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Bill Calling For Ability To Own Gray Squirrels, Raccoons As Pets Sparks Debate

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Feb. 19—The fate of P'Nut the gray squirrel and Fred the raccoon — wild animals that became illegal domestic pets in upstate New York — moved 11 Republican lawmakers who want to make New Hampshire a state that would allow them to become "companion" animals.

In October, New York officials confiscated and euthanized both animals after the squirrel bit a wildlife investigator who responded to anonymous complaints.

Mark Longo had kept the squirrel for seven years in his rural Pine City home along the Pennsylvania border, and he said it returned after he tried to release it back into the wild.

Both animals tested negative for rabies after they were euthanized.

P'Nut and Fred had become viral hits on social media with 911,000 followers on Instagram that raised more than $230,000 on a GoFundMe page to try to save them.

New Hampshire state Rep. James Spillane, R-Deerfield, said his bill (HB 251) would require that such animals be vaccinated and kept as pets only if a licensed wildlife rehabilitator judged them unable to survive in the wild.

"It's very possible someone could have these pets and move here, and being illegal, the authorities here would have to come there and kill them. We don't want the same black eye New York has," Spillane told the House Environment and Agriculture Committee.

State wildlife and disease control experts opposed the bill, as did some animal-rights advocates who warned it would upend the natural order and subject unwitting citizens to significant health risks.

"This bill threatens public health and safety and continues the dangerous trend of keeping wild animals as domestic pets," said Kurt Ehrenberg, state director of the New Hampshire Humane Society. "Keeping wild animals as pets is cruel to the animals themselves."

Legal in some states

According to the World Population Review, you can own a squirrel as a pet without any paperwork in 13 states, mostly in the far West and South.

Massachusetts allows residents to own flying squirrels, not gray squirrels, while Maine and Rhode Island allow them to be owned if the person gets a state permit.

Vermont and Rhode Island are among 19 states that allow citizens to own a raccoon.

Spillane's bill would let someone moving to New Hampshire to bring a gray squirrel or a raccoon from a state where they were legal without interference as long as the pet is up to date on vaccines.

Don Bergeron, a natural sciences manager in the wildlife program at New Hampshire Fish and Game, said the agency believes these animals should be euthanized if they can't be released back into the wild.

In rare cases, Bergeron said, the state has let a wildlife rehabilitator keep a wild animal as a pet for exhibit or educational purposes.

For example, Fish and Game confiscated a wild fawn that became so domesticated it would walk into its private owner's garage. That deer now lives at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness, Bergeron said.

Colleen Smith, chief of the state Bureau of Infectious Disease Control, said there are no approved vaccines for raccoons, so even if given a rabies shot meant for a cat, the animals still could infect their owners or other pets.

"Once a human or animal develops rabies symptoms, there is no cure and no treatment, resulting in death nearly 100% of the time," Smith wrote in testimony against the bill.

Spillane noted that 15 years ago many state officials opposed a law that allowed the public to keep ferrets as pets, and residents can own rats as pets without a permit.

"I don't think it would be much of a problem," Spillane said.

The bill would not allow residents to take a red squirrel as a pet.

"Red squirrels do not adapt to becoming pets at all," Spillane added. "They are very wild unlike the gray squirrel that can be domesticated."

klandrigan@unionleader.Com

Endangered Flying Squirrel Making A Comeback In Home-gardens

An endangered Flying Squirrel (Petaurista philippensis), indigenous to Sri Lanka, was found dead last week in a home-garden at Meewathura in Panideniya. Ecologist, Indika Paebotuwage found the ill fated Flying Squirrel in a 'dara maduwa' (wood shed) at home. There were penetrating wounds on its back and chest, indicating capture by a pet dog.

Mr. Paebotuwage, who is also the Vice President, Research Committee- Young Zoologists' Association, identified the mammal as a Giant Flying Squirrel, measuring two-and-a-half feet, with full grown large flaps of skin between the front and rear legs, which it uses like a parachute to 'glide' from tree to tree. Flying Squirrels take a spread-eagled position to trap air that helps it to 'glide'. This skin membrane is called patagium, and though the animal does not actually fly like birds or bats, they have great skill in 'gliding' short distances. It is said that the direction and speed of the animal in midair, can be controlled by changing the position of its arms and legs, while the tail acts as a rudder.

The Flying Squirrel's fluffy tail stabilizes the body in flight, like the tail of an airplane. The tail also acts as an airfoil, serving as an air brake, before landing. Conveyance by 'gliding' from tree to tree also helps to escape predators quickly.

Flying squirrels are rodents like all squirrels, and feed on fruits and nuts. Sri Lanka is home to two species of Flying Squirrels, of which the Petaurista philippensis or Maha Hambawa in Sinhala, was listed as an endangered species by the "2007 Red List of Threatened Fauna & Flora of Sri Lanka", published by the IUCN. The other species, the Small Flying Squirrel (Petinomys fuscocapillus) or Heen Hambawa in Sinhala, is on the verge of extinction and is considered 'Critically Endangered' nationally.

Small Mammal expert and IUCN researcher Sampath Goonatilake said both these species are at the highest level of threat categories. Most of the Giant Flying Squirrel sightings are from Kandy, while the Small Flying Squirrel sightings are from other areas in the upcountry. Both are nocturnal and hide in the hollows of large trees.

Though the Hambawa is an endangered species, they are hunted in many areas, chiefly for their flesh. Minila Ranaweeka of Doragamuwa, Pallegama- 9 km from Kandy, says that the Hambawa was abundant in his area decades ago, but was decimated by hunting. The Hambawa descends from trees to feed on young coconuts (kurumbatti). People armed with catapults or air rifles shoot at the squirrel, The Hambawa is known to be vulnerable when it panics.

But all is not lost. Minila says the Flying Squirrels are re-appearing in the area and he had spotted one in his home-garden four days ago. According to Paebotuwage's neighbours, their dog claimed two more Hambawas recentlly, a sign that they are making a comeback to the home-gardens, particularly in the Kandy area.

However, the recent decision to issue air guns to farmers, have nature lovers fearing the worst for the Hambawa. The Giant Flying Squirrels may be a pest, but both species are already in trouble.

Home-gardens important for biodiversity

The closest forest patch to both Paebotuwage's and Minila's places are over six km away. Hence, it is clear that these endangered Giant Flying Squirrels didn't come from the forests, but managed to survive in home-gardens, highlighting the importance of home-gardens as a last refuge for even endangered species such as this Flying Squirrel.

Director- Botanical Gardens Department, Siril Wijesundara also stresses the need to maintain the diversity of trees within a home-garden. He said that this was nothing new and has been practised from ancient days. Villagers plant trees for their usage/consumption, which, indirectly, supports the surrounding biodiversity to survive.

The term 'Kandy Home-Garden' (KHG) has now become an established term, where a home-garden is seen as a mini forest ecosystem in which the plants, trees, shrubs, climbers, herbs etc are all economically important. For example, Sapu, Jak, Coconut, Breadfruit etc as trees and Coffee, Lemon, Cocoa, Delum etc as shrubs. So every component has some use as food, timber, medicine, ornamental use etc, which provides different layers, similar to a forest, for many wild organisms to survive. Many rodents, wild pigs, porcupines, mammals, reptiles, lizards, birds etc survive on this.

If properly managed, there is a balance and they don't have to exit the system, Problems arised only if this balance is disturbed. For example, if you kill rats, then snakes will go for food outside the system, and get into your house in search of food.

Dr. Wjiesundara also said there are similar traditional eco-friendly home-garden models that support biodiversity in other parts of Sri Lanka too. In the Western Province, there is a similar model called Ovita, where water bodies are also incorporated. Even internationally, systems similar to our traditional Ovita have been adopted to protect biodiversity.

The traditional Japanese Satoyama is such a concept, which has taken its name from the Japanese word for landscapes located between villages (sato) and the mountains (yama), which have for centuries fostered rich biodiversity, thanks to continued management of the land. These landscapes vary in use, but all provide a dual service. Paddy fields, and the ponds and ditches which irrigate them, not only provide a staple of the Japanese diet, but also function as wetland habitats for wildlife. Managed woodlands, harvested for firewood and charcoal, also provide ideal habitats for many species of wildflowers, while the vast expanses of pasture and grassland are home to small mammals, birds and insects.

Dr. Kapila Yakandawela, who has conducted several programmes to promote wildlife gardening too, stresses that home-gardens can be the key to the survival of remaining urban wildlife and appeals to make your gardens wildlife-friendly. He said it is not as hard as it sounds, and a proper planning of the landscape is all it needs. He said that, planting selective trees providing food, water, shelter and breeding places, are the cornerstones of a wildlife garden. Breeding places for birds, frogs, butterflies and dragonflies may all be very different. On the subject of the mosquito menace, he said one should avoid plants that collect water.

31 Flying Squirrels Take Refuge In Local Animal Shelter

More than 30 flying squirrels have found a temporary home at the Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh's Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Penn Hills.

The native rodents, southern flying squirrels, were brought to the center this winter in two large groups after the squirrels' Western Pennsylvania homes were no longer suitable.

Katie Kefalos, director of wildlife rehabilitation at the center, said the 31 squirrels have adjusted to their outdoor enclosures. The center has provided enrichment to keep the animals entertained with piles of leaves and straw, as well as contraptions where the squirrels have to work a bit to find food.

"They have been gliding in our larger space, which is pretty cool. It is one of the requirements to keep them enriched," she said. "It is exciting that they are doing that."

Kefalos said the center usually takes care of a group of southern flying squirrels each year, but this year is the largest population they have taken in.

The larger group of 19 squirrels was brought to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center by the Pennsylvania Game Commission after their habitat near Bolivar village in eastern Westmoreland County was destroyed. Kefalos said the group is being kept in a large enclosure in the center and arrived Feb. 1.

The smaller group arrived Feb. 8 and has been broken up into two groups and kept in two slightly smaller enclosures. Kefalos said this group was brought from the Tamarack Wildlife Center in Crawford County after a home they were living in was sold and the sellers worried the new buyers wouldn't accept the flying squirrels living in the home's attic.

She said all the squirrels were evaluated upon arrival and were uninjured. Kefalos said they are being kept in the center until mid-April because, when their habitats were no longer suitable, that meant their cached food — acorns, nuts and other food they gathered before winter — was lost. She said it will only be safe to return them to the wild when spring fully arrives and they can forage again.

"We are happy to help their populations and hold on to them until it warms up and they can be put back," said Kefalos.

Southern flying squirrels are the smaller of two flying squirrel species that call Pennsylvania home. The other is the larger northern flying squirrel, which is endangered in the state, Kefalos said. Despite their name, they can't fly and, instead, have flaps of skin attached to their legs that enable them to glide long distances from tree to tree.

Flying squirrels are nocturnal and aren't typically spotted in the wild by humans.

Kefalos said the center has been feeding the squirrels a diet of nuts such as acorns, walnuts and almonds, as well as fruits and vegetables and even some insects. She said the goal is to try to keep their temporary diet in the shelter as close to what they typically would eat.

Humane Animal Rescue will accept donations to help pay for food and enrichment until the squirrels are released in the spring.

More information can be found at the Humane Animal Rescue's website.

Ryan Deto is a TribLive reporter covering politics, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County news. A native of California's Bay Area, he joined the Trib in 2022 after spending more than six years covering Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh City Paper, including serving as managing editor. He can be reached at rdeto@triblive.Com.

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