Wildlife Rescue

Wildlife Rescue (March 22/Day 5): Facts That Could Save An Animal’s Life…Or Your Own

Yesterday I was attending a class at Wildlife Rescue, Inc.  It was a 7-hour class…that I didn’t get paid to sit in.  I dreaded having to sit in a class for that long.  ’Tis one of the reasons why I opted to not go to college.

But as I sat there learning about osprey, I thought…what the heck else would I rather be doing?  This is 7 hours of talking about animals.  Better yet, local wildlife that I may have to deal with in the future.  At that very moment I fell in love with the whole day.

My ultimate goal is to have a wildlife rescue facility in about 2 years.  I would rather be building cages right now than typing this if I had the resources.  I walked out of that class ready to go.  And because I am HUGE on educating people about critters - so that maybe you will know what to do in their presence - I will now spout off some interesting facts I learned.  Prepare to be wowed.

Fact 1.  Did you know that opossum are not carriers of rabies?  Their body temperatures are too cold to incubate the virus.

Fact 2.  Maryland’s osprey population is growing. With more people building nests for them and through the help of education programs, they are flourishing in our state. 

Fact 3.  Osprey are birds that go south every winter, not because they can’t stand the cold, but because they live off of a fish diet and the fish hibernate at the bottom of the bays and rivers. The osprey can’t catch them here during winter so they go south where the pickin’s are good.

Fact 4.  This one amazes me.  A gentleman that works at Patuxent River Park (he has studied these birds for 25 years) records when the osprey come back every spring.  You could pretty much set your watch by it.  He said that they come back on the same day within HOURS of the time they returned the previous year.  He knows this because he puts bands on their legs and can identify almost any osprey he has been watching - just by looking at it.

For those of you who don’t know what an Osprey is:

This guy has talent to be able to tell apart one from another. 

Fact 5.  Flies are a fawns worst enemy.  Aside from dogs and dumb humans.

Flies are attracted to all things gross.  If a doe does not clean her fawn’s mouth after feeding, flies will land and lay eggs…which equals maggots.  Which equals HUGE trouble for that fawn.  Bees are also attracted to the milk and will sting the fawn.  If a doe does not clean the fawn’s little hiney, flies will also land there and lay eggs. 

Fact 6.  If a doe loses her fawn, her milk will begin to dry up in 24 hours.

Fact 7.  Doe LEAVE their fawns in a place they feel is safe and go out to eat.  People mistake this for an abandoned fawn all the time.  They see a baby and think it is all alone and that they need to rescue it.  UNLESS YOU SEE MOM DEAD, THE FAWN IS IN YOUR YARD DOING ALERT CALLS, OR IS CLEARLY INJURED….leave it be.  Mom will be back.

Fact 8.  A baby rabbit can survive on its own when it is barely the size of a dollar bill.

Fact 9.  Baby bunnies and fawns do not have a scent that predators can smell. 

Fact 10.  You CAN handle baby bunnies, squirrels, birds etc., and put them back in their nest.  Mom will not reject them because of your scent. 

Fact 11.  If you find a baby squirrel at the base of a tree, try to put it in an open shoe box, and wait for mom to come back.  If mom doesn’t come back by nightfall…you may wanna call someone.

Fact 12.  If you think you can successfully raise a baby opossum, raccoon, squirrel, fawn or other wild animal you are 99% wrong.  You can’t feed injured wildlife.  There are certain steps to take prior to a full belly.  You can’t just feed a baby critter anything you have in your fridge.  They need specific diets and nutritional support to prevent diseases.  That 2% milk isn’t good for anything other than you.

People make the mistake that they can take care of a wild animal.  It is adorable as a baby, of course.  When it grows up, it is still wild.  Just ask the family who raised a male raccoon, had him for 10 years.  One night he decided to shred the guy;s face.  After 10 years!

Fact 13.  Wild animals carry disease.  Not just rabies.  They carry parasites that can be spread to you or your pets.  They carry diseases that can kill your pets.  The best advice I can give you when you come across a sick, injured or orphaned animal is CALL animal control.  Better yet, 411 the nearest wildlife rescue center. 

© 2008 Green By Chance.