NYS Environmental Conservation Officer Kevin Wamsley reported that on May 14th, he received a call about a group of squirrels in distress in the hamlet of Verbank, in the town of Union Vale in Dutchess County.
Wamsley said the caller told him the squirrels appeared to have their tails tied together and could not move freely. He responded to the location and discovered that the juvenile squirrel tails were stuck together with a mass of nest debris and a tar-like substance later determined to be pine pitch. The squirrels were struggling to free themselves from their siblings.
ECO Wamsley captured the squirrels and began a difficult task of freeing their tails. After some time and quite a bit of effort, Wamsley reported that he was able to pull and cut away the nesting materials and free the squirrels one by one.
All four squirrels were released on site.
Photo of ECO Wamsley frees tangled squirrels provided.
Leave a Reply