Spanish Moss and the Baby Squirrels
Submisson from an FSM Customer
We live in Florida on a 2 acre property.
The setting is pretty rustic with lots of large
grandfather oaks that must be 75 years or older.
The property has a lake to the
back, or probably better described as a swamp
that progresses into a lake. We built a
boardwalk through the swamp, about 3 feet above
the ferns, leading out to a dock on the lake. It
is a great place for wild life and between the
grandfather oaks and the cypress trees, there
are lots of spanish moss.
Last year we had a tree company in to clear dead
branches, and thin the canopy as we prepared for
the summer and the possibility of hurricanes...
a necessary precaution to lessen the risk of toppling of the
trees in high winds. There must have been 100lbs
or more of spanish moss by the time they were
finished and being an avid gardener and crafts
person I had them set it aside for use in future
projects.
Later that evening, while sorting through the
pile of moss on my workbench in my garage,
removing debris and dead strands, I swept the
collected trash to the floor when I heard a
strange thump. It certainly did not sound like
twigs and debris so I took a closer look and to
my horror, it was a baby
squirrel. I picked him up, and searched the moss
some more only to find two more babies.
I called a friend who is a vet, who took a look
and said they were about 1 week old and needed
fluids so he gave them subcutaneous fluids by
injecting fluid under the skin and kept them in
warm overnight . They were then taken tp the vet
hospital the next day where one of the employees
took them to a wild life rescue.
The wildlife rescue team said they were flying
squirrels (we
never knew there were flying squirrels in
Florida). They cared for them along with another
litter of baby squirrels that they already had
for about a month and were subsequently released
back into the wild. Unfortunately, "Crash", the
one that fell to the floor and aptly named by a
neighbors kid, did not make it. The vet said
that he suffered internal injuries. Needless to
say, I really felt guilty, but the other two did
survive.
FSM