Nine baby thirteen-lined ground squirrels arrived at Oaken Acres Wildlife Center after being rescued from a woman’s backyard. They were lingering around an underground den where their mother had sadly passed away. The babies were too young to survive on their own, and by the time they were rescued, they were weak and dehydrated.
Oaken Acres Wildlife Center
“We do what’s called a ‘body score on intake of each of our patients,” Kathy Stelford, founder of Oaken Acres Wildlife Center, told The Dodo. “Their scores were in the 1+ to 2- range, very serious.”
Each baby squirrel only weighed as much as a tablespoon of water; to make matters worse, they were cold and covered with fleas. Stelford’s team treated the squirrels for fleas, gave them fluids and placed them in a cozy incubator to warm up. Soon, the babies were feeling much, much better.
Oaken Acres Wildlife Center
As the team worked to care for the babies, the little squirrels tried their best to adjust to their new environment. There were so many new sights, sounds and smells to get used to. They were definitely scared — and that’s when their freeze instincts kicked in.
Thirteen-lined ground squirrels freeze when they’re scared as a defense mechanism meant to prevent detection from predators. Obviously, no one at the center wanted to hurt them, but the scared babies didn’t know that yet. As a result, they started to freeze anytime anyone came near them — and the result was the cutest, funniest game of freeze tag anyone’s ever seen.
Oaken Acres Wildlife Center
“They always act like this — as soon as you open their incubator, they freeze, almost like little mimes,” the center wrote on Facebook. “Then, after a few seconds, in their trance-like state, one will move, and the others all start reacting.”
One of the supervisors was able to capture a video of the squirrels freezing and unfreezing — and the positions they freeze in are truly hysterical.
Despite their rough start in life, the babies are now doing incredibly well and getting bigger every day. They’ll be at the center for another six weeks or so before hopefully being released back where they were found. Until then, their rescuers can’t wait to see what antics they’ll come up with next.
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