Another day, another squirrel which really should know better, trapped by its own overindulgence.
This time, the love of nuts and seeds overcame an animal in Hartlepool, which luckily was rescued and set free to snack another day.
We would say that this squirrel is our spirit animal, but we do intend to change all that in the New Year… of course.
RSPCA officer Ruth Thomas-Coxon was called to the rescue on Saturday and found the animal imprisoned by metal bars, with the seeds tragically on the other side of the contraption.
She used wire cutters to free the trapped grey squirrel, which scampered off, probably to find food elsewhere.
Ruth said: ‘This greedy boy must have gone in – even though this is a squirrel-proof feeder – and obviously he had such a good feed he got wedged and was unable to exit.
‘Luckily his predicament was spotted or he could have endured prolonged suffering.
‘He was obviously frightened but otherwise appeared unscathed from his ordeal – however he probably needs to lay off the nuts for a while.
‘I freed him in situ, as we’re legally allowed to do, and as soon as he was free he made a quick getaway – which was good to see.’
The RSPCA has asked home-owners to check bird-feeders – even supposedly squirrel-proof ones – regularly, remove them if they will be away on holiday, and to call for help if they find a trapped animal.
The charity also said that, although grey squirrels are considered an invasive alien species and cannot legally be released back into the wild if taken into care for rehabilitation or treatment, they can be legally released in situ.
Ruth added: ‘There are many types of ‘squirrel-proof’ feeders available, but it seems that a few could still trap wildlife.
‘In this instance the resident did exactly the right thing – she was checking the feeder regularly to feed the birds and then when she found the squirrel stuck, she called the RSPCA for help.’
It comes after another squirrel found itself in an almost identical predicament in Surrey last month.
This one was also rescued, after being found with its head poking out of the cage.
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