Subhashini Raghavan loves animals.
For many years, this resident of Gandhi Nagar, Adyar has been a volunteer at a city animal shelter place. For the past five years, she has been taking care of sick, injured or 'lost' squirrels
Subhashni adopts baby or handicapped squirrels and looks after them. “Squirrels aren’t supposed to be tamed. We can look after them for 3-4 months but later we have to set them free. It would be cruel to domesticate these animals as they are part of urban wildlife,” says Subhashini. However if a squirrel is handicapped one can look after it for a longer time, she adds.
Subhashni was in touch with Clarisa Summers of Texas, USA who guided her on taking care of squirrels and giving them medical aid. Now Subhashini also guides people who wish to look after these animals.
So is it easy to take care of squirrels?
Subhashni said that baby squirrels are very friendly and don’t bite. However for the first two weeks it’s very important to feed them every four hours. As they grow old they are easy to manage. Also they should be let free in a room for at least 2 hours a day: otherwise they start biting.
“It is easy to take care of squirrels for a few months. They do not bite if you don’t harm them. We don’t even have to bathe them! They are very friendly creatures,” says Subhashni.
Currently, she has encouraged a small group of women volunteers to take care of squirrels. Since Subhashni is on the verge of 'retirement' she suggests that people can call Kritika (who also takes care of squirrels) in case they want information on squirrels or want to adopt them.
Kritika’s phone number is 98406 14053
No comments:
Post a Comment