A squirrel found itself trapped in a bird feeder after somehow squeezing inside a cage designed to keep scavengers out.
The unfortunate animal was found trapped in the supposedly “squirrel proof” bird feeder in the back garden of a house in Caterham, Surrey.
The couple who found the caged squirrel took it to the Wildlife Aid Foundation charity in nearby Leatherhead to be freed.
The charity’s founder, Simon Cowell, was on hand to cut the animal free, although not before it made a daring escape attempt, with its rear end still stuck in the feeder.
Simon said: “The couple who brought in the squirrel have bird feeders set up five metres from their windows so that they can watch the birds in the morning.
“They recently bought a ‘squirrel-proof’ feeder after their fat balls kept being stolen.
“They had seen the squirrel go in and out of the feeder for two days and had initially passed it off as a bad feeder design, but on day three they found it stuck by the hips in the feeder, unable to escape.”
He said the squirrel was clearly freaked out by its predicament as it wriggled frantically as he tried to free it.
Simon had to work carefully with wire cutters to avoid hurting the animal as well as preventing it from escaping into the reception area.
After cutting the bars and bending them back just enough, he finally managed to get the squirrel safely into a pillow case where it seemed to find comfort and calmed down.
Yet, despite its temporary incarceration, it still wasn’t put off trying to steal the food again.
Simon added: “After we had freed it, they released the squirrel back into their garden and it is now a regular visitor once again – it even came back on the day of the release. The bird feeder is long gone, though.”
The Wildlife Aid Foundation, which is currently caring for almost 200 hedgehogs alone, relies entirely on public funding for its £1,500 daily costs.
