Squirrel children clinging to your trouser leg! Squirrel children who have lost their mother can actually turn to humans in their time of need.
We keep receiving requests for a sharepic that explains that baby squirrels that run after people or even cling to their pants legs need help. It's about the following picture:
The content of the picture: “Child squirrels that run after a person and even cling to the trouser leg do not have rabies! Help me! They do this out of sheer desperation because they have lost their mother and have been undercared for days. When squirrel children no longer have contact with their mother, they gather all their courage and specifically seek the proximity of humans.”
The fact check
A similar sharepic has been circulating since 2016. ( we reported ) And yes, it's true. If a baby squirrel loses its mother, it will actually seek help from humans. Especially when the animals are used to seeing the two-legged creatures, they don't behave in a distant manner. the Odenwald Wildlife Aid – “Koboldhof”, they are an exception in the animal kingdom.
As early as 2014, they pointed out this peculiarity of young squirrels and dispelled people's fears that the animal had rabies when it clung to a person's leg:
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What to do with the foundling?
From a purely legal perspective, you have to pay for every service a veterinarian provides. However, many veterinarians voluntarily decide to provide free treatment for wild animals such as squirrels or hedgehogs. Ultimately, however, they are not obliged to do so. However, the finder often at least pays for the medication, which usually doesn't make much difference to a squirrel.
Whether a veterinarian charges according to the fee schedule for veterinarians or not should be clarified before treatment. There is no obligation on the part of the municipality to cover costs, as wild animals are classified as homeless and are not subject to lost property law.
However, if, for example, the police (in the event of a threat to public safety) take the injured wild animal to the vet, they will usually also pay the resulting treatment costs or the responsible public order office will cover the costs.
Conclusion:
A young squirrel that is clinging desperately to your trouser leg and perhaps still has a wounded snout is best taken into veterinary care.
As a rule, the animal does not suffer from rabies, but has lost its mother. Turning to humans is their last resort for survival.
Sources: Veterinarian Sebastian Goßmann-Jonigkeit , Eichhörnchen Notruf eV , Eichhörnchen-Hilfe Berlin/Brandenburg eV , Wild Animal Aid Odenwald
Article image: Shutterstock / By Nilanka Sampath
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )