Chip N’ Dale: Rescued chipmunk babies in care of Kamloops wildlife health centre

A couple of baby chipmunks, aptly named Chip and Dale, are in the care of the BC Wildlife Park in Kamloops after being found on the pavement in a parking lot in Merritt earlier this week.

Merritt resident Laurie Turmel discovered the babies when she was on her way to vote, April 28, at first thinking they were squirrels.

“I looked around thinking they fell out of a tree but there wasn’t a tree, so we think they possibly fell out the bottom of someone’s truck, that there was a nest in a vehicle,” Laurie said. “I’m a firm believer I was there at the right time.”

The babies were so young they didn’t have fur and their eyes were closed. Laurie brought them home and phoned her granddaughter Dani Turmel in Kamloops who took the babies home before the pair went to a local farm and pet store to buy syringes and feed.

“The food you use is a puppy pablum and its for all types of baby animals,” Turmel said. “You have to make sure you don’t get it up their nose or they’ll get pneumonia.  They also need to be massaged to help them go to the bathroom because they don’t know how yet.”

Dani got a heat lamp and kept the babies overnight, getting up every hour or two to feed them. The next day she called the BC Wildlife Park who took chipmunks in.

“Park staff said the chances of them surviving with her are low but to bring them there and they’d give them the best care possible,” Laurie said.

The babies were confirmed by park staff to be chipmunks, not squirrels, with one chipmunk having cuts on both shoulders, but both are expected to survive. 

“The best thing about sharing this story is reminding people if they see a hurt animal or bird to give them a chance,” Laurie said. “Even if it’s something you can’t take care of there are programs that will help, and it’s good people know you can take animals like this to the Wildlife Park.”

She added that all of her grandkids are good with caring for animals and wanted to help care for the chipmunks.

“You know you raised amazing human beings when they’re kind to animals,” Laurie said.

Located at 9077 Dallas Drive in Kamloops, the BC Wildlife Park is home to nearly 200 animals, including 65 different species. As the only full service wildlife rehabilitation centre in the Southern Interior, the park’s health centre accepts over 600 animals annually from all over BC.