Wildlife Rehabilitation in Utah/Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation: Here we go again....

Monday, May 14, 2012

Here we go again....

Sorry everyone, but this brand new computer keeps losing my posts as soon as I hit the publish key. In fact, just now, with only a couple of sentences in place, it deleted everything and sent me back to 'new post'. I hope I can make it through this without any further problems, including me throwing this computer on the floor
There has been a lot of things happening; way too much to try to post all over again, so I'll post a few things and that will have to be good for this current post.

Spring is certainly in full force; babies are everywhere. Please, don't prune your trees or shrubs until late summer or early fall. Babies in nests are occupying these places and we don't need homeless orphans that could have been prevented by just waiting to trim that tree. Feeding every 20 minutes with some small babies isn't something YOU would want to do and we don't either. Mom and Dad do a much better job than anyone could. Please don't make our job any harder than it is. Just be patient, they will be gone soon enough.
We are caring for orphan Great Horned owls, Starlings, unidentifiable Sparrows at this point in time.
The owls, came from different parts of the state.

Our Golden Eagle status has changed a lot, having released two of our Goldens recently. We have another Golden that came in since the last post, that we are getting ready for release. Our immature Bald Eagle is doing well. We have some foot issues, but after those are resolved, she too will be ready for release. The Bald we are calling Desert and the Golden I mentioned, we are calling Sia.

We have a Red-Tail that came in as a gunshot victim. This poor little guy, we're calling Axtell, had both femurs' from both legs shattered. Surgery was performed on one leg, but the outcome is still questionable. All those fragments in both legs was just a mess. I can't believe how many gunshot cases I've had in that past few months. Their total is more that all the other cases combined in all my years of rehabbing. It's just sickening. What has happened to the human population?

We are doing physical therapy on Axtell now, since his pins were removed last week following the initial surgery over a month ago. Time will tell what outcome we will have. Obviously, the goal is a release.

We also released our Great Blue Heron, Nadia. It was a wonderful release in Moab. I hope she has found her mate as I was told he continued to wait for her, being spotted where he and Nadia had been seen before. Let's hope they found each other!

Well, I'm going to go add the photo's and that's going to be it for now.

Please consider clicking on the PayPal button and supporting our work. None of us takes any pay and like all rehabilitators, our work is done with donations only. We are not paid by anyone for the work we all do. We are not paid by the entities that be, such as USFW or our own states wildlife departments. They do not financially support our work, so anything we do, including buying food for all the different species of wildlife we care for or purchasing all the supplies used in our work, which is basically and animal ER and paying for surgeries out of our own pockets, none of this is free and they animals we are caring for don't BELONG to us; they belong to no one and yet, everyone to enjoy and appreciate. We can't do it without ongoing donations. These photo's give you an idea of what your donations can do.

Thank you, Debbie

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

Monday, May 14, 2012

Here we go again....

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