An animal rehabilitation organization says a squirrel is recovering after he became trapped in a pool drain cover and had to be rescued and brought to their Barrington facility.
Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation said on Wednesday that the squirrel attempted to go into a pool clean-out but became stuck in the cover.
He managed to dislodge the cover from the clean-out and started dragging himself around the yard with the cover stuck around his waist.
The rehabilitation organization responded and found the animal not only stuck in the cover, but also stuck after he attempted to go through a chain link fence with the cover still lodged around him.
Workers from the organization removed the squirrel from the fence and temporarily left the clean-out cover on him.
They brought the squirrel back to their facility in Barrington and started removing him from the cover.
“There was no fitting him through so we decided to cut the cover. The cover was very thick plastic,” Flint Creek Wildlife said.
The organization did not want to use a noisy tool and instead broke the cover away in pieces until he was freed.
The squirrel was sore after the ordeal but he suffered no significant injuries. The wildlife facility hopes to release him soon.
“Even squirrels apparently have misperceptions regarding their size!” Flint Creek Wildlife said.