Wildlife Rehabilitation in Utah/Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation: Could someone please turn the heat on!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Could someone please turn the heat on!

Boy there has been a lot going on since the last post. The Grebe situation here in Utah is getting a lot of attention because of the way it was handled. Even the New York Times ran an article about it. Author Suzie Gilbert also posted about it on her blog, the Crooked Wing. Hopefully, not holding my breath, policies will be created to handle a similar situation in the future.

So as to NOT overload myself, I'm just going to post one or two new situations or updates and then do this again in a few days.

So I had posted about a new Golden eagle that had come in with obvious lead poisoning symptoms. We treated her as a precaution as it was going to be a few days before getting her into our vet, so time was of the essence. We named her Spirit. What an amazing girl. With a great deal of time and patience on both our parts, she is recovering well. It was a long, concerning ordeal as she could not stand due to her feet, but we continued her supportive care, force feeding her until she would take it from us willingly. We still had to hold her for these

feedings, again, because she could not stand. She gradually began putting on much needed weight and became fully hydrated from the subcutaneous fluids we were giving her, helping her kidneys. We took her back into our vets to rerun her blood work. Strangely, some of her results are still concerning.

Watching her, now out in the eagle flight, flying around, eating on her own, going here and there, it just doesn't fit with the blood tests. Our vet, although concerned, agreed we need to base what we are doing on what we are seeing and with our remote cameras in the flight on all the time, I can peek in and watch her and the other eagles at any given time (except in the dark). We are certainly keeping a concerned eye on her, but things look good right now.

Copper, another Golden eagle we have posted about, finally got to have his pins and fixator removed here just over a week ago.

Sadly, during the removal surgery, our vet noticed that the wing with all the damage and lead shot dispersed throughout the entire wing, had a portion of the wing dying due to one of the pieces of lead. It was compromising the blood supply to another portion of that wing. Nothing could be done and a few days after that surgery, the dying portion of that wing, fell off.

Now, Copper is not releasable. Copper's lead poisoning is also under control. His was primary, unlike Spirit's, who's is secondary. Regardless, the effect of lead out in the environment from ammunition, whether directly into the body or in bodies of animals left after being shot with lead,

is lethal in most cases as most of it's victims are not found in time.

As I said, I will update again in a few days with more Great Horned owls and yes, another Golden eagle. We also now have a Great Blue Heron with us, so much more is coming.

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

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Could someone please turn the heat on!

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