Jonathan Monofilleto
Apr 11, 2009
SOURCE: The Observer-dispatch
When a squirrel entered Ann Grasso’s Oriskany home last year and got burned in the furnace, she took the animal to wildlife rehabilitator Nancy Swienton.
Swienton of New Hartford nursed the squirrel back to health, putting ointment on its burns and feeding it properly.
Then the animal was successfully released back into the wild last spring.
“I’m amazed at the good job she did,” Grasso said.
While Swienton, who has been a wildlife rehabilitator for four years, often helps injured wild animals survive, she’s urging residents to be cautious when they come into contact with animals in their neighborhoods this spring.
Animals such as rabbits and squirrels rarely need human intervention to survive, she said.
In fact, improper human intervention could kill them.
Swienton said people often take in baby animals because they see them alone and assume the mother has died.
But, she said, the mother could be isolating the babies in order to protect them while she is out finding food.
People who find such seemingly orphaned animals like rabbits or squirrels often care for them in a way that upsets them or makes them incapable of living in the wild, and as a result the animal dies, she said.
Most of the time, that’s the opposite of what residents meant to do.
“Everybody does it with good intentions,” she said of taking the animals in.
So, what’s a kind-hearted resident to do?
If an animal appears to be sick or injured, she said, people should contact a wildlife rehabilitator through the Wildlife Rehab directory online (http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028.)
Or, residents could call their local humane society or a veterinarian, who would then be able to direct them to a rehabilitator.
Swienton also said that if people see a rabbit nest in their yard, marked by a shallow hole lined with grass and fur, they should also keep their pets on a leash or inside to prevent harm to the animals.Â
