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Published - Wednesday, August 30, 2006

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Five squirrels, one twisted tail


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HOLMEN, Wis. — Call them an extremely close-knit family.

A rural Holmen woman Tuesday morning discovered five baby squirrels in her backyard that were joined at the tail.
Five baby Squirrels try to a hiding spot in a tree as the are some how tied together by their tails . Dick Riniker photo

Alice Dresen said she was alerted by the mother squirrel’s frantic calls as she attempted to coax her tangled-tailed babies to walk.

“I heard this screeching on the deck. I looked out and saw a black squirrel in the maple tree where she always has a nest with babies,” Dresen said. “Half an hour later, I heard a racket again and this time I saw these baby squirrels at the base of the tree.”

After shooing her cat back into the house and scaring off some crows, Dresen walked close enough to find the young squirrels, which appeared to be grown enough to be on their own.

Dresen called the Coulee Region Humane Society but was told they couldn’t come out. They referred her to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources office in La Crosse.

Lloyd Dresen said the DNR officer who captured the star-shaped ball of squirrels suspected the animals weren’t born joined at the tail.

“(He) said it appeared ... they were all tied together with some kind of nesting material,” Lloyd Dresen said. “He said that somehow when they were born they got all wrapped up.”

The DNR worker said he would try to separate the animals and then release them. However, Dresen said he was told, if the squirrels were physically conjoined, they likely would have to be euthanized.

The DNR officer could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Dan Springer can be reached at (608) 791-8269 or dspringer@lacrossetribune.com.
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Carnivore wrote on Sep 2, 2006 12:02 PM:

" Poor Dears? ROTLFLMAO. Spoiled a good lunch for those crows, better cover the car for a few days, they'll be ticked off. "

no one has said it yet.............. wrote on Aug 30, 2006 6:15 PM:

" but i will. it's either Bushs' fault or global warming that caused this "

Debbie wrote on Aug 30, 2006 4:17 PM:

" The squirrels were tangled up in twine. Hasn't the DNR guy ever heard of scissors or a knife? If he had taken them to a vet they could have been knocked out so they wouldn't bite and they could have been set free of each other. "

To YUMMY wrote on Aug 30, 2006 1:03 PM:

" Too bad a vet wasn't consulted. That's the DNR for ya - they always (**think they**) know best! I'm not a tree hugger or liberal but I think to help out where you can is just the right thing to do. To YUMMY - hope you never get in a bind such as a car accident that you can't free yourself - what do you call that? A good batch of YUMMY soup? BLAH! "

OH NO!! wrote on Aug 30, 2006 12:50 PM:

" They had to be euthanized!! Guess they can't survive with no tail. Sad ending to an interesting story. "

Don't worry wrote on Aug 30, 2006 12:23 PM:

" squirrels reproduce eveyday there will be more! "

survivors? wrote on Aug 30, 2006 11:41 AM:

" Can't squirrels survive without tails? Rather than killing them if they can't be untangled, why not just cut off their tails? "

To Yummy wrote on Aug 30, 2006 11:29 AM:

" Perhaps the public doesn't "demand" articles like this, but it is an interesting story. How often does something like this happen? It's very rare and an interesting read. I hope we find out how this freakish bit of nature is remedied. Yummy, chill out!! "

to to yummy wrote on Aug 30, 2006 11:18 AM:

" it's pretty pathetic that there is an article about squirrels!!! "

SLE wrote on Aug 30, 2006 11:11 AM:

" This is BS!! How can anyone think about killing the squirles. You are cruel people!! "

Thanks for reporting this wrote on Aug 30, 2006 10:57 AM:

" I don’t know about anyone else but sometimes it is nice to read an article that is not about fighting, wars, criminals, and politics! It’s great to read articles like this and remember that humans are not the only living creatures on Earth. Let us know what happened. I hope they can safely be separated. "

wild life wrote on Aug 30, 2006 10:46 AM:

" Once again, thanks to the bloggers for giving me a laugh to start my day. Ooops, I guess I fall into both the tree hugger and liberal category. And not just a tree hugger, but an animal lover! I think these kind of articles are good-don't they balance all of the bad news? Please follow-up and let us know if the babies were separated and let go! "

To: Yummy wrote on Aug 30, 2006 10:21 AM:

" It's pretty pathetic when you have to bring politics into an article about squirrels. "

not to waste wrote on Aug 30, 2006 9:45 AM:

" crock-pot "

Brenda wrote on Aug 30, 2006 8:59 AM:

" Please let us know what happens. "

JHFBEAR wrote on Aug 30, 2006 7:50 AM:

" Untangle YES, Kill NO = That is cruel punishment. If you can't untangle them, I can. "

yummy wrote on Aug 30, 2006 4:55 AM:

" nothin like a good batch of squirrel soup. what a ridiculous article for the tribune to write. Is this the kind of news the public demands? How about covering something that won't stir up all the tree huggers and liberals. "

please wrote on Aug 30, 2006 12:11 AM:

" Please untangle the tails. "

Family ties wrote on Aug 29, 2006 11:49 PM:

" I've read of this kind of thing - and it's not a mutation. Squirrels ( and rats, another animal to whom this happens) don't have flush toilets - and fecal matter can collect along with damp leaves and fur etc etc, and in the cramped space of the nest, fur gets stuck together - effectively glued. Poor dears! "


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