Rehabbed squirrel killed by dominant squirrel?

[Stormyenholm]

About three weeks ago after leaving our squirrel's cage outside, as we had been doing daily so he could get used to the outdoors, our squirrel Earl decided to go find a home in our next door neighbors tree. Since that day he visits us daily and eats nuts and drinks water. He is happy and active and around 4-5 months. Well yesterday a large mama squirrel came down from the tree, which we have never seen her before and took nuts from my hand and ate a pile of nuts I leave for Earl. Then she made this loud squirrel talk and I started getting a bad feeling, like she was dominating the area. I did not see Earl that day and he is not at his normal spot this morning. Could she have killed him or run him off? I heard a loud squirrel noise this morning coming from the tree and I believe it was her. I just have a bad feeling. He was not large and I am just really scared.
Thanks,
Stormy

[stosh2010]

Hoping for an EARL sighting... He probably is lurking in the branches...a safe distance from the LOUD mama...

Do you have binoculars ??? scan the nearby trees...they can blend in and not move for long periods...
also try feeding at different times of the day...
our wilds come at 7 am, 10 am and sometimes after noon...

[TubeDriver]

Earl could have been run off especially the mom has some young ones in a nest. You can walk around a bit and call out his name, leave some treats out if you see him.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Hi Stormy
:Welcome to TheSquirrelBoard

Squirrels are very territorial. While it is possible for a squirrel to kill another squirrel in a territorial dispute it is not common. I have only seen it once on this board. A more common scenario would be that the dominant squirrel would drive the weaker one from the area. She is protecting her young and she is exerting her instincts in a display of dominance. It is very possible that she has driven Earl away from your house. It is less likely that he is dead. I would go out and continue to call him, especially in the morning and evening. While it is common for them to leave an area, it is also common for them to return so I would not give up on Earl.

I'm sorry this happened but you can still know that releasing Earl was the right thing to do. He will have to find his place in this new place in life ... the great outdoors. I also know that this breaks a mama's heart. :grouphug

[stosh2010]

Oh--yeah...WELCOME... Stormyenholm...that was your FIRST post...
I KNOW you have a TON of EARL photos....
soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
start sharing them here..we love pics.

[Stormyenholm]

Thank you everyone for responding. The reason I think it is a mama is because her nipples looked big and saggy as if she had recently had babies, but I am not sure if she has her nest in the tree that he made his home in since this is the first sighting of her in the last three weeks. Or when she even had babies.. (For all I know that could have been his mom since we released him in the back yard of the house where we found him in the front yard) I wonder if I drove her near because of the snacks I leave out. Do you think I should keep leaving snacks out or will that just keep her around? The fact that everyone doesn't think he was killed brings me comfort but I still miss him so much. Thank you for your responses. I really appreciate it.

[TubeDriver]

Is his release cage still outside? if so, you could place a snack near the entrance.


From your description it sounds like she is or was recently breast feeding her babies.

I try to not leave too many treats and food outside, it can cause fights and also could attract predators like raccoons at night. I will typically place a few treats outside in the morning and late afternoon. In addition, if I see one of my wilds, I will give him food. I bring in any food that is not eaten before sunset.


Thank you everyone for responding. The reason I think it is a mama is because her nipples looked big and saggy as if she had recently had babies, but I am not sure if she has her nest in the tree that he made his home in since this is the first sighting of her in the last three weeks. Or when she even had babies.. (For all I know that could have been his mom since we released him in the back yard of the house where we found him in the front yard) I wonder if I drove her near because of the snacks I leave out. Do you think I should keep leaving snacks out or will that just keep her around? The fact that everyone doesn't think he was killed brings me comfort but I still miss him so much. Thank you for your responses. I really appreciate it.

[CritterMom]

She may very well have come for the snacks, so I would see if you can actually find your baby so you can feed him directly.

It really is usually the males that kill, and it is usually as the result of the mating nonsense they go through. Dominant males have been known to kill babies but the females don't really roll like that. Snack the hell out of him and frighten him away, yes; taking it as far as killing him? Highly unlikely.

I do hope he returns!

[Stormyenholm]

So he came back and ate snacks and was just as friendly as always. And a little while ago I saw him playing chase with another squirrel which I can only assume is that mama squirrel. So that's good right? He made a friend! Has anyone else's rehabbed squirrels made friends?
Thanks again everyone. I was so worried this morning.
-Stormy