Wild Squirrel with One Eye

[Cheshirekat72]

Good morning all,
I live in South Florida, and my wife and I both have fallen quite in love with the Squirrel families who live near our home. One squirrel in particular, though, has caused me some concern, and I was hoping for your thoughts on his condition. He is a young squirrel who seems large and healthy and who we have watched grow up over the last year. We call him Tubbs.

About ten days ago, my wife and I were horrified to see Tubbs arrive in our back yard in a terrible state. He had wounds across one side of his face and one eye was missing. He was also favoring one of his forepaws, only running on three legs. Still, that day he dug for food stashes, drank water, and climbed trees while we watched him. The he disappeared. I really feared the worst for Tubbs.

This morning, Tubbs reappeared. His one eye is indeed gone, but the wounds on his face seem to have healed, and is again using all his limbs comfortably. He fed, ran around the yard with his family members, and climbed up and down trees without any difficulty. Basically, he is behaving like he always has.

Since he has healed a lot, is behaving normally, and seems to be taking care of himself, how concerned should I be about him only having one eye? Can squirrels in the wild learn to adapt to sight with one eye? Just for the record, I am not asking if he is an NR since we were never able to take him into care. My feeling currently, shared by my wife and echoed by my vet, is that if he seems to be doing well, we should not intervene. But of course I am concerned about his long-term well-being. Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Thanks so much in advance!

Jason

[Mel1959]

Thank you for looking out for Tubbs.

I think folks on here have seen other wild squirrels with only one eye. Yes, they adapt, but it obviously makes them at a disadvantage where predators and cars are concerned.

[ClemC5]

We had a teenage Grey brought to us after Irma with a lot of damage. He was missing an eye and later lost a forearm on the same side during his recovery. I had resigned myself to keeping him as a NR, but as he healed and adapted he became quiet the ass. I made sure to the best of my ability with help from my friends here on the SB that he was nursed back to health. I tried to make sure he could take care of himself before I transitioned him to the RC. They are incredibly intelligent animals, not sure how much I helped him. He probably taught me way more than I did him. Once I moved him outside to see how he would react to the great outdoors he managed to escape before he completed my mandatory minimum two week stay in the RC. Since his escape he hasn’t gone far and is terrorizing the entire neighborhood. Perhaps he has some unresolved anger issues or something, but either way, even though he has some disadvantages he certainly seems to be doing just fine. I just say hello to him occasionally and stay out of his way. He is a busy squirrel you know, he has things to do. Give nature credit, it is amazing how they can not only adapt, but flourish in situations we silly humans would think they couldn’t possibly overcome.

[Cheshirekat72]

Thank you for looking out for Tubbs.

I think folks on here have seen other wild squirrels with only one eye. Yes, they adapt, but it obviously makes them at a disadvantage where predators and cars are concerned.

Mel, Tubbs is just so lovable that I think it would be impossible NOT to look out for him! A real heartbreaker, he is.

[Cheshirekat72]

We had a teenage Grey brought to us after Irma with a lot of damage. He was missing an eye and later lost a forearm on the same side during his recovery. I had resigned myself to keeping him as a NR, but as he healed and adapted he became quiet the ass. I made sure to the best of my ability with help from my friends here on the SB that he was nursed back to health. I tried to make sure he could take care of himself before I transitioned him to the RC. They are incredibly intelligent animals, not sure how much I helped him. He probably taught me way more than I did him. Once I moved him outside to see how he would react to the great outdoors he managed to escape before he completed my mandatory minimum two week stay in the RC. Since his escape he hasn’t gone far and is terrorizing the entire neighborhood. Perhaps he has some unresolved anger issues or something, but either way, even though he has some disadvantages he certainly seems to be doing just fine. I just say hello to him occasionally and stay out of his way. He is a busy squirrel you know, he has things to do. Give nature credit, it is amazing how they can not only adapt, but flourish in situations we silly humans would think they couldn’t possibly overcome.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, Clem. I am amazed that he has rebounded so well, so yes Nature definitely deserves much credit. I considered trying to catch him and getting him to a rehab center, but even now he just seems delighted at being a squirrel, wild and free and always with his companions, that I could only see that option as a last resort. I feel better now about just letting Tubbs do his thing and staying out of his way. Besides, he's a headstrong adolescent, and they never want to listen to adults anyway.

Thanks so much,

Jason