Northern Flying Squirrels Return to the Wild

 

You may recall the four Northern Flying Squirrels featured in the August 30 PAWS blog.  I am happy to report that those four squirrels, along with two other orphaned kits raised at PAWS, are now climbing, running and gliding free in the wild.

On November 4, I closed the six flying squirrels in the nest box they were sharing here at PAWS and drove them to a large, forested piece of King County Parks property near Woodinville.  With the assistance of King County Parks personnel, I secured the squirrels' nest box high up on the trunk of a large fir tree deep in the forest.  I then removed the small screens I had placed over the entry holes on the box to keep the squirrels inside during transport.

It was about 2 pm when we attached the squirrels' nest box to the tree.  Since flying squirrels are strictly nocturnal, it was not surprising to us when the squirrels chose to stay put rather than coming out to explore immediately.  But we did see one brave soul peeking timidly out the door, no doubt wondering what had happened to the cage walls that had limited his movement for the past several weeks.  I have no doubt that as the sun set over the forest, six new inhabitants eagerly emerged to assess their new home.

     

Comments

[Susan Mullen]

Thanks for the update, Kevin!

[shannon stanley]

i can not wait to help with these animals

[Molly]

I grateful for what you are doing!