Do You Think This Is My Little Boy?!

[Barby]

I became a first time rehaber/life time squirrel "nut" when the neighbors cut down a tree and gave me two baby squirrels - two weeks old - and the local wild life reahab center was not open due to Covid. I transferred them into to their pre-lease cage around 12 weeks but unfortunately a few days in, the boy decided to release himself. :( I released the little girl at 14 weeks and she has a nesting box in my side yard, I see her everyday, she climbs on me and trusts me, etc. The past couple days I have seen a squirrel out there I thought was her but when I went out, it would run away but not like the wilds, not totally "I'm out of here' but rather just a few branches up the tree. A little more "hesitant" than the wilds. Not totally panicked to get away from me but wants his distance. This squirrel is about the size of mine and I am wondering if this may be my little boy! I think I will put up another box. Hopefully this guy (gal?) will claim it, whether it is or is not my boy. :)

[island rehabber]

it's an established fact that male squirrels will 'disperse', while females tend to stay in the neighborhoods where they were born and raised. Experts believe this is the squirrels' way of keeping the gene pool refreshed -- unlike, say, feral cats where everyone sticks around and mates with everyone else and, well...weird kittens result. Your boy may be instinctively driven to settle elsewhere, but he does know you as mamma and you have treats, so he will hover on the sidelines and hope you still throw him some goodies.