Wildlife Rescue

Wildlife Rescue (Feb. 29/Day 3): Biting Bunnies And A Kissing Vulture

I have not had a migraine as bad as the one I had yesterday.  As I filled my gas tank down the street, I thought about just going home.  But I pressed on and took off for my 50 minute drive to Wildlife Rescue.

This is something that I have to do.  I thought I had found my niche in being a veterinarian’s technician.  Holding a Great Horned Owl as it is being force fed mice….to hear him hoot in your face…my passion, my need is to help local wildlife that is injured to return back.  You may think you appreciate hearing an owl at dusk ~ hold one in your hands and you will have a whole new perspective.

 So what,  you see squirrels everyday….feed one who’s eyes are still closed and be there the first day it opens them.  A raccoon is a raccoon is a raccoon right?  i have met 4 raccoons in my life so far, and every single one had the same curious attitudes, the same Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but very different personalities.  Two wonderful and two very clever and mischievous ones.  Nothing in the world is better than being that close to nature.

Gerda was telling me about a vulture named Lloyd.  She said that Lloyd taught the volunteers that they are beautiful birds and are full of life for death seekers.  Lloyd was known to follow you until you tossed him a piece of food.  He would steal your cans of soda and drink them himself.  He left after he healed his aches, but returned for free meals every so often; occasionally freaking out the new volunteers who hadn’t meet him yet.  I imagine having a bird with a 6-8 foot wingspan land and follow you relentlessly could be quite scary.  Especially given the bad rap they have been given. 

Here is another little fact about the vulture:  they are prone to high cholesterol.  Instead of deceased rats sprinkled with powdered vitamins, pass that guy some Cheerios!  Gerda and the gang try to pick up semi-fresh roadkill for them.  :) 

So there I am…I slept in because all week I couldn’t sleep…I think causing my migraine…or the fact I started a new diet this past week.  Two Excedrine and a cigarette to calm the hungry tummy.

Whatever the source of my head wanting to implode on my shirt, I worked with it and took care of the birds and those dang bunnies.  I am on this duty because there are no babies to feed yet, and someone has to do it, yes?  There is a young tufted titmouse there.  This is my favorite local bird.

Cute eh?  Yea…I thought so until the little dude bit the crap out of me!  Pecking and stabbing me and what not.  Eventually he calmed down enough that he rested with his beak wrapped around my index finger and I was about to clean out his cage and dispense fresh seed and water.  Still my favorite.

The bunnies…a girl I work with, Stella, that is such a fabulous name, isn’t it?  She tells me that she is surprised she has never been bit by the rabbits.  She has been there for a while.  What happens when I clean the cages.  Rabbit attacks!!  Two of them have made it known that I am not to go in their cages.  One of them is known as the “sweetest little bunny ever.” Yup…sweet.  Either way, the cages are cleaned and I just grin and bear it. 

Yesterday one of the volunteers packs up to leave for the day.  I forget her name…Barb?  She is a very kind lady.  You can tell within the first 2 minutes of being with her.  Prior to her leaving I was outside smoking and she came out to see what the dogs were barking at.  I told her that I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes being new and all but we really need to have a volunteers meeting to make some guidelines for feeding and bedding.  We also need to have a day to spring clean out a lot of the empty cages to prepare for baby season.

Wouldn’t you know that she then informs me that she is in charge of all the volunteers.  Yes, Yes…size 7-and-one-half please…no that’s OK..i will just put it directly into my mouth thanks.

I offered my number before she left so we could get a plan in motion….she left and I didn’t give her my number.

As Barb is leaving, she pulls over and jumps out.  Yelling that there is something running.  Gerda is on the front porch yelling…I look up and see vultures circling..and then I see a vulture hopping down the side of the yard.  I book back inside to grab 2 pairs of thick gloves and a sweatshirt and hightail it outside.

No one is there..but I know that no one has given up.  I begin the walk down the hill in the side yard.  The bitter wind is blowing and my damn eyes water like faucets.  I wipe away the tears as I fight through tall grass in search of a land bound bird.  There he is!

I stalk him slowly…attempting to guess his next move…silent..slow…then through the oceans in my eyes and now foggy glasses, I see it is a black cat I have been chasing.  I bet they think I am an awesome rehabber now! 

Finally, I spot the son of a monkey…smack dab in the middle of thorn bushes and stickers as tall as the trees and equally as thick.  He was bouncing around in the middle of a small clearing using his beak to climb up a huge stack of briars. I knew that was it…if I didn’t grab him now, he would get on those stickers and jump on the other side…lost to us.  So I went for it! 

Full throttle through the briars, thorns, stickers with one thing on my mind…”impress them!  This is your chance to show them you are serious!”  And then I dove.  Right on him…I could only get one leg with my hand…I just scooped him and held him close.

I jumped into the little ATV thingy Gerda was driving…holding on to this kid for dear life.  We get to the raptor cages and Gerda tells me to put him in an empty one.  I jump out of the cart thing (what the hell are they? My mind is blank) and the cage is locked.  Meet me inside she shouts.  And as I walk with this juvenile bird in my hand, pressed against my chest I notice he is looking at me.  And so I look at him.  

With a slow motion “NooooOoOOoo” coming out of my mouth…I knew what was coming…an open beak…used to break bones and rip flesh was coming right for me…and so it did.  My lip torn by a vulture.  How cool is that??  Outstanding, I say. I love this job! 

After I saved the injured vulture -which how ironic, wasn’t an escapee from WLR, but just a passer by, lucky him!! - I told Gerda I had a migraine…hit the road and came home with a bloody shirt and pants from the vulture’s feet (from the dang stickers)…told Brian the story…looked at my butt in the mirror…pin cushion from, of course, the stickers, along with a cut along the face and a bloody lip.

Then I slept from 1 p.m. until 7:15 this morning…when i woke with a hangover migraine.  But i would do it all over again.

© 2008 Green By Chance.