The Squirrelosphere

It's spring and suddenly everyone wants to know about squirrels. Squirrels, and questions about squirrels, are everywhere:

Are there babies?
Were many displaced by the big storm in the northeast?
Do squirrels vocalize?

Yes. Yes. And yes.

Something about the nature of the squirrel - the personality, the expressive face and eyes, the graceful, balanced acrobatics - inspires observation and ultimately, questions. For many, something about the nature of the squirrel also inspires a desire to intervene and help, particularly those for whom the graceful dance into life has been interrupted.

And so spring is the season of the Wildlife Rehabilitator as well, and is often to wildlife caretakers what Christmas is to the retail sector - or what Fourth of July is to the fireworks industry - absent the seven-figure profits, and occasionally too absent the blockbuster celebrations. Sadly, rebirth and birth carries a potential for tragedy as well as triumph. Under the best of circumstances, rehabilitators do their best to increase the odds so triumph trumps adversity.

It is a big Squirrelosphere out there. The squirrels are everywhere. Let's all keep our eyes open.