Three baby squirrels may have a chance, despite the disappearance of their mother, thanks to Blaine Chowace.
Living in a rural area north of Williams Lake, Chowace said he and his parents heard a squirrel giving alarm calls in their shop and went to see what was going on.
They then saw an adult squirrel push three young squirrels out of a nest in the roof, then leave carrying one other baby squirrel away with it.
Wildlife rescuer Sue Burton said it isn't uncommon for a mother squirrel to have other places to take their young.
"They do move their babies," she said, suggesting it could have been a number of things which scared the squirrel and got her to make a run with her young.
Burton said anything from predators to weather could have given the mother squirrel the idea it was time to vacate the premises.
Chowace said after they saw the three babies left behind, they tried to give them a warm place to be without touching them, getting them into an open box with some towels.
He began researching baby squirrels, and seems to have learned a lot, including that the young squirrels wouldn't be able to regulate their own body temperatures.
So when the mother didn't return and it started to cool down at night, they decided to bring them in and begin caring for them.
He then began researching how they could keep the young squirrels alive. Based on his research, because the young have their eyes open and are able to walk around, he estimates the babies are about five to seven weeks old. He contained them in a cat crate, kept them in warm towels, and used a heating pad to ensure they were warm.
His research also indicated the babies would need feeding every four to six hours and they would need care until they were about three months old.
So in order to ensure the little ones would get the care they need, he reached out to the Tribune, who put them in touch with Burton.
Burton said Chowace's choice to make an electrolyte mix for the young and then getting puppy formula could be the best option for the babies, and the squirrels might have a chance.
Cow's milk, she said, could have been a death sentence for them, so she was relieved to hear Chowace had been reading up what he should feed them.
"They've done the right thing," she said.
Chowace said he hasn't named the squirrels in an effort to remain detached.
"But I am already getting pretty attached to be honest," he said.
The hope is to care for the young and enable them to return to the wild in the same area, but further into the forest.
