Two baby squirrels, barely a few days old with as yet unopened eyes, were found on the Sharanya sanctuary. One was brought in by one of our cats and the other was found on the mud outside (making a noise enough to attract another dozen cats). Their mother was most likely killed by a predator as we couldn’t find her.
They were so tiny that they had to be given special food, a powder specially designed for omnivores. Elke, a lady with experience in fostering wild animals and birds, from Auroville really helped us and guided us on how to foster them, even giving us a special syringe to feed them.
Slowly with regular feedings they started growing, opened their eyes and started exploring the world. We made a special cage for them with tree branches so that they could develop their grasping ability. After 2 months we started to wean them off the powder and shifted them to grapes and nuts. We transferred the cage to a shady area on the sanctuary so that they could start moving outside. Letting them go was not easy as they seemed so tiny and vulnerable to predators, but seeing their joy in scampering up the trees fortified our resolve.
They are now comfortably settled in the area alternating between the cage and the trees as and how they feel like it. They have started foraging on their own and we give them a few grapes and nuts to supplement.
