Holiday Issue - 2006
Injured Visitor from Chile gets help from WildCare
Missing her passport and injured, an exotic traveler
arrived at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge in south-central Oklahoma
last spring.
The visitor proved to be a Hudsonian godwit, a large, long-billed shorebird. She had spent the winter of 2005 in Del Fuego, Chile, where she was banded; however, during her migration back to the species' breeding grounds in Canada, she had broken her wing. Luckily, she was found and taken to the Tishomingo refuge, where wildlife biologist Jona Reasor recognized this unusual bird and quickly organized a rescue trip to WildCare.
WildCare doesn't check our patients' visas and we were delighted to care for the bird, the first of her species we had seen. She was quickly stabilized with a wing splint and then taken to Oklahoma Equine Veterinary Hospital, where Dr. Joe Carter radiographed the wing. The right radius and ulna were fractured, but the splint was keeping the bird's wing in excellent position. He recommended that the bird rest and get plenty of TLC.
Three weeks after she arrived, the fracture had healed and the bird was flying well, so we released her to continue on her journey. We don't know if she made it to Canada in time for breeding season, but at least she stood a chance.
Shortly after the godwit was released, another unusual
patient arrived at WildCare.
A least bittern, so weak she was unable to stand, arrived in a cardboard
box. After a short stay with us, she regained her strength. These birds
hide in deep vegetation and freeze with wings spread when threatened.
Soon she was stalking behind branches looking for mealworms. It was incredible to see the typical behaviors emerge as this bird grew stronger. At the lake where she was released, she did just what we expected: Instead of flying away, she scurried to low vegetation and disappeared into the brush.
We wish both of our unusual guests good luck-or buena suerte.
Drought limits our release sites
Imagine your water source drying up. This is what animals all over the
state faced this year in Oklahoma. In their search for new water
sources, the animals expanded into new territories, which has the
potential to create problems.
As wild animals search for water, they encounter roads, predators, dogs and sometimes people who don’t enjoy the sight of wildlife in their neighborhood. My heart hurts for the aquatic species like beavers and waterfowl that are forced to leave their homes and venture into unknown territory to survive.
The drought affects the animals at WildCare also. It has become increasingly difficult to find ponds where we can release ducks and geese. The farm ponds with lush, marshy vegetation are low or gone. The larger lakes are feeling the demand as the pond ducks congregate looking for food and water.
If you have a farm pond that is protected from predators and would welcome geese or ducks, please fill out and mail or fax a release site application. Applications can be downloaded from our website at http://www.wildcareoklahoma.org/release_ program.html, or feel free to contact us for a form or if you have questions.
New (human) faces in place at WildCare
Life changes, people move on, and WildCare is no exception. First, we
want to wish good luck to the staff who left us for higher paying jobs
in the business world and to those who have graduated from college and
moved on. We know that they will always carry with them their
experiences at WildCare.
That being said, WildCare wants to introduce to you our current WildCare family: our staff, work-study students and interns.
Staff
Terrie has been with us for more than a year. She is responsible for the
admissions area and preparing the vast amount of food WildCare patients
consume each day. This summer Aerin joined us to coordinate the outside
animal caregivers, and volunteers. We are never sure who keeps her
hopping more—the animals or the people. Laura joined the family later in
the summer to help with the babies in the Nursery. She is enthusiastic
and excited about each little one that arrives. This is very refreshing
for those of us who worked with 300 babies daily all summer long.
Work-Study Students
Once more we were fortunate to be selected to participate in the OU
Work-Study Program. This federal program pays 75 percent of the salary
for students to gain hands-on experience while working. They definitely
get hands-on experience at WildCare! We were delighted that Crystal
agreed to stay her third year with WildCare. “Little,” as we call her,
inaccurately describes her contribution to this organization. She is an
excellent role model for all our employees and volunteers!
Heather, Lisa and Erin, who goes by “Rambo,” have recently joined the
family. They are busy outside sharpening their skills with adult birds
of prey, raccoons and squirrels as these animals become ready for
release. Most importantly, they are learning how to work around a goat.
Interns
WildCare hired four summer interns—Andrea, Allison, Kaitlin, and
Arthur—to help with the babies. At the end of the summer all of them
asked if they could stay on during the semester. You can’t imagine how
thankful we were at their attitude and willingness to continue their
efforts during the school year. The babies’ daily routines continued on
once summer ended.
Thank you all for all your efforts, loyalty and dedication to WildCare’s mission: to assist injured and orphaned indigenous wildlife with the hopes of returning healthy individuals back to nature.
Owl Members tour WildCare at November Open House
Our Owl Member Open House was held Nov. 5. Despite inclement weather,
more than 200 attended. Fortunately the rain held off until after we
released a young turkey vulture. This year we raised $ 6,300 in
donations and extend our sincere appreciation and thanks to all who
attended and donated. We also thank the staff and volunteers who made
this event possible. We hope to see you and your friends at our annual
baby shower, which will take place Saturday, April 28, 2007, 2–5 p.m.
Baby season keeps going and going...
Blame it on “global warming” or that “there is no rest for the wicked.”
This fall the babies just keep arriving. We expect babies in the early
spring and summer, but it’s just wrong to have to order raccoon milk in
October.
On Sept. 9 we received a call about baby raccoons. We agreed to accept them and made arrangements for their arrival. We prepared an enclosure for half-grown juvenile raccoons—we don’t get newborns in September, after all. A car pulled up, and we were presented with a small box. We thought it must be some food to feed the babies, which we presumed were in a large crate in the visitor’s car. Kaitlin lifted the box lid and found three raccoons so young that their eyes were closed, and they still had umbilical cords. This couldn’t be! We already had celebrated the “turning off of the incubators” for the year. Quickly, they were turned back on, milk was taken out of storage and baby bottles rinsed off. We all looked drained at the thought of starting baby feedings at night again. But then there was Laura.
Laura started with us in mid-August. She had not lived through 300 babes in the nursery all summer. Actually, she was ecstatic to have little ones. Soon her enthusiasm was infectious.
On Oct. 23, we received a baby bobcat who had just opened his eyes. He was one of three siblings, but we didn’t know the whereabouts of the other two. We also know we can only help the ones that are in front of us. The little one quickly snuggled in his blanket. The following day we held our breath as we heard reports of the other two babies. That afternoon we waited on pins and needles until another box arrived with both siblings. As the babies were reunited, they sniffed and climbed clumsily over one another until all fell asleep in a little bobcat pile.
We are delighted to be able to raise orphans with their own kind, and even better, their own siblings. They have each other for companionship, warmth, and to learn from. They are now growing strong and playing like bobcats. They will spend the winter with our other 2 bobcat cubs that arrived this summer. Then when spring blossoms next year, they will be released as a group.
Do something wild for the holidays
Know someone who cares about wildlife? Adopt an Oklahoma animal for
them. We provide the housing and feeding, but they provide the support!
Adoption kits have a photo of the animal, information page and a certificate of adoption. Each adoption goes toward the care of that species at WildCare. Adoptions are available for a bobcat, barred owl, short-eared owl, fawn, raccoon, and the immature bald eagle at WildCare. We even have an adoption kit for those little stinkers, the skunks.
All adoption kits are $20 each and will be mailed to the recipient along with a gift card identifying your name and thoughtfulness. Please fill out the adoption kit line in the form on page 7 and mail your tax-deductible donation to WildCare.
We keep ’em hopping!
by Rondi Large
Pictures and stories of the birds and mammals at WildCare fill the pages
of the newsletters. We often overlook the other critters we receive less
often but care for equally.
Every year we accept the usual water turtles and box
tortoises with cracked shells. From time to time we are asked to help
with snakes and with toads.
This summer two toads hopped into the path of a weed trimmer. One toad received cuts to his hind leg and the other one had a broken jaw and cuts on his side. One cut was so deep that the toad’s intestines were popping out through his skin.
The woman who brought him to us said, “I am so glad we found a place that will help even a toad.” Then she said to the toad, “Don’t worry—these people will save you.” We knew that we had to justify her confidence in us and rise to the challenge.
We quickly washed the cut and looked at the
intestines. They were uninjured, moist and clean. We washed them off,
gave our patient a topical pain killer and wiggled his guts back into
his body cavity. After a few stitches he thanked me by peeing on my
hand. I think this is a good toad behavior.
The toad was given antibiotics and he was placed in a clean warm area.
We put in some mealworms and a shallow container lid of water. A few
hours later the mealworms were out of sight so we added some more. The
next day we expected to find the mealworms under his bedding but they
were nowhere to be seen. So, we added more mealworms. This time we put
them in a shallow dish that would be more difficult to escape from. Soon
we found that the toad’s favorite place to sit was in the bowl,
surrounded by mealworms.
Both toads healed nicely and were released by our compost pile on the property. We know we have a good insect supply there!
Over the years of seeing injuries, if I have learned one thing it is: If you don’t try, you will never succeed. Was it a long shot to put intestines back into a body? You bet it was! Was it worth the time, effort, and resources to attempt this? Well, that question wasn’t even asked the day that we watched two toads hop off to give life in the wild another try.
Chickasaw Nation assists WildCare
WildCare and the Chickasaw Nation are cooperating for the benefit of
Oklahoma wildlife!
Mid-June, Rick Carson, ranger supervisor for the Chickasaw Nation,
arrived at WildCare with an injured red-shoulder hawk. As we conducted
the initial exam, we talked about where the bird was found. Soon the
conversation focused on land that the Chickasaw Nation owns. The
possibility of large release sites, several thousand acres at several
different locations around the state, came to mind. Not only did the
Chickasaw Nation readily agree to let WildCare release animals, rangers
Carlan Compson, Gary Carter, and Todd Warren volunteered to help.
An individual’s property will always be considered when we have an animal or two to release, but what usually happens is that we may have, for example, 40 raccoons ready for release at once. Now, we had places for them all. We loaded raccoons, opossums, squirrels and even skunks and headed off to the animals’ new homes.
Driving miles down dirt roads along river beds, we stopped and released a few animals. They quickly darted for cover, then started to explore as we drove away, heading a few more miles down bumpy trails to the next site.
This fall we placed another call; soon we met the rangers again, this time with our owl juveniles. They were babies when they arrived months earlier, but now they were capable of a wild life. As we opened the carrier doors, they flew on silent wings to large cottonwoods where they could look over their new territory.
Thank you, Rick, Carlan, Gary and Todd for providing
such wonderful release sites. It’s a relief to know the babies we raise
will have great places to call home.
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