Stage 9 — Post-Release Monitoring & Support

A soft-released flying squirrel may return to the nest box or supplemental food station while learning the release area. That does not automatically mean the release failed. The aim is to give a short safety net without training the squirrel to seek people.

• Leaves the box voluntarily after dusk and moves through the canopy.
• Uses a widening area and returns less predictably over time.
• Forages/caches natural food and uses natural cover.
• Maintains normal movement, coat and body condition when observed.
• Uses the familiar nest box as an option rather than remaining dependent on the release cage.
• Shows less reliance on supplemental food as natural foraging increases.
• Continues to avoid people rather than approaching for handouts.

Keep the nest box available and offer supplemental food/water at a consistent station during the early transition. As evidence of independent foraging grows, taper the supplemental food. Do not resume hand-feeding, calling the squirrel to you or turning the release site into a pet interaction routine.

Retain the intake location, weights, medical/care notes, release date/site, group information and post-release observations. Those records help evaluate whether the raising and release plan actually produced a functioning wild squirrel and are important if the animal needs to come back into care.