Squirrel with a Close Shave

As a Wildlife Rescue person and general animal lover I have a soft spot in my heart for just about any mammal. We live in a very rural area on an acre of wooded land. Winters get really cold. We have deer, raccoon, fox, bear, coyote and the usual smaller furry friends.

I generally have something I'm hand raising or fostering.

My sister was up from Florida visiting for a bit. At night she would be foraging in the kitchen . In the morning after a snack attack she told me, " Listen, you either have a rat living in the kitchen or a squirrel with a close shave".

Sure enough after looking around I found a rather large hole in the baseboard area under my sink. A rat size hole. I got out my trusty Hav a Hart trap and put some peanut butter in it. The next morning  I had a really large Rat in the trap. Definitely not a squirrel.

He  was very upset of course, frightened and acting ferocious. I pushed some dog kibble into the cage and hung a water dispenser on the side until I could decide where to  relocate him. If I put him back out he'd just come back in. 

So, we had him around for most of the day and  by the time he'd eaten the kibble up he was all kinds of friendly chirring for more food. A very fast learner. See how smart Rats are?

PS. We found him a new home, near a good food source and fixed up the hole.