The animal kingdom is full of mysteries, but you don’t have to go to the middle of the jungle to find them. Some of the biggest wildlife entanglements can be found in your own neighborhood. Just ask a Milwaukee resident who was out minding her own business when she found five gray baby squirrels stuck in the most unusual way she’d ever seen. Now, most siblings tend to form a bond, especially when they’re young. And these squirrels didn’t seem to have any issues cuddling while they were in their nest. Then, they tried to go their separate ways, but discovered that they were stuck with each other.It wasn’t sibling love that bonded these tiny creatures, but it was their mother’s fault. You see, when the mamma squirrel built the nest, she used strips of plastic and long-stemmed grasses as material. It didn’t seem to be a problem at the time, but it was a definite issue now.
The creatures were about 5 or 6 weeks old and they were already facing the biggest obstacle of their young lives. They wanted to explore their surroundings with the help of their mother, but they were confused by the fact that they couldn’t move.
The baby squirrels were going in different directions, but because their tales were tangled, they ended up going nowhere fast. The mamma squirrel did her best to help her young, but nothing seemed to work.
Scott Diehl, Wildlife Director for the Wisconsin Humane Society, rushed to the scene as soon as he’d gotten the call. Diehl believed that the squirrels were agitated, frightened, and quite possibly in agony.
The young squirrels were given an anesthesia before the center’s staff began to delicately untangle the Gordian Knot that the creatures were stuck in. But it wasn’t exactly easy to figure out whose tail belonged to whom. Then, after 20 minutes, the adorable animals were free.
The entanglement had caused various types of tissue damage brought on by the lack of circulation. Only time would tell if the squirrels would make a full recovery. Fortunately, the staff had detangled other squirrels before, but never this many in this predicament.
They ate the seeds and fruits that were offered to them. And they did a great job running, jumping, and climbing in their outdoor habitat. Of course, some of them wound up losing some fur on their tail, but the staff is confident that the fur will grow back in time.
They’ve helped other tiny creatures like these baby turtles. After finding some Painted Turtle eggs, the staff incubated them and waited for them to hatch. Once the turtles had used up their yolk sacs as sustenance, the staff released the turtles into their natural habitat.
Even a wise old owl is capable of getting into trouble, especially when he got tangled up in a fishing line. Thankfully, the shelter was able to untangle this Great Horned Owl, and after making sure it was okay, they released it so it could find its own path.
This is Ripley, a young Red Fox. Things looked grim for the creature because his condition caused itching, rashes, scabs, lesions, and hair loss. But after the Wisconsin Humane Society treated him, he was released into the wild mange-free!
