CHIPMUNK PATROL
by A. Richard Miller
22920
visits since 040908; last
updated 060830.
Chipmunks
are very common in New England, although their population varies from
year to year.
Chipmunks make good pets.
When I was in college, I knew a girl who
took one to classes with her at Vassar College -- in her sweater!
It would pop its head out now and again, and was very friendly.
We
like the wild chipmunks that scamper through our yard and
the nearby
woods in Natick, Massachusetts. Years ago, Jill patiently trained a
wild chipmunk to come when
she called. Here's how. First, she left a few sunflower seeds at the
corner of our back porch
every day, and then next to where she'd sit and read a book. Once the
chipmunk dared take the seeds from next to her, it was only a matter
of time until it would take one from her hand, opened on the ground.
Within a few days, the chipmunk trusted Jill enough to let her lift it
up in her palm while it took the seed. After that, soon it would leap
up into her palm for its sunflower-seed reward. Within a week or two,
it would
try
anything: scampering up her arm to take a seed from her shoulder,
from her shirt pocket, even from her lips with a kiss. Guests were
astonished. It was a great show!
| Kids:
Chipmunks may be illegal as pets.
And wild animals must be
handled carefully; you can hurt or scare them, and they can bite. If
you want to learn to work with wild animals, ask someone who knows. |
This
afternoon
(September 8th, 2004), Jill went out back after a heavy downpour. A large
childrens' swim tube was lying on the ground, and its center depression
had filled high with rain water. To her dismay, inside it was a little
chipmunk, swimming for dear life but unable to get up its slippery
sides!
The
chipmunk must have jumped on and then slid down into the
too-deep water. Its thrashing was slowing down, and Jill could see that
it was close to drowning. She hurried over and lifted it out. She
set it on the grass. It just lay there, shivering violently. So she
brought it indoors in her hand -- limp, shivering, eyes closed, fur
all wetted down and bedraggled. Jill called for me to help. What to do?
We put a dish towel next to
the kitchen sink, put the little
chipmunk on it, and covered it with another. Jill gently dabbed at its
fur, drying it as well as possible. It was still shivering violently,
and barely opening its eyes. So we put one of the towels into our
microwave oven. Fifteen seconds turned out to be about right, to warm a
damp towel enough to warm a damp chipmunk. It was still shivering, but
less and less.
After
perhaps a half hour, and many towel trips to
the microwave
oven,
our little chipmunk began to perk up. We had a bucket ready for it, to
ease its way back outdoors. But suddenly it bolted for the far corner
of the counter,
and beat Jill to the draw! We finally coaxed it out from behind
the food mixer.
It jumped onto the window ledge behind the sink, then made a
reassuringly healthy leap back towards the mixer -- where Jill was able
to scoop it into the bucket, give it one towel to cuddle under, and the
other towel for a lid. We gave it a walnut half, too. We sat it near
the back door for another hour to let it recover further, then put it,
bucket and cover towel and all, on our open porch for a while longer.
Before Jill and I said goodbye to our new friend, we remembered to
empty the
water from the swim
tube and to stand it on edge.
We think our little chipmunk is better. After we left, it left the
bucket. In a day or two, perhaps it
will come back for another visit under less harrowing circumstances.
In May 2010, Kat Caren sent us this (literally!) heart-warming follow-up message:
Just read your story
(about the near-drowning of the chipmunk) - and wanted to report I just
had a similar, harrowing experience...
Opened up the storm door of our 1924 chestnut log
cabin here in the NJ Highlands (Apshawa section of West Milford
Township) to find my young cat circling a rainwater-filled tub next to
the porch, which contained a desperately swimming young chipmunk. After
calling my companion, I next noticed the poor thing sink like a stone...
Harvey came out and using a broom, lifted the chipmunk
out of the water and placed it on the ground. I scooped up the cat and
put her inside. Then, carefully (with gloves on) picked up the
apparently deceased chipmunk, who was so young and cute. H said "its
probably dead" but I noticed its little front paw moving. He went to
the barn to get a box, and I grabbed some clean rags and started drying
it off as best I could, rubbing it gently to warm it up. I placed
the box in a sun-lite window and checked in on it every few minutes.
Miraculously it was breathing - laboring to breath - and so I came in
and did a "chipmunk drowning recovery" search and lo and behold came
across your story...well, we don't have a microwave but I put a small
towel in the clothes dryer and after a few minutes, ran outside and
wrapped the little rascal in the warm towel, which really did the trick!
Within a minute or so, the little thing started to
move about and squirm when I held it in my still-gloved hand. After a
few minutes, I took him to the other side of the barn (where there are
lots of stone walls) and encouraged him to run...it took a few minutes,
but he eventually took off.
I'll never forget this experience, and thank you for the story of what a little warmth can do for a soul.
Enjoy the day,
Kathleen
If you enjoyed this, we
think you'll also like:
The
Chipmunk Chronicles, by Toni Will-Harris
Angst in August, by Ron McAdow
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