Baby squirrel named Stormy, who was found ‘shaking’ and near death, is nursed back to health by rescuers who built a ‘little cave’ with a small hammock for the animal

A baby red squirrel found near death has been nursed back to health by rescuers who even made a small hammock for the animal.

The ‘almost lifeless’ animal was discovered in a forest ‘shivering, soaked and soaked’ after it was thought to have been blown from a tree during high winds last week.

Two boys found the poor creature, who they named Stormy, near the Necessity Brae area of ​​Perth, Scotland, on Saturday and carefully wrapped it in tissues and a plastic doggie bag before calling local wildlife volunteers.

Katie McCandless, from Missing Pets Perth and Kinross, said he is believed to be only eight weeks old.

She and volunteers quickly arranged a “little cave” for the animal – with a squirrel-sized hammock and daily snacks of nuts, broccoli and apples.

The ‘nearly lifeless’ animal was discovered in a forest ‘shivering, soaked and soaked’ after it was thought to have been blown from a tree during high winds last week

Katie McCandless (pictured), from Missing Pets Perth and Kinross, said he was just eight weeks old

Katie said: “We got a phone call and our volunteer Christine Faulds Quinn was on the case straight away.

‘It was essential to warm him up – so when Christine first got Stormy she put him in her top to let the rain dry him completely as that’s the quickest way!

‘We would always want to help any animal, but because it is a protected species, because it is so young and the condition it was found in, we wanted to make sure it had the best possible chance of survival.

‘Stormy is doing extremely well and living the best life in squirrel paradise.’

Christine added: “He was literally in a poo bag and tissue and he was just completely soaked.

‘I just sat with him on my top, cuddled him and dried him off with a towel. We then took him to the home of one of our volunteers so he could care for him.”

The animal is now in the care of another volunteer with experience in rehabilitating red squirrels, Judith Hogg, and is being ‘spoiled with love’.

The team has confirmed that Stormy will be released back into the wild in two to three weeks – in a rural location with lots of woodland, no main roads and with others of his kind.

The team will make a selection of squirrel boxes, which will be placed around the new area for him to move into.

Two boys found the poor creature, who they named Stormy, near the Necessity Brae area of ​​Perth, Scotland on Saturday.

Wildlife rescue volunteers quickly arranged a ‘little cave’ for the animal – with a squirrel-sized hammock and daily snacks of nuts, broccoli and apples

The team has confirmed that Stormy will be released back into the wild in two to three weeks

The team will make a selection of squirrel boxes, which will be placed around the new area for Stormy to move into

Red squirrels are considered threatened on the Mammal Society’s Red List for British mammals due to overall population decline.

Scotland supports 75% of the UK population, but even there they are considered near threatened.

Gray squirrels were introduced to Britain from America about 150 years ago.

This has led to competition between the two species for food, with gray squirrels coming out on top and red squirrels being ‘starved’, the trust says.

Gray squirrels also transmit diseases that can kill red squirrels.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust encourages the public to report squirrel sightings so that populations can be monitored.

Updates on Stormy and the other animals in Missing Pets’ care in Perth and Kinross can be found on the group’s Facebook page.