Squirrel release station
in cooperation with Eichhörnchenhilfe Salzburg
We have been welcoming new residents at Gut Aiderbichl Henndorf for a few days now. They are red, brown, grey, black, white...and small and fluffy: our squirrels. We are very happy about this great project, which we started together with Carmen Haslinger. She is the founder of the association "Eichhörnchenhilfe Salzburg" and has been taking care of the little rodents in need for many years.
Due to a variety of environmental damage, such as deforestation, monocultures, road traffic, etc., more and more squirrels are becoming distressed. The aim is to rescue injured, orphaned or otherwise distressed squirrels, nurse them back to health and then release them back into the wild. The little rodents are fostered by Carmen Haslinger in Salzburg and then come to Gut Aiderbichl, when they are about 8 weeks old.
They stay in our release station until they are about 16 weeks old and are then slowly released into the wild in groups in the forest. In the case of squirrels born late in autumn, the releasing does not take place until spring, when the food supply is large enough again.
By the way: It is a common misconception that the dark, black squirrels are the "bad" squirrels? Squirrels come in all colours (red, brown, grey, black, white...). Our dark squirrels are often confused with the American grey squirrel, which does not live here.
Squirrel first aid
If you find a squirrel that you think needs help, please contact the Squirrel Help Salzburg (www.eichhoernchenhilfesalzburg.at) immediately. A misjudgement can cost the animal its life!
- If a baby squirrel runs after you, it does not have rabies. It is just desperately looking for help. Please secure this first.
- If you find an animal in need of help, please always search everything to see if there are any other babies lying a little way off.
- Always warm the animal immediately! Body heat or a hot water bottle that is not too hot but approx. 38°C warm is the best for this purpose.
- Please do not give the animal anything to drink and never give it milk.
- Please do not attempt to raise a squirrel in distress by yourself. Rodents are wild animals and always belong in professional hands.
Did you know that almonds are poisonous for squirrels? Please never feed almonds! Acorns and peanuts are also not tolerated very well.
