Injured White Squirrel released in Trinity Bellwoods Park

The albino squirrel that was rescued near Trinity Bellwoods Park and treated for head trauma at the Toronto Wildlife Centre was released in the park on Wednesday.

During her recovery she was housed in a roomy outdoor cage at a secret location near Rouge Park along with another squirrel her age.

The squirrel had become a minor local celebrity and received coverage in several local media outlets. Her release at 1:00pm on Wednesday drew reporters from the CBC, CityTV and the Toronto Sun. (I was also in attendance.)

The park is known for it’s population of the rare albino squirrels. They are embraced by the local community, with some businesses going so far as to brand themselves on the white squirrels (White Squirrel Coffee Shop).

The white squirrel was housed in a transport cage, along with her cagemate, a brindle coloured squirrel, and driven to the park in a Toronto Wildlife Centre van.

The cage was placed on the lawn for a few minutes so local media could get pictures and video. It was later moved to a treed area of the park where the cage door was opened.

The brindle squirrel bolted out right away (and was mostly ignored. ) while the white squirrel lingered a bit in the cage as if unsure what to do.

After a bit of coaxing by Wildlife Centre staff, she also left the cage and eventually made her way up a tree where she was gawked at by half a dozen people, who were in turn gawked at by passers by in the park.

This is the tree where I last saw her. Good luck little squirrel!

Please consider donating or volunteering for the Toronto Wildlife Centre. This is their busiest season and they do really great work for the wildlife of Toronto. (Thanks to Nathalie Karvonen, director of the centre for including us!)