Baby groundhog found abandoned by Dufferin Wind Power’s construction crew

November 27, 2013 · 0 Comments

A young groundhog was discovered on a chilly morning in October by a worker with the Dufferin Wind Power project. The small animal was curled up and lying on the newly constructed parking lot. The worker immediately notified Sean Robinson, the Environmental Monitor for the project.

At once all work stopped and no one approached the animal. “I took a good look at him and called Procyon Wildlife rehabilitation centre (in Beeton). While there was no answer, there were some great general instructions on the voicemail. It said to minimize human contact and to keep the animal warm but don’t feed it or give it water. So I gathered him up and put him in a box with a towel and some paper towels to keep him warm and moved him far away from the work activity.”

Sean monitored the young groundhog throughout the day until Procyon replied to his voicemail message, then he drove the groundhog to the clinic. “He was a pretty tiny little guy, only about a foot in length. They didn’t know what was wrong with him but his condition was not a result of any construction activities or anything we were doing onsite.” The groundhog could possibly have a disorder or a brain parasite said the volunteers at Procyon, but they are keeping him over the winter and will release him in the spring. Sean has been told the groundhog is improving and eating well.

Since this event, Sean Robinson has spearheaded a charity drive with the cooperation of Dufferin Wind Power and Mortenson Construction and to date over $300 in donations have been raised. They will give the money to Procyon Wildlife at the end of the month.

“The volunteers and medical team at Procyon do really good work. It’s a great facility and the animals look really happy. They have everything from raccoons and deer to squirrels and an exotic pet someone didn’t want any more. I was totally impressed with the facility,” says Sean.