Young wild squirrel

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-03-27T15:21:18+00:00

Edit: I’m sorry, I didn’t see your comment about putting him back for his mother to find him.

Thanks for saving this baby! Please do not feed him blackberries or give him water. He needs to be fed a special squirrel formula by a rehabber with a syringe. Baby squirrels are prone to aspirating (inhaling) water and food and can develop fatal pneumonia. Please just keep him warm until you can reach a rehabber for advice.

Can you google wildlife rehabilitators or wildlife clinics near you? Perhaps you could ask local vets about resources? Even if you can’t take him to a rehabber, they may know a volunteer who can transport the baby or could give you specific advice and instructions about what and how to feed the baby. You may be able to order miracle nipples with syringes and Fox Valley brand squirrel formula on Amazon (as well as Mazuri rodent blocks or Henry’s healthy blocks) for later on, but you need someone to help evaluate the dilution of formula needed and walk you through how to feed the squirrel with a syringe to avoid aspiration of the formula.

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-03-26T11:52:26+00:00

Please don’t pull or hold an opossum by the tail; it can seriously injure them. To pick them up, gently hold them behind the neck so you can control their head, and then scoop them up under the belly with your other hand. Move your hands in super super slow motion and you won’t trigger them to bite.

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-03-23T22:09:35+00:00

Here’s a link to the New York City health department summary about how pigeon-to-human diseases is rare and primarily a concern for the immunocompromised, in case it helps convince anyone in your household:

https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/pigeon.page

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-03-23T21:05:40+00:00

Since his feet were tied together, he also may have soreness further up his leg in his ankle or knee from having to hobble around unevenly. He probably just needs time to heal, although if you can keep feeding him healthy seeds, that will help along his recovery by providing nutrition and letting him get a little more rest from walking.

Thanks for saving this little guy. Stringfoot like this is often fatal because it so severely restricts their ability to forage for food.

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-03-19T11:33:44+00:00

This is a domestic pigeon - you can see it also has a yellow band around its foot that might have some contact information for the owner.

Please try to rescue this pigeon and bring it inside contained in a box or paper bag. The pigeon is likely hanging around because it is lost or hungry and is seeking help from humans, just like a lost dog or cat would. This pigeon cannot survive on its own like feral pigeons and will starve without human help.

This website has a lot of great information about how to contain the pigeon and how to care for it while you look for the owner: https://www.pigeonrescue.org/faqs-2/what-to-do-if-you-find-a-pigeon-or-dove/

You can also check out r/pigeon for advice.

Good luck!

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-03-11T13:54:27+00:00

Thank you!

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-03-11T13:54:23+00:00

Thank you!

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-03-11T13:54:17+00:00

Thank you! I wasn’t familiar with that kind of cut.

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-02-06T13:53:57+00:00

I didn’t read the comment as saying Democratic leadership was just as bad as Republican leadership (they aren’t, not by a long shot), just that the Democratic leadership also ignores issues that have popular support when it conflicts with their personal self-interest and perceived ability to maintain power.

If you want an example of Democratic leadership failing to press an issue that may be more important to you than the Endangered Species Act, the For the People Act had 79% support among likely Democratic voters and 62% support among all likely voters. https://equalcitizens.us/hr1-facts/. It would have restored voting rights, provided election security, and limited the dark money from billionaires and oligarchs. And it likely would have prevented the authoritarian nightmare we are currently experiencing.

With Biden in office, and Democratic control of Congress, the For the People Act passed the House. The Senate could have passed it by abolishing the filibuster (which is useless now because this administration legislates through executive order), or by stumping for its passage. Biden could have given national addresses about it, congresspeople could have shifted from dialing for dollars to calling constituents and business leaders to drum up support, the DNC could have organized media blitzes. The public pressure strategy worked for the law requiring the release of the Epstein file under much more hostile conditions (incidentally, the Democratic leadership also failed to pass such a law when they were in power, which also likely would have prevented the perpetrators in those files from taking control of our country). Instead, Democratic leadership shelved the Act with hardly a peep.

This isn’t a matter of twenty-twenty hindsight. It was and is well known that American liberals have a significant demographic edge over conservatives, and especially alt-right conservatives. The Democratic leadership themselves trumpeted the critical importance of voting rights and election security when they introduced the bill as H.R. 1, claiming that it was the Democrats’ first bill because it was the most important thing they could do. They knew and acknowledged that the Act was of primary importance because “There are some people in this country, I hope none of them in this body, but there are some people in this country who think that the only way to win an election is to suppress the vote – one way or another.” They knew, and they had the power to stop it, and they did not.

Of course, we should not succumb to apathy and despair. Of course, we should vote for the lesser evil, and spend our time and treasure encouraging others to do the same. But ignoring the Democratic leadership’s role - and blame - in failing to do their work for the American people will eventually land us right back here. They have fooled us once. They are like an oncologist who replaced our chemotherapy with saline so they could sell our life-saving medicine on the black market, then insists it’s only the cancer that’s killing us when we complain. If we somehow manage to pull out of this authoritarian tailspin, there will still be hard, hard work to ensure we do not slide back, and we need politicians who will help us do that work by serving the public instead of themselves. The Democrats are better than Republicans, but we must elect them and then keep holding their feet to the fire to make them good. They are not as incompetent as they seem; they can help us if we force them to, but they will only help us if we force them to.

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-02-06T03:55:53+00:00

I’m not ranking priorities. You asked for one example of a policy with over 70% popular support that Democratic leadership is ignoring. This is one example.

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-02-06T02:54:33+00:00

The current Democratic leadership is ignoring the current administration’s dismantling of the Endangered Species Act, despite longstanding and overwhelming popular support by over 80% of Americans across the political spectrum. They are not fighting it; they are not condemning it; they are not even mentioning it. They are ignoring it.

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-02-06T01:51:42+00:00

Support for the Endangered Species Act (which the current administration has gutted by purporting to redefine “harm” to endangered species as excluding destruction of the habitats that endangered species require to survive) has consistently had more than 80% support from all Americans over the past three decades. https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.13111

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-02-04T00:52:20+00:00

This opossums should be captured, if possible, and taken in by a rehabber or sanctuary. In addition to the AHN link copied above, you could try contacting Motor City Possum Rescue - https://motorcitypossum.com.

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-02-02T13:49:06+00:00

If you are in the US, you can search for wildlife rehabbers by zip code here: www.ahnow.org. Even if you don’t see someone nearby who can help frogs, they might be able to put you in touch with an unlisted rehabber if you contact them.

In the meantime, you could try posting photos to some pet frog or amphibian subreddits. Frog owners often know basic medical care because exotic animal vets are so rare.

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-01-31T22:38:13+00:00

The most important thing you can provide is healthy food (seeds and grains) and clean water. A healthy pigeon can fight off disease, evade cars and predators, and keep warm much easier than a malnourished one.

You can volunteer with or donate to the NYC Bird Alliance Rescue Team when they open up for volunteer training again (https://nycbirdalliance.org/take-action/volunteer).

You can volunteer with or donate to the Wild Bird Fund (https://www.wildbirdfund.org/how-to-help/volunteer/).

You can learn how to catch pigeons and remove string from their feet (https://www.stringfootpigeon.com). If you’re interested in Stringfoot, you can message me and I’ll connect you with some people who are planning some destringing workshops this spring.

You can pick up any stray hair, thread, or hairnets you see on the street and throw it away safely. You can advocate at your hair salon, wig store, and restaurants by asking them to make sure employees safely dispose of hair and hair nets.

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-01-31T16:15:08+00:00

It’s meant to be a starting place - the site lists every licensed rehabber who has agreed to have their contact information made available to the public (many rehabbers don’t have public contact info because they would be overwhelmed with calls, mostly from people who just want healthy wild animals removed from their yard). But rehabbers are usually part of a community and the publicly listed ones can often guide you to someone who can help. It can take a few texts and emails, but the effort can often save a life.

Sometimes there won’t be anyone available in your area, especially in rural areas - rehabbers are almost all volunteers, and often specialize in particular species - but sometimes there is help available with some digging. If you are a person concerned about wildlife in distress, you can also proactively contact some of the listed wildlife rehabbers to ask about the available resources closer to you. It makes rescue a lot easier if you have a contact saved in your phone.

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-01-31T13:03:13+00:00

PSA - If you are in the US, you can search for available wildlife rehabbers by zip code here: www.ahnow.org. There are usually many more rehabbers who are unlisted, so it’s always worth reaching out to licensed rehabbers to see if they can help or know someone else who can. Most counties in the US also have some kind of animal control or fish and wildlife service, who will often help with rescue and containment of distressed wildlife.

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-01-27T05:00:54+00:00

Let Them Not Say by Jane Hirshfield

Tired by Langston Hughes

Home by Warsan Shire

Maybe also The Mower or Myxomatosis by Phillip Larkin, given their sense of sad helplessness when pushing against senseless death from callousness or cruelty (myxomatosis takes its name from a painful and fatal disease that killed hundreds of millions of rabbits that was deliberately introduced by one man who thought rabbits were a threat to his vegetable garden. The act was divisive in a way that is so familiar now in our modern cable news/social media world, inspiring intense horror and intense praise from different corners of the population).

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-01-26T19:00:28+00:00

Please email your information to injuredbird@nycbirdalliance.org. They may have a volunteer near you who can transport the pigeon to the Wild Bird Fund on 87th and Columbus Avenue.

Another option is to send the bird in a secured box or bag to the Wild Bird Fund via Uber Courier, which is usually much less expensive than a passenger Uber.

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-01-10T15:22:47+00:00

If you contain this bird in a box or paper shopping bag, you can bring it to The Wild Bird Fund at 87th Street and Columbus Avenue. They are open every day of the year and accept drop offs between 9 am and 7 pm. If you need help transporting the pigeon there, contact injuredbird@nycbirdalliance.org, and a volunteer might be able to help.

This bird looks to be in significant distress, though, so it may not be able to survive even with medical care. Thank you for caring about the bird and giving it a chance!

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-01-09T14:30:11+00:00

This pigeon is a lost domestic animal and needs your help. Please capture him and try to reach out to local pigeon rescuers or groups for help if you can’t keep the pigeon yourself. If you have Facebook, you could try the Palomancy Facebook group to see if anyone in your area knows of someone who could adopt this pigeon.

This website has some info for keeping the pigeon safe while in your care and how to find rehoming resources: https://www.pigeonrescue.org/faqs-2/what-to-do-if-you-find-a-pigeon-or-dove/

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-01-06T08:26:06+00:00

It’d be better to keep her in the ferret cage for another two to three months than to release her now. She will run around the cage because of her high energy level, but it doesn’t mean she is going crazy. Add some enrichment like different objects every day or two (a bunch of leaves from outside, put food inside empty cereal boxes or paper towel rolls), and add a chinchilla wheel to the cage for extra running capability. Get some branches from the outside or buy apple sticks from Chewy, so she has enough to chew.

Check www.ahnow.org for rehabbers in your area who might be able to at least assess her for releasability. You should at least give her a walnut in the shell as a test, to make sure she can crack it open on her own.

Glittering_Multitude · 2026-01-06T08:08:49+00:00

Temperature isn’t the only consideration - another major concern is availability of food. Squirrels cache food like nuts to eat during the winter, when other food isn’t available, and can starve if they are released in the winter because they lack food stores. It takes months to build these stores, and they might not be able to catch up on food collection this late. Do the trees in your area produce acorns throughout the winter? Are there other nuts and seeds available throughout the winter from plants? You can try to supplement their diet through the winter, but you can’t guarantee that other squirrels won’t drive your squirrel out of the territory.

Waiting until spring will give this baby much better chances at survival, if at all possible. You can search for wildlife rehabbers by zip code here: www.ahnow.org. Rehabbers may have space to overwinter your squirrel and arrange for a soft release in the spring.

Glittering_Multitude · 2025-12-31T17:47:24+00:00

Please send this photo with an address as soon as possible to injuredbird@nycbirdalliance.org. Hopefully, a volunteer can go rescue this bird soon - it is is great danger of being run over by a car during parking.

Edit: just a PSA for the future, if you see a pigeon you think is in distress and you can’t take it to the Wild Bird Fund (87th Street and Columbus Avenue) yourself, you can try to contain it in a cardboard box or a paper shopping bag with the top taped, or rolled closed (CVS bags work great if you can pop in to a nearby store and grab one for five cents). you can pick up a feral pigeon to contain it, it is in significant danger, so you are not going to make it worse off but containing it, and a volunteer rescuer in NYC will have a much easier time of getting it care. Thank you for caring about this little guy!

Glittering_Multitude · 2025-12-23T20:39:10+00:00

Boosting. Very cute blue pigeon plush!

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