People are familiar with the most common pets, such as dogs, cats, rabbits and horses, as well as numerous breeds of farm animals.
However, there are animals that most people probably don’t know much about, as in this case.
The animal welfare organization Fuzzy Fawn Wildlife draws our attention on their Instagram profile to what we should do if we find an orphaned animal in the wild.
The organization’s employees primarily nurse up helpless or injured deer in order to release them back into the wild.
Often, perplexed walkers call to ask what they should do if they find a lonely baby animal. Fuzzy Fawn Wildlife’s advice is to give the mother animal time to find her young.
This spring, however, something very strange happened.
Animal welfare organization unravels mystery
After a man discovered three newborn flying squirrels and gave the mother 24 hours to find her babies, he contacted the animal welfare organization.
The experts clarify that the nocturnal flying squirrels behave somewhat differently.
They are dependent on our help after just 6 hours because they are too small and delicate and their body temperature drops without the protection of their mother.
The home of the flying squirrel, also known as the gliding squirrel, is originally the southwest of Finland as well as the Baltic States and parts of Asia. Another species comes from the north of the USA.
Interestingly, the flying squirrel cannot fly.
If you find an orphaned flying squirrel, you should first try to keep it warm without touching it and not feed it until you get help.
In this case, unfortunately, none of the three flying squirrel babies, which weighed only 3-4 grams, survived.
The animal welfare organization advises all those people who find endangered small animals to first of all find out about all possible aid organizations and animal rescue centers that specialize in the care of wild animals.
They don’t fly, they glide
The question remains as to what an adult flying squirrel actually looks like.
They are silver-grey on their upper body and almost white on the underside of their belly.
A fold of skin between the front and hind legs enables flying squirrels to glide through the air. The name gliding squirrel is therefore more appropriate.
The eyes of the glider are black and quite large. Overall, they reach a body length of 13.5-20.5 cm. The tail, on the other hand, is somewhat smaller at 9-14 cm long. An adult flying squirrel weighs around 95-170 grams.
It is very sad that the three little foundlings did not survive. They were simply too small and weak and had no chance due to the ignorance of the finder.
It is very important to know how to recognize wild animal babies, how to give first aid and where to turn.
Only then do they have a real chance of survival.
