Where did she go?

[Mei]

Hi!

First time squirrel rehabber. My husband and I raised a baby girl that fell from her nest and the mom never came back. I am an animal lover. I have horses and a dog. I NEVER imagined being this attached to a squirrel. I had no idea they had such adorable, funny personalities. I named her Karen. I like human names for animals. The last time I saw her was a month ago.

We gradually put her outside. Built a nice squirrel house for her. She loved being outside. We had a little ritual we would go through. Every day at the same time around 4:00 PM and every morning I would go outside and call her. She always came. After she ate and buried her nuts, I would make a "ch..ch...ch..." sound. She knew that meant "let's play"

We would box and she would twirl on my arm. Run to the tree. I would chase her and she would chase me. Until she got tired. Then she would go way up in the oak tree and go do what squirrels do. Then all of a sudden she never came back. My husband and I are really missing her and we talk about what happened. I'm so afraid she was run over. or a cat got her. My husband told me today that he can't think about her being hurt so he has to believe she went wild and back to her buddies.

Has anyone ever had this happen? That they are here one day and interact with you. Then they are just gone? I knew she would raise her own family eventually, but she was only about 5 months old when she left. Everytime we see a squirrel we think maybe it's her. I loved her so much. I hope she's ok.. Anyone have any idea what could have happened or if this is something completely normal?

Thanks so much for any ideas you may have!

[island rehabber]

This is an extremely common scenario. Theoretically, if a squirrel is rescued, raised and released properly they will do exactly what your girl did. Most of mine do, since I finally got it right after 14 years , in fact they don't even really come back to me for treats for very long after release. Squirrels who become 'yard buddies' are absolutely wonderful - but rare. An alpha male or alpha female will usually take off for the very highest tree around and never look back.

[stosh2010]

Squirrels are unpredictable--for sure. I am sorry your Karen has "taken a vacation". She might be exploring, or searching a mate or if there are other more dominant wilds in your area....chased off.
I recommend keeping your ritual of calling to her... and I pray she returns soon --for a treat and a wrestling match.

P.S.
I have been calling to my recent release --MANCHA-- for 4 weeks. Yesterday...was the first time I really think I spotted her....

[Mei]

Thank you Island rehabber and Stosh 2010! I am actually very relieved to find this is so normal! You have given me piece of mind about her. I keep thinking I see her, but she never comes when I call her, so this must be squirrel behavior.

I really appreciate you both taking the time to reply. It's funny how we get so attached to these little guys and girls! I may still call her every once in a while like you do stosh, who knows, she might come back to say hi

[HRT4SQRLS]

Mei, I just contacted a squirrel friend that I met once. He is on Facebook. I remembered his story and wanted to refresh my memory. I think his story will give you peace of mind regarding Karen.

He lives in FL and had a Cypress Fox squirrel. Buster was 4 years old. He was allowed outside in a screened in pool deck. Cypress Fox squirrels are scarce in FL but there are populations of them around the state. Buster was showing the signs of wanting to be free so reluctantly he was allowed to make that choice. To leave or stay. He returned the first night to sleep in his bed but the next day he disappeared. Of course, his dad was devastated. 8 months later the mailman told the man that he knew where Buster was. If Buster was a grey squirrel there would have never been any way to make any sort of connection but Buster and his kind were unique. He told the man that there was a colony of Fox squirrels 1.5 miles from there in a wooded area with pines. Dad rushed over to the pines and found the colony of Fox squirrels. He called out to ‘Buster’ and a squirrel came to him and climbed on his shoulder. He quickly jumped off and went into brush. When he came out he was with another squirrel. Buster was living a mile and a half from ‘home’. He would never return to his first home because he WAS home with his kind.

Buster’s story gives me hope regarding our released friends. Our minds default to ‘something bad happened to them’ when in reality most of them establish a life/territory in nature. Unfortunately, that usually isn’t in our yard where we can hover over them.

Karen might return for visits and she might not. There is no way to predict what happens. Take comfort in knowing that you gave her exactly what she wanted.... freedom. When given the choice VERY few will chose to live with us. There prefer life in the trees time and time again. That’s where Karen is.