Skinny city park squirrels

[chris2100]

Does anybody know why squirrels in Indianapolis, IN Garfield Park are all so skinny this year? Is there anything we can do to help them? Raccoons get most food left at night and I don't know about legally leaving more than a handful of food near their trees plus can't afford to feed all of them. Haven't seen a normally fattened-for-winter squirrel there all month.

[stepnstone]

Does anybody know why squirrels in Indianapolis, IN Garfield Park are all so skinny this year? Is there anything we can do to help them? Raccoons get most food left at night and I don't know about legally leaving more than a handful of food near their trees plus can't afford to feed all of them. Haven't seen a normally fattened-for-winter squirrel there all month.

Hard to explain the why not knowing your area or what is normally available to them.
Do you have nut bearing trees in that park that may not have produced this year?

[chris2100]

Yes, there are a lot of oak trees in the park that didn't do as well this year due to flooding and then drought. However, I also have a "resident squirrel" at my house across the street from the park - she's so skinny she only eats half of the black oil sunflower seed mix I put out for her daily - poor baby's stomach is that shrunken. Planning to try the peanut butter/oatmeal mix mentioned in another thread tomorrow.

[California Squirrel Lover]

yes, if you do a search on here, and type in squirrel block recipe (search the titles of threads), you will come up with recipes

[chris2100]

Thanks to everybody and fyi - the peanut butter/oatmeal mix added to her usual black sunflower seed squirrel mix from the feed store is doing the trick, her little belly's getting more rounded.