We have a huge 60 year old tree in our yard, I’ve maintained two squirrel houses for years, they’ve seen several squirrel families over the years.
We don’t do it for social media likes, we do it because we enjoy the animals.
One squirrel has been a resident for a few years, she comes daily for nuts and will eat out of our hands that squirrel has lived longer in our yard than it would have living near a 55mph highway.
The babies always move on after their born.
All critters are welcome in our yard and welcome to the food we leave out.
Feral cats all get trapped, spayed or neutered, shots, medical check ups, and then released. They are supplied with heated houses for the winter.
I like squirrels too. I’d actually really like to put up a bat house, but in my neighborhood I don’t think it would be a wise decision.
My friend was feeding one by hand and off his knee in an urban area, effectively training it to approach humans, not all of whom may be so friendly. Then there’s the potential for zoonotic illnesses such as plague and typhus.
Coincidentally, the next day I had to dispose of a dead squirrel that had been caught in a rat trap designed to exclude larger critters. It was not pleasant.
What’s the housing density in your neighborhood?
The issues in mine began with similar good intentions of feeding feral cats. It was quite successful.
It started responsibly, but then the neighbor took to indiscriminately feeding other peoples pets because they liked the daily parade of cats to the porch, never mind that they are regularly working out of town for days at a time. Eventually, raccoons came around and they were fed and videoed for the express purpose of scoring social media points.
At one point a large rat was discovered feeding at the trough and ended up dying of heat/starvation in a humane catch and release trap (for the feral cats) that didn’t get checked for several days. Another neighbor found a raccoon carcass in their yard, cause of death unknown. I’ve heard them fighting with cats. The rodent population has boomed, bringing with it the requisite health hazards and yard, garden and home damage.
I hope that you and the critters sharing your habitat live long healthy lives. Just as there are some responsible axolotl owners, there ARE responsible ways to interact with the wild creatures that share our spaces.
The uncritical sharing of irresponsible interactions models human behavior that is more often than not, actually harmful.
I for one am tired of dealing with the results of other peoples negligence.
Due to my experiences and the research I’ve done, I’ve taken a strong position on this matter.
It does tend to be an unpopular opinion. I’m comfortable with that.
I feed squirrels and many other critters year-round. My chicken area is full of discarded feed, which becomes its own little ecosystem.
Then there’s my hummingbird feeders, which surely disrupt migratory patterns. There’s a bunch of birdhouses, which cause them to nest in areas they wouldn’t normally. Also birdbaths and other water sources I provide, which similarly disrupt patterns.
My yard is a first-class example of “glamorizing and complicitly encouraging the keeping and feeding of wild animals.”
