1 yr and 8 month old female still missing

[MapleRidgesquirrel]

Hi , the 1 year and 8 month old squirrel named Earlene has still not showed up now for 4 weeks. Three days before she went missing I believe she was in a mating chase which makes me think she could be pregnant. I still hope she is just cycling with this time of the year and this is just a behavioral pattern. I did see a fox in the ravine area which is close to one of her trees. I also saw a hawk in a tree over the ravine lately too. I can't help but think that a predator could have gotten her which breaks my heart. It makes me sad to think that she could have suffered and I wasn't there for her. I go outside everyday and go through in my mind each area where she would come to see me. I'm so sad over this. How do you guys deal with the unknown situations with these little ones? I cry everyday at some point thinking about her and how empty my yard is without her right now. Just wondering how you get through all of this. Thanks

[Mel1959]

It’s never easy when they go missing. I’m sorry you’re experiencing this. :hug. Please don’t give up hope. Many folks on here have had their beloved yard or released squirrels take off for months at a time, only to reappear as though they never left. :Love_Icon

[MapleRidgesquirrel]

Oh good. I hope that's the case. The other morning when I went outside a stray cat was sitting on one of my squirrel houses way up in the tree. Luckily the squirrel was not in the house at that time. I just trapped the cat tonight. I plan on taking it to get neutered tomorrow and releasing the cat to my sisters farm. Thanks

[stepnstone]

Hi , the 1 year and 8 month old squirrel named Earlene has still not showed up now for 4 weeks. Three days before she went missing I believe she was in a mating chase which makes me think she could be pregnant. I still hope she is just cycling with this time of the year and this is just a behavioral pattern. I did see a fox in the ravine area which is close to one of her trees. I also saw a hawk in a tree over the ravine lately too. I can't help but think that a predator could have gotten her which breaks my heart. It makes me sad to think that she could have suffered and I wasn't there for her. I go outside everyday and go through in my mind each area where she would come to see me. I'm so sad over this. How do you guys deal with the unknown situations with these little ones? I cry everyday at some point thinking about her and how empty my yard is without her right now. Just wondering how you get through all of this. Thanks

Many of us have been through the same thing, the anguish of not knowing.
The fears, guilt, and the emptiness. We all grieve over our babies.
Time brings acceptance and time gives us hope. And we pray that they are
out there in their world being squirrels....
Take time to grieve, acceptance will follow. :grouphug

[GoldenEyes]

I always wished I could have GPS chips on squirrels so I could go find them and observe what they do in the wild all day long when they weren't in the yard I used to have. Maybe one day in the near future they'll have them for squirrels.

[tomcics]

Do not give up hope, as long as you did not see anything bad happen, there is still a chance and some squirrels will relocate when there are predators around, some of my regulars have done that multiple times and surprised me when they moved back here. Wishing for the best for Earlene

[MapleRidgesquirrel]

Hi , I hope that's the case with her. She still hasn't showed up now for 7 weeks. The other females are starting to show up now that had babies 2 weeks ago. They are the aggressive ones though that live very close to my house. Earlene is a sweet little gal that tries to avoid them. I hope that she just moved farther back into the woods and doesn't want to loose sight of her nest until her babies are older. Thanks again

[MapleRidgesquirrel]

Earlene still hasn't come by. I hope she just relocated and will return once her babies are old enough to leave alone for awhile. I have several new wilds showing up for treats. They get about 2 feet away from me and wait for me to drop the nut for them to get. When Earlene came by regularly they would watch her take a nut from my hand and then a few would realize it was safe for them to take a nut from my hand as well. How do you guys get the wilds to take a nut out of you hand? I'm giving them pecans , english walnuts , and hazelnuts in the shell. I also feed them every morning and evening mixed nuts out of the shell and avocado. Thanks

[Mel1959]

Time and patience. The more you interact with the wilds the more accepting they are of you. They don’t have the best eyesight when looking forward and down so be careful you don’t get nipped. Sometimes in their anxiousness to take the nut and run, it can happen.

[MapleRidgesquirrel]

It's been almost 11 months since I have seen my 1 yr and 8 month old Earlene. She is missed so much. The first day that she didn't show up the squirrels were upset and making their alarm sounds in her tree area for about 30 minutes. I wish so much I would have walked down into the woods to see what was going on. I can't help but think a fox must have gotten her that day. I do hope she is still alive out there somewhere. Has anyone ever had a release squirrel show back up after a year? Thanks

[RockyPops]

Hello MapleRidgesquirrel,

There is a thread on this site about a squirrel than was awol for an entire year and then showed up out of the blue.
Sassysquirrel I think but not positive.

It does give you hope. I know what your going through, I released Rocky last April and haven't seen him since August.
I still look everyday.

Praying your baby comes to see you and maybe brings some grandkids with her! :grin2

[Nancy in New York]

Hello MapleRidgesquirrel,

There is a thread on this site about a squirrel than was awol for an entire year and then showed up out of the blue.
Sassysquirrel I think but not positive.

It does give you hope. I know what your going through, I released Rocky last April and haven't seen him since August.
I still look everyday.

Praying your baby comes to see you and maybe brings some grandkids with her! :grin2


Here's a link to the thread that RockyPops is referring to.
Yup, Sassy came home after being gone for 13 months.
NEVER give up hope.
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?34761-Could-this-be-my-Sassy

[MapleRidgesquirrel]

Thanks for sharing the thread about Sassysquirrel. I still hope Earlene shows back up some day. Rockypops, I hope Rocky comes back to you as well very soon. We have a few wild male squirrels that seem to show up everyday for awhile and then suddenly they don't come by for several months it seems like. I will pray that Rocky comes back soon!