Wild winds impacting local wildlife
Nature’s Nursery has taken in a lot of baby squirrels in recent days whose nests were blown out of trees.
TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - The wicked wind machine has been set on high around here in recent days and it’s caused a lot of problems. But this wild weather is not just impacting people.
Nature’s Nursery takes in thousands of injured and orphaned wild animals every year. And it is always a busy place, but the windy weather has added to the workload in recent days.
The wildlife education and rehab center is seeing an influx of baby squirrels who have been blown out of their nests.
The wild winds that blew into town late last week have caused plenty of problems, and that includes problems for wildlife. Squirrels nest in trees and some of those nests have toppled out of the trees onto the ground with babies inside.
“It is typical to get 1-2 baby squirrels per week in March, but the wind has caused us to see an abundance of squirrels all at once. It has already been a busy year for admissions. Between the early arctic blast and this wind storm, we have taken in 158 animals already this year,” Allison Aey, the executive director of Nature’s Nursery, said.
The goal is always to get the babies back to the wild and with their mom if possible.
“Squirrels generally have at least two nests, so if it falls, mom can gather up the babies and move to the backup nest in another location,” Aey said.
Taking care of the latest round of tiny squirrels is a big job with an end goal of returning them to the wild.
“We feed them every three to four hours during the day and because they are not used to nursing from a syringe, it takes awhile for them to adapt. It is time-consuming and it takes quite a bit of patience,” Aey said.
It also takes a lot of resources.
“Having this many babies in our NICU already this time of year means an increase in payroll and the formula we use is very expensive. We’ve already placed a second order based on what we’ve seen so far,” Aey said.
Wind isn’t the only challenge facing squirrels when it comes to their nests.
“In a typical setting where there is plenty of habitat for animals to live in, they are building their nests for the weather conditions. We’ve got a lot of squirrels living in urban areas with nests in trees that have been trimmed or cut back and they don’t have sufficient leaf coverage to protect their nests,” Aey said.
No matter the situation, Aey says our community is full of helpers. And she appreciates all the people who step in to help the animals.
“It is wonderful that the community is so invested in us by both their actions and their donations. It is validation for what we do here every day,” Aey said.
Nature’s Nursery took in more than 3,200 animals last year and they’re on track to hit that number again this year. Squirrels usually have litters twice a year, so this is just the beginning of baby season.
If you find an animal in need, or you’d like to donate to Nature’s Nursery, click here.
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