Five Squirrel Siblings Get Their Tails Tied In A Knot, Humane Society Untangles Them
Five squirrel siblings sure know how to stick together, quite literally. The situation that they were found in recently could very well have cost them their lives. The incident that happened in Wisconsin thankfully turned out to have a happy ending for the small critters.
According to TMJ 4, the five grey squirrels were found by someone just passing by who saw the terrible predicament that they were in. What they witnessed were the siblings with their tails all entangled together with no way of getting loose by themselves. They were helpless in their nest and could have either died or lost their tails if the Good Samaritan hadn’t intervened. They quickly notified the Wisconsin Humane Society in Milwaukee for their assistance.
The wildlife rescuers said on Facebook that the squirrels had become entangled in a mixture of plastic strips from nest materials and long-stemmed grasses. Somehow their tails got all caught up in the mess and each other. They dubbed it the “Gordian Knot,” which is commonly used to describe complex or unsolvable problems. This was definitely a complex situation.
The babies were put under anesthesia where the workers could figure out how to get them freed without them becoming scared and wiggling around. After about 20 minutes of snipping out the blades of grass and plastic pieces, they were finally untangled. The photos revealed their tails looking quite scraggly. The squirrels are spending a few days at the Humane Society rehabilitation facility to keep an eye on any major damage to their tails due to impaired blood flow.
A terrible tailspin: 5 young squirrels' tails become entangled with nest material https://t.co/ZBAZwjUYYG pic.twitter.com/VSJGpkS6FT
— KOAT.com (@koat7news) September 16, 2018
This is not the only similar incident involving these cute animals. Back in May of this year, six 8-week-old baby squirrels had to be untangled in Nebraska as well. According to the report by the Inquisitr, they became stuck together because of sticky tree sap. They were seen trying to move together as a whole unit with their tails entwined together. The poor things just couldn’t get themselves unstuck until an animal lover went for help.
These situations happen more often then you think with a nest of babies all in close quarters. Their bushy tails can get in all sorts of trouble. Those six babies in Nebraska were able to be let go in the wild as soon as they were well enough. That is also the goal of the grey squirrels in Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Humane Society Rehabilitation Center said that the day after the incident, three out of the five creatures were “bushy-tailed.” They are hopeful that they will all be healthy and able to run free again.
