The trees overturned by Hurricane Gustav were more than an inconvenience to the daily lives of students.The fallen oaks also forever altered the lives of hundreds of baby squirrels separated from their mothers, now nestled in bundles of towels in plastic containers.The furry creatures are everywhere; in our tree limbs, traipsing down our sidewalks, eating our leftover french fries. And in the wake of Gustav, they need help.Javier Nevarez, director of the Wildlife Hospital of Louisiana, said about 150 orphaned squirrels found their way to the School of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinarian Teaching Hospital on campus. Hurricane Katrina displaced about 300 baby squirrels.Nevarez said the time of year when most squirrels are born — from June to November — typically coincides with hurricane season. Spring and fall mark two of the busiest times for the hospital because of the influx of squirrel births.Baby squirrels are particularly vulnerable to fallen trees because the adult squirrels often leave in fear of falling from the nest, said Karrie Salyers, urban biologist. Though the adults often return for their young, Salyers said many people instinctively attempt to help the young squirrels before the parents have time to return. The parents sometimes do not return at all, she said.”They could be alive for a week or two, but they’d basically just be wasting away,” Nevarez said. “If the mom is not around and they are not eating on their own, they are basically just suffering and literally just starving to death.”Nevarez said he anticipates more than a 95 percent survival rate for the squirrels brought in after Gustav. He said Gustav’s timing allowed the squirrels to develop and many of the squirrels already have open eyes and are growing fur. Squirrels in this stage of development have about a 90 percent survival rate, Nevarez said.All animals brought into the hospital receive physical exams and are treated for any injuries they have, Nevarez said.The orphans, displaced from their nests, are often brought in for veterinary care in groups.”One problem we have when they’re in groups like that is that they’re still getting weaned, so they’re trying to suckle on their mothers,” Nevarez sad. “Well, something happens so they start sucking on the male’s penis, and they’ll actually injure them. That’s one of the most common injuries that we see at this stage.”Animals who no longer need medical attention are transferred to rehabilitation centers to be acclimated back into the wild, he said. The rehabilitation centers make sure they are fully weaned and capable of survival in the wild.Before the squirrels are released into their original habitat, they must be weaned and able to “scavenge.”Emelie McLellan, a fourth-year veterinary student, is one of many students caring for the squirrels at the hospital. “You can’t release them until they’re ready to scavenge on their own, and that usually takes at least nine weeks,” McLellan said. “And most of the ones that we get in are between three and four weeks old.”Veterinary students provide 99 percent of the care for the animals brought into the hospital, Nevarez said. “If they know how to take care of a baby squirrel, then they can know how to take care of a baby rabbit or a chinchilla or a guinea pig in practice,” he said.The average small orphaned animal costs between $50 and $75 to feed, care for and house, Nevarez said.The clinic is largely funded by private donations and receives no state or federal funding. People are not billed for the animals they bring, he said. —-Contact Lindsey Meaux at [email protected]