A Red and White Flying Squirrel Gives Birth in a Local House in Muyu Town
Updated：2023-08-23 Source：Shennongjia National Park
On the noon of August 21, Mr. Xia came to his newly bought house in Muyu Town, planning to fix it up before moving in. The moment he opened his door, he found a little cute animal, which looks quite pretty with a shape somewhat like a mouse. He guessed it might be a rare wild animal and called 110 for help. 110 gave Mr. Xia the phone number of Muyu Conservation Center of the Administration of Shennongjia National Park and told him to contact the latter.
The babyWang Min who is responsible for the conservation center came to the spot immediately after Mr. Xia called him. In the restroom of this roughcast house, Wang found a red and white flying squirrel, a national class-2 protected wild animal, lying on hay. It was a newborn who just opened its eyes but unable to move freely yet. One can tell from its fur that it was quite healthy.
Its mother run to another room the moment she felt someone coming. Wang took a video of her with his mobile phone. From the way she moves, we can also tell that the mother was healthy.
Wang thought that it might not be the right moment to send them back to the forest since the mother could be still weak after labor and the baby was unable to move its body yet. They might face danger and even lose their lives if they get back to the forest at this moment. It can be inferred that the mother chose to give birth here for the reason of safety.
The motherWang advised Xia to postpone his decoration plan and leave the house to the animal family so that the conservation center can send them back to the forest safely after the baby learns to move freely. Xia readily agreed to delay his decoration for three months.
The red and white flying squirrel is cautious and timid by nature, perhaps that’s why the mother chose to put her “delivery room” on the sixth floor, the top floor of the building. The restroom is dark, secluded and sheltered from the wind, fairly suitable to protect the baby from getting harmed by other animals. Mr. Xia told us that there was no hay before in the house, so the pile of hay was actually picked up by the mother piece by piece.
“Obviously, the mother’s preparation has been quite laborious and meticulous,” commented Wang Min.
A colleague of Wang asked if they needed to send some food to the mother and baby, but was rejected. Wang said, animal world has their own rules. The mother knows what she needs and has the ability to forage, so it won’t be a good idea to interfere. (By Zhang Ligen)
Copyright Shennongjia National Park
Address：36 Chulin Road, Muyu Town, Shennongjia Forestry District, Hubei Province 鄂ICP备18005077号-3
Address：36 Chulin Road, Muyu Town, Shennongjia Forestry District, Hubei Province 鄂ICP备18005077号-3
Email：2673990569@qq.com
Phone：0719-3453368
Phone：0719-3453368
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