Catch and Release

Tea: Vanilla

Music: INXS, "This Time"

Time: Night.

I trapped a chipmunk today, which I kind of sort of intended to do. Then I helped it escape.

It's a sticky story -- literally. The rodent in question got into the garage the other day, most likely while I had the door open to get the laundry out. We already had glue traps in the space, because mice like to come in when it's cool. I hoped the chipmunk would encounter one of those (not so I could do it in, only so I could get it out), and it did.

I heard a skittering and unmouselike squeaking. I went into the garage, hoping the chipmunk had only gotten one paw stuck long enough for me to get trap and rodent outside, after which I'd gently pry the paw loose and send the critter on its merry way.

No luck. It was four paws, its tail and the length of its belly's worth of attached -- and frantic, its struggles only getting it stuck worse. I picked up the trap, carried it outside, and began to ponder.

For a while, things looked grim. I didn't see any way of detaching animal from adhesive without causing serious injury, and I was starting to mull the most humane way of dispatching the chipmunk. (I didn't want to, believe me. I hunt, I eat meat, etc. -- and yes, I trap mice. But this small death would have served no purpose. It wasn't the start of an infestation; it was trapped at, in effect, my invitation at leaving the door open.

Gradually, the chipmunk calmed down (or more likely, just wore out from all the wriggling), and I could see that if I could get its paws loosened, it likely could get away, little the worse for wear. So I got out a pie pan, put the trap in the bottom and ran some warm water (with a little dish soap) into the pan. Then it was back to the porch, where I went to work. Occasionally, the chipmunk would struggle, and I would stop and stroke its fur until it relaxed again. I worried early on about it biting me, but it never even tried. (Maybe it was afraid it would hurt me and I'd fall on it.)

After the better part of 20 minutes, the front paws came loose. The chipmunk stretched out, grabbed the edge of the pie pan, and pulled. Soon, the back paws were free -- and finally, the tail. It jumped away, looking bedraggled and exhausted, and hid under the car.

I went back in the house, got some of the acorns I'd collected and dried the other day, and hulled them (figuring that it might be a little much work for the chipmunk to get the shells off at that point). I took the acorns outside and set them on the driveway, near the car. They were gone this afternoon.

I hope the chipmunk's doing all right tonight. And I hope it stays out of the garage from now on. I don't think either one of us wants to go through this again.