blame folks for wanting to engage with them, they were absolutely adorable. They had tiny little bodies, skinny tails, and comparatively oversized heads. But for all that they were perfect little squirrels.

I stationed myself at the tree for about twenty minutes, talking with passers-by about the babies and making sure everybody kept their distance. With the gorgeous weather we were very busy- the paths were full of hikers and people out to view the falls. So there were numerous points where without our protection, the babies might have been bothered or even kidnapped to become pets. At one point, one of the stronger pups actually made it down the tree and scampered across the ground, heading straight for a bemused visitor. That person reached down as if to pick it up; I asked him not to- to just stand aside, let the squirrel do what it’s going to. We all watched in adoration as the tiny creature headed to a different tree and clambered up that trunk. Then we turned our attention back to the two weaker pups on our original tree.

Coworkers of mine also spent time at the squirrel tree that afternoon, all of us trying to make sure the squirrels stayed safe and unprovoked. I enjoyed pointing the squirrels out to passersby who hadn’t realized what was going on. The coos of admiration warmed my heart. I hope everybody who saw the squirrels that day remembers them fondly. It’s not every day you get to watch squirrel pups learn how to become the climbers they need to be.

We hoped that once visitors had left the park at the end of the day, mama squirrel would return to take care of the little ones. Years ago I watched a squirrel teach her babies (a little older than these) how to climb a brick wall, alternately calling them from above and nosing at them from below. So I knew that usually squirrels take an active role in developing their babies’ skills.

But the next morning, I was again at the Mobile Visitor Center when two visitors walked up carrying two of the babies! “They fell on us,” they explained, “can you help them?” We hastily retrieved the pups from the visitors, placing them in an empty cardboard box. They were absolutely the cutest little things– they curled up to nap together, occasionally rousing enough to nuzzle each other or stretch. We guarded the babies most of the afternoon. When I got back to my desk I started researching whether we needed to call a wildlife rehabilitator. How small is too small to be on their own? I didn’t know, but found information that said our babies were just a little too small. So we started making calls to local rehabbers.

We left messages for several rehabbers. My coworker also called a rehabber she knew personally. Once we shut the MVC down for the day, we brought the squirrels into the ranger office. We mostly let them sleep, but couldn’t resist a few furtive pets of their tiny flanks. We even picked them up briefly for quick cuddles– I mean, we’re human too. The babies barely woke up when we did that; they must have been exhausted. We knew not to give them anything to eat or drink, though. When I left for the day, the pups were still nestled in their box and we hadn’t yet found a home for them. What would become of them? Normally at the park, we take the path of “let nature be nature.” If foxes found and ate the babies during the night– well, foxes have to survive too. But these squirrels were just too likely to wander into a human’s hands, to let them stay where they were.

The next day when I came in, my coworker explained she brought them to her friend the rehabber on her way home. Apparently the babies looked ok, and perhaps their mother had been killed somewhere recently so she couldn’t return. We figured road kill or else falling prey to a red-tailed hawk. After a couple weeks of care with the rest of the orphaned squirrels the rehabber already had in care, they planned to release them. Our pups wouldn’t be coming back to the park, though. Since they were integrating with a large group, there was no practical way to keep them separate. This rehabber had an arrangement with a nearby park of some kind to release squirrels there, so that’s where they would go.

So in the end, these little squirrels were removed from the park ecosystem after all. Hopefully they survived and will go on to live out their adorable little grey lives in a nearby forest. The brief encounter I had with them was certainly an experience I’ll treasure. I think of them fondly every day when I walk by that tree. And while most of the time the work I do to protect wild animals’ habitat feels a little bit abstract, sometimes I get rewarded with a special close-up like this one.

If you encounter wildlife that might need human help, make sure you contact a trained and licensed rehabilitator right away. Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources has a list of rehabilitators that you can narrow to just your county or area: https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/injured/rehabilitators/. Googling your location + wildlife rehabilitator will probably get you a similar list for other states. I don’t know how it works in other countries, but suspect it’s very similar. As adorable as they are, wild animals don’t make good pets!