A young gray squirrel enjoys an ear of corn at the Witter Wildlife Refuge. Photo By James Orr

Three young orphan squirrels graduated from rehabilitation school at The Witter Wildlife Refuge and got released into the wild a few weeks ago.

Two were Gray Squirrels from the same litter and the other was a very unusual black Fox squirrel.  All three had been rescued as infants before their eyes even opened.  Initially they were fed formula with an eye dropper before advancing to a tiny bottle and eventually solid food.

I have always enjoyed caring for squirrels because they are very comical and each has a distinct personality.  In my experience it seems the Gray Squirrels are more hyper than the Fox Squirrels. 

The fox squirrel would politely take food from my hand and calmly start snacking right in front of me. Both the gray squirrels had a tendency to lunge at food, grabbing it lightning fast and then running away to eat in private.

The Gray squirrels seemed to have very little patience.  When I entered the room  they would be spying on me through a small bared window on their cage. They would immediately kick into high gear chattering wildly as they scurried around inside their cage at Mach I speed. When I tried to pass them a grape through the window it would disappear as fast as if it had been shot out of a gun followed by machine-gun like chatter.

The Fox squirrel was a totally different story.  I would generally find her lounging in her nesting box.  Although she might pop her head out to see what was on the menu or who the server was she conserved her energy for more important matters like game playing.  We often open her cage and she would politely sit on top of the cage as we cleaned it.  She might explore the room but never strayed far and quickly returned when dinner was served.

One day I came downstairs and was surprised to see a squirrel calmly walking down the hallway with our dogs.  At first I assumed it was a wild one that must have come in through the dog door. On second glance I realized it was the Fox squirrel that had figured out how to open her cage and was out sight seeing. 

I started to panic seeing her wandering among the dogs and Feather the house wolf.  I was expecting to see her become an in between meal snack but before I could do anything it became obvious she had been accepted as a member of the pack.  She walked in between the legs of her buddies as calmly as could be without incident.  None of the other animals paid her any notice. For all I knew she may have been wandering the house with them all morning.  She followed me back into the garage and jumped into her cage for breakfast.

After that it was a constant challenge to keep her in her cage.  It had a latch but she learned to circumvent it.  We started using multiple twist ties in addition to the latch but she always found a way out either gnawing through the ties or squeezing out by bending the wire door.

When the time came to release our little friends we took them far from the house deep into the woods.  When we release an animal that has never been in the wild we leave their cage in the woods with food and shelter to give them time to acclimate to the new surroundings.  Most animals spend the first day or two around or in their familiar cage then strike out on their own.

Our little Fox squirrel was back at the house the next morning stealing food from the deer feeder.  She hung around a few days providing entertainment by sneaking into the guest house, then getting stuck in a tree.  I know its hard to believe a squirrel could get stuck in a tree. She climbed so high she ended up at the very end of the tallest twig hanging on for dear life as the wind whipped her around like a yo-yo.

A squirrels bushy tail actually serves as a type of parachute by slowing their fall with all the air resistance it creates.  Fortunately she did not have to bail out and eventually figured out how to turn around and master tree climbing. 

She has since moved on to live her own life but the two gray squirrels are spotted on occasion stealing grain and grapes from the deer enclosure.

DONATIONS NEEDED If you would like to help any donation amount  it is greatly appreciated.  Donations should be made out to Witter Wildlife Refuge and can be sent to P.O. Box 1118, Huntsville AR 72740.

See web page under "HOW YOU CAN HELP" for specific ways you can help us help wildlife