It was a tale of tangled tails, thankfully with a happy ending.
These four baby squirrels found themselves tied in a knot by their not-so-bushy tails.
They were discovered by a walker on Monday evening in woods alongside the A689 near Wynyard and the RSPCA was called.
RSPCA inspector Clare Wilson said: “The call said that four baby squirrels had been tied together by their tails so couldn’t get away from each other.
“I was a little sceptical as to how anyone could have done this so went as soon as I could to have a look.
“We find wildlife in some very strange predicaments but this sounded particularly odd, and it definitely was!”
The caller had managed to get the squirrels into a box with two pairs of gloves on so when the inspector arrived she was surprised to see that he was right - four juvenile squirrels were in fact all attached together by their tails.
The creatures were taken to Vets Now in Middlesbrough. The nurses placed towels over the squirrels so they felt safer and the vet set about trying to separate them.
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Clare said: “There were lots of leaves and twigs also tangled and squirrels have sharp teeth so I took them to Vets Now Middlesbrough where we had more hands to help them.
“The vet nurses put towels over the squirrels so they felt safer.
"They seemed to realise we were trying to help them as they stayed quiet while the vet worked to untangle them.
“It turned out once the twigs and leaves were removed that the four tails were all literally plaited together.”
All four baby squirrels were uninjured and are doing well.
They are being looked after at a local vets until we can transfer them to a wildlife centre with a licence to release grey squirrels, which we hope will happen when they are old enough.
“It’s impossible to know for sure how they came to be in such a predicament," said Clare.
"I think they must have become entangled in the nest and, maybe in their haste to get free, jumped over each other effectively plaiting the tails so they were completely stuck.
“I am so glad they were found and that we could step in to help.”
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