Wildlife Rehabilitation in Utah/Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation: Another cold, gray day but Spring is around the corner!

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Another cold, gray day but Spring is around the corner!

Time to get everyone caught up. The new eagle, Aquila, is doing very well. She has improved so well, that here in a few days, she will be going out into the flight. We are still caring for her injured foot and it will be harder catching her in the flight, so for a few more days, we will leave her be. The foot is healing well. We just need to make sure that it's healing from the inside-out. It appears that the toe with the most trauma will not

function as it previously did, however, it does work somewhat which is better than not at all!

Ari, the Prairie falcon is still doing well. I fear that the feathers on the traumatized area won't grow back, however. The skin is actually missing from that area, so the original feather follicles are gone. I'm going to talk with some other rehabilitators that may have seen this sort of injury and find out what they think his prognosis might be. With other opinions, I should be able to decide what we can and can't do for Ari and go from there.
He sure has a lot of fight in him. When either Connie or I go out to feed him, instead of moving away from us, he flies right to our faces and heads. It can be intimidating, to say the least. We always have to be careful when going into his enclosure.

The little robin passed away, but not before another robin came in. The first robin had difficulty maintaining her weight, regardless of how much

she ate, she just kept losing much needed weight. What ever it was that brought her down in the first place is responsible for her difficulties I'm sure. We had her on antibiotics and pain medication from the Raven attack that left her scalped clear to the skull. The second robin is doing well and eats 3 containers of night crawlers a day! Who ever came up with the saying, "she eats like a bird" knows nothing about birds! What ever caused this bird to be down on the ground and picked up by people isn't obvious. There are no broken bones or head trauma, so we have her on antibiotics as a precaution.

Well, that's all for now. Enjoy the pictures!
Debbie....................

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ATTENTION

Spring is a very active wonderful time for all animals. Babies are born and learning what it takes to be wild from their parents. Unfortunately, many may end up in trouble and often times humans may try to intervene, whether or not it is necessary. The inexperienced human finding a baby bird, for instance, more than likely cannot tell if the bird is truely in need of help, or is learning to fly, something that can take a few days to master. Leaving the baby to learn what it needs is something an experienced birder can spot, but taking that baby home, thinking you're helping, when in fact, it is the worst thing possible for that baby, has now changed it's life forever.
Call a rehabilitator for answers. Yes, we want that baby to be safe from predators, but give that baby a chance. The worst thing that happens in these situations is an improper diet being fed by the 'rescuer'. This will result in death, if not right away, then in time, due to improper development. Different birds require different diets and different amounts of food at different times. Here is where a wildlife rehabilitators knowledge and experience makes all the difference. Don't try to do this yourself, only to attempt to find a rehabilitator as the baby is dying due to your 'efforts'. When they are at this stage, there is very little that can be done AND it is also illegal to attempt raising wildlife. Only a permitted wildlife rehabilitator can do this legally, for we know how to keep them wild and ready for release as well. Making them pets, besides being illegal is very selfish and is not what's best for the wildlife. They need to be free and have learned how to find the food they will need to survive in the wild and know what to avoid and learn the language of their species. There is a lot that goes into a successful rehabilitation and the orphans out there deserve the best chance possible. Don't you agree?

DID YOU KNOW...........

Wildlife rehabilitation is a profession borne of a love and concern for wild things everywhere. We wildlife rehabilitators have taken this many steps forward, increasing our knowledge, skills and techniques into a career that most people do not know exists. Most people assume that the work that a wildlife rehabilitator does is something all state wildlife agencies perform as state employees. This could not be further from the truth.
The reality is, all wildlife rehabilitation is done, in all 50 states, by us, wildlife rehabilitators. State and federal officials MAY occasionally pick up the patients that come to us, but they bring them to us at our homes and facilities, not their state or federal offices or vets offices.
Ours is a specialized field that primarily involves vet/medical expertise. No, we are not veterinarians, but many of us have extensive backgrounds in medicine (people and animals).
We also have vast backgrounds in the natural history of the patients we care for. Our work involves many fields. State and federal wildlife folks just don't have that training or background.
The other aspect of our work that is not known, is that we are not paid by anyone. Our patients don't 'belong' to anyone. They are wild beings. So when they have medical needs, there is no one to step up to this challenge except wildlife rehabilitators. Most of us work basically 24/7. Holidays are no exception. When an animal is hurt, it needs help now!
To top it all off, whatever expenses these patient incure, the bills are paid by us, for vet care, surgeries, medications, all of it. We build their homes and repair them as needed. All of our patients need something. They are not here to visit, they are in trouble. So imagine if you will......going to work everyday, driving your own vehicle to do that work and never getting a paycheck. OK, so maybe you can do that.....now imaging having a source of income from somewhere, now, this is where things get really different. When you get that money, you just turn it over to other people to pay for what your patients need, regardless of your financial needs!
This is wildlife rehabilitation.
We also are constantly pursuing continuous education of the latest finds in our field. We strive to be the best we can for those entrusted to us.
So please, support your wildlife rehabilitator in your area. They need it and believe me, it is very much appreciated.

Wildlife Rehabilitation in Utah/Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Another cold, gray day but Spring is around the corner!

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