By ANNETTE KENNEDY, Staff A baby flying squirrel is fed puppy replacement milk from a dropper by Karen Inman of Wildlife Care.

Sept. 30, 1999

 

A time for recovery
Furry and feathered victims hit by Floyd are recuperating at St. Johns Wildlife Care
By DIANE RODGERS
Assignment Editor

Their home was recently destroyed by Hurricane Floyd. They lost their mother. And they weigh 8 grams each.

These baby flying squirrels are now being cared for by St. Johns Wildlife Care. And they are not alone.

Wildlife Care has taken in many victims of Floyd including a frigate bird, probably from the Keys, and a sooty tern, probably from the Dry Tortugas.

‘‘We’ve gotten over 40 baby squirrels since Floyd,’’ Wildlife Care President Karen Inman said.

At 5 p.m. Sept. 15, the day after the storm, Inman heard the Bridge of Lions had opened to let evacuees back onto the island. At 5:40 p.m., she started getting calls.

One of those calls came from a resident who found the baby flying squirrels.

‘‘They were blown down by the storm,’’ Inman said.

The resident couldn’t find the nest or the mother, so she called Wildlife Care.

‘‘It was a nest of three, but one didn’t make it,’’ Inman said.

At about 2 inches long, the two girls have some fur on their heads and backs, but just pink skin on the flaps that will one day allow them to fly. Their eyes are still closed, but their skeleton-like toes instinctively grab onto a dropper filled with protein-rich milk.

‘‘They open their eyes at 18 to 21 days,’’ she said, guessing that they are nearly newborns.

She gives them a 50-50 chance of survival.

‘‘They’re still alive and they’re gaining weight,’’ she said, optimistically. ‘‘They’ll be released as soon as they’re old enough.”

When they reach an age of 3 to 5 months, Inman will try to return them to their home.

Although the squirrels are fighting for their lives, there are some success stories.

A frigate bird was found just after the storm on Water Street in the nearby marsh, struggling to get out.

‘‘She blew in with the storm,’’ Inman said.

She was waterlogged and tired, Inman added. So, Wildlife Care rehydrated her and had her checked by a veterinarian.

‘‘We didn’t think she would make it,’’ Inman said.

Lora Smith, a volunteer from Bunnell, took in the frigate.

‘‘All I know about frigate birds is that they’re not from around here,’’ Smith said.

But, she did her research and fed the bird some frozen fish boosted with vitamin B, the same diet as a pelican’s.

When the bird was ready to go, Smith had to do some more research.

She contacted Sun Coast Seabird Sanctuary, which recommended releasing her at the beach in strong winds. She discovered that, although they feed on fish, frigates cannot swim, so good wind is important to keep them above water.

Smith put her on a perch at Flagler Beach. At first, she looked around, disinterested.

‘‘Now what do you want me to do?’’ she seemed to ask, Smith said.

Then she took off, circled the beach several times, steadily gaining altitude.

‘‘I think she was headed back down to the Keys,’’ she said.

Another Wildlife Care guest is a sooty tern. He was dehydrated and beaten up by the storm.

‘‘When we first got it, he couldn’t stand,’’ Smith said. ‘‘It must have been battered around quite a bit.’’

Now, it can walk and is eating well.

‘‘The sooty tern is not able to fly,’’ she added. But that doesn’t mean Smith, a Wildlife Care volunteer for about 10 years, will give up.

Another success story involves a gray fox, who was not a Floyd victim, but a car victim.

Inman got a call from the Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 26 that the fox had been hit on George Miller Road in Hastings. Five teeth had been knocked out, and he had a concussion. It took a couple of weeks before he could hold his head up. However, once he regained his walking ability, he also regained his attitude.

He growled and snarled at Inman and her husband, Randy, and nipped at their heels.

‘‘They have no gratitude,’’ Inman said with a laugh.

On Sept. 22, he was released.

‘‘We took him back to the field he grew up in,’’ she said.

Inman said foxes are seldom turned in for rehab, but when they are, they are usually too sick or injured to survive. She has seen 10 to 15 since January.

‘‘This one is the first survivor,’’ she said.

That’s why it was especially touching for Inman to see the 1-year-old frolicking in the field.

‘‘He bounced through that field like he knew exactly what he was doing,’’ Inman said.