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THE ENGINEER wrote:

Charles L. Cotton wrote:Funny how so many of us "gun slingers" have a soft spot for animals, especially those in trouble.

Chas.

Strange isn't it. We will spend long hours nursing a hurt animal back to health, and yet we won't waste seconds killing a perfectly healthy one.

Well....in this case it was not a matter of the animal being "hurt", but the fact that he was basically defenseless at the age I found him. I consider it my moral responsibility to do all I can to ensure the little fella at least gets "a chance" to grow up.

I have no illusions about his "place" in the ecosystem. No doubt...he will end up in the food chain in one fashion or another eventually. Until then...I will do my best to help him grow strong and return to the wild where he belongs.

Such is life.

My daughter came by and gave Earle a bottle of milk, he warmed up to her pretty quickly.



I managed to lose Earle for about 5 minutes during his morning feeding today. He crawled down between my leg and the arm of the reclining chair.

Unknown to me….there is a small tear in the fabric below the seat cushion. Well…Earle found it and promptly disappeared inside the recliner (not good).

I knew I couldn’t move the recliner for fear of crushing him in the mechanism, so I tried to reach down into the hole and feel around for him. I couldn’t get my fat forearm far enough into the chair to do any good... and figured that even if I did find him, pulling him back up through that hole (with him grabbing onto everything) would be about as easy as putting toothpaste back in the tube.

While I was examining the back of the chair for a way to remove it, Earle comes popping out from the bottom on his own. I swooped on him (as much as a 250 lb. man can swoop) before the little devil could go back inside the chair.

Good thing... because I was beginning to panic (just a little) at the thought of having to tell Mrs. Flintknapper that:

A. I had to cut the back out of your favorite recliner to get Earle out of it today.

B. Ummm….honey, wouldn’t you rather sit on the couch this evening, you never sit on the couch. No, I didn’t hear anything make a noise. “Where is Earle� you ask, well my love……..it’s like this……..

jimlongley wrote: I don't think Earl is in too much danger close to the tree trunk like that, hawks are skillful fliers but not that close in.

Pretty much true of the red-tailed hawks, but the smaller "Sharp Shinned" hawks or Coopers hawks we have around here wouldn't think twice about taking him off that limb. He is not very agile at this age...and would stand no chance of evading a dedicated attack. The Sharp Shinned hawk generally preys on other birds...but they are opportunistic. Earle wouldn't be in any danger once he is grown up.

Until then, I'm keeping my eye on him.

jimlongley wrote:Very cute, but Flint, I hope you have a license for that thing.

A bunch of years ago, I "rescued" a couple of baby Grey Squirrels in a similar circumstance and was bragging on it to my boss - a Lieutenant in the New York State Park Police - and he asked me to show him my license to possess and rehabilitate wild animals.

Of course I had no idea such a thing existed, he did because he had such a license. I brought the babies in to Park Police HQ the next day and turned them over to him without further ceremony.

I believe the State of Texas prohibits possession and rehabilitation of all but rabbits. I found this out because I had a nest of baby bunnies in my back yard that I rescued from drowning (stupid doe made her nest in low ground)and called the animal folks about them, and they told me I could bring them in or keep them. Since the bunnies were not likely to be really compatible with our dogs, I chose to take them in.

I don't think Earl is in too much danger close to the tree trunk like that, hawks are skillful fliers but not that close in.

Yes, I am aware of that. But... Thanks for bringing it up, someone else may benefit from it.

A license is indeed required. The nearest wildlife rescue person (to me) is about 45 miles away....and she cannot take him in right now. I know the local game warden....and he will not bother me about this.

If the "squirrel police" get wind of this and want to come take this little fireball off of my hands, fine.

Otherwise, I will continue to care for him and slowly reintroduce him back into the wild (which is right outside my back door).

Lumberjack98 wrote:Very cool.

Way to go flintknapper!

It is kind of hard to see where the squirrel ends and your arm begins in the first pic.

Yeah, I've got my own "fur coat" I wear year round.

Kind of like "Esau" in the Bible, I am "an hairy man".

Speaking of Squirrels, I went down to my shop a couple of mornings ago and a Baby Fox Squirrel comes wandering out from the bushes and starts following me making a pitiful guttural barking sound.

We had a terrible storm here last Friday...so no doubt he was blown out of his nest. There is no sign of any nest left in the tree, no sign of an adult squirrel anywhere around, and no siblings (that I could find).

The Squirrel is about 4-5 weeks old (I'm guessing). He was cold and hungry so I took him up the to the house, washed him with flea soap in warm water, got the hair dryer...and fluffed him up (didn't like that).

Mixed some milk, salt and sugar together and found an eye dropper. Little bugger was definitely hungry. Fed him again a little while ago, and he's sleeping now. Got some real formula the other day.

Got him in a box with a heating pad in the bottom and an old shirt for him to get under.

He's a melanistic (black) phase Fox Squirrel, kinda cool. He's not black yet...just charcoal colored...but will probably turn jet black later, like some others we have around here.

Mrs. Flintknapper is having a fit over this, says she "doesn't want that rat in the house".

But... thats just pretty much “too bad�, I'm not going to let the little Squirrel die out there because it can't fend for itself.

Named him “Earle� (rhymes with Squirrel).



Took Earle out yesterday to let him “climb� a little bit. Here he is awake but resting (Good Earle)!



Here Earle has fallen asleep on the branch (Bad Earle, hawk bait)! We will need to talk about this.

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