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      Who doesn't love hearing updates about the Wild Things?! But with so many coming in I've been terrible at keeping the blog going! But I HAVE tried to be good about sending out a monthly eNewsletter with all sorts of fun info. So, if you are interested in hearing more about the Wild Things, like the ones pictured above, all patients from the last few months, sign up to receive the eNewsletter and pass it along! Sign up by clicking here! And join the Wild Things over on Facebook too!  Ringo in a hemlock tree in the Wild Woods! Who is up there in the tree?? RINGO! (see post 11/18/2010) Despite her injuries and imperfect walk, Ringo was determined to be free. Despite the lingering cold and snow, she knew that spring was coming and cried and cried until I agreed that she could go. She gets around "in her own way". Good luck Ringo! You know where to come back to (again!) if you get into trouble. Look out for cars this time 'round! :)
 Tiny Guy, 10-14days I didn't expect any babies for at least another month...and then Tiny Guy arrived. We have feet of snow on the ground, what was Tiny Guy's story??? He is from North Carolina! While on holiday, his finders found him by the side of the road. It is unclear how he got there. Did his mother drop him when relocating to another nest? Was he grabbed by a bird for a snack and then dropped? He was too small to have left the nest himself, so it is a mystery. His mother might have come back for him, but his finder had no idea what to do, so she picked him up, not even knowing what he was, and brought him back to New York. After a few days she realized that he probably needed special help and she found Wild Tings. He arrived and was no more than 10days old, and had been with her for several days. He is very energetic and has found his little squeak. It is amazing how strong he is after such a dramatic first week of life! Hopefully he will do well. It is hard to raise them when they are so small, but he is gaining grams every day. And do you see his whiskers just beginning to come in?? By the way, any idea what kind of animal he is??     This lovely Ruffed Grouse (also known as "forest chickens") came to Wild Things a few weeks ago. It had been sitting in one spot in someone's yard for a day and seemed slightly disorientated.
They managed to trap it in their garage and called WTS. When we arrived, it seemed quite alert, flying to get away from us, and he was very plump and in good body condition, but I still wanted to keep it under observation for a few days and test for parasites to make sure it was OK. It did have some tummy parasites and appeared to be anaemic (with very pale gums and mouth), and he was very dehydrated. He had a few small healing injuries to the skin. And he wouldn't eat. I tubed him fluids (fluids via a feeding tube to the stomach), which seemed to make him a bit more alert but he still wouldn't eat. I wanted to get him a blood test but before I was able, he died. I was upset about this as he was such a beautiful bird and I hoped he would be a great candidate for release. What caused his death? I am uncertain. Perhaps the small skin woulds were inflicted by a cat that also passed along its deadly bacteria. Perhaps he had a very heavy load of blood parasites. Perhaps he had some sort of internal injuries. We will probably never know, but I hope that he at least had a peaceful last few days at Wild Things.  Woodland Jumping Mice, ~1 week old When these 5 little girls arrived at Wild Things Sanctuary last summer after being dug out of their nest by a cat, I had no idea what they were! The certainly looked mice-like, but not like the typical deer mice/house mice that you usually see around the area (see post below); they had huge back feet and tails with a little white tip at the end. They were Woodland Jumping Mice and were about 6g each. I knew that they were going to require a lot of care to keep them alive. No other rehabilitators I spoke with had ever had jumping mice patients so it was up to me to figure out how to keep them healthy. I like to wrap little babies in a cloth when I feed them. It helps keep a grip on them and keeps their fur from getting yucky from the formula and from the natural oils on one's hands. So cute how they could all fit in your hand!  Did you know that Woodland Jumping Mice smile?? ~2 weeks old with lovely reddish coats and just opened eyes They grew lovely reddish coats with a wide dark stripe down their backs, and manOman could they jump! It was like having 5 living pieces of popcorn bouncing all over the cage. They gave us many laughs! They also started learning how to burrow and were eventually transferred to a "big kid" cage when it was clear they were eating 100% on their own and healthy. They arrived in August weighing a total of 26g (all together), under one oz! Before hibernation it is reported that they can each get up to 25-30g.   They got up to about 20g each by October...and apparently jumping mice go into hibernation in October- they can hibernate for over half the year! These little ones were not quite ready to be released- they didn't have enough weight on them and some of them were getting bald patches, indicating illness or malnutrition. This meant that they were going to have to over-winter at Wild Things Sanctuary. I added more insects into their diets and tried some skin moisturizer and that seemed to help- by December their coats were looking beautiful again. They love mealworms and berries! It will be hard to release them in the spring. They are so small and seem so vulnerable! I think that I've found a good place but it is miles away from the Wild Woods, so it will be a "hard"-release ("hard" release= taking them somewhere and letting them go, "soft" release= opening their cage door and letting them come and go while supplying food for them for a period of time). I don't want to return them where they were found as the same cat may be around and cause them trouble. We were certainly all very privileged here at Wild Things to have a chance to work with these charming little mice. The above pictures are at 1 week old (~5g) and 4 months old (~20g). If you are interested in learning more about jumping mice, see the winter 2010 edition of The Wild Times where the "Species Hightlight" section features their species!  The mouse stash! In other mice related news...
A lovely ring that my partner gave to me disappeared in October 2010. I looked everywhere for it. I thought I had left it by the kitchen sink, but there was no sign of it... ...until January 2011 when I lifted the top of the stove off to clean and found a mouse trove of secret treasures- a peanut, Hershey's kiss, and the ring! I don't know if you can see it in the picture, but you can tell that it was really well hidden! This has intensified our fights about the mice in the house and whether to kill them (what he wants) or let them be/start trapping and releasing once it gets warmer (what I want...actually I don't mind a few living in the house!)...so far they are all still here! :)  Irving Berlin in his bath Aaaaah! Baths are so great! Finally after sitting in my water dish all morning Victoria got the hint that I wanted a real bath and it was awesome! So much of wildlife rehab is learning as you go. No one ever told me to offer a bird a bath, but as of today I am going to start, Irving Berlin (the Rock Dove or pigeon in the picture) LOVED his bath this morning! Irving was found in a snow drift in early December very weak and thin, about a third of the weight he should have been. He was found to have a bacterial infection in his throat (i.e. a flagellate in his crop) which is commonly found in Rock doves. He was treated with antibiotics and is on his way to getting healthy, gaining over a 100g to reach 230g, but he won't be ready for release until he is 300g...and it is a bit warmer. When I am in the animal room I leave his door open so he can fly around if he wants. He likes to fly, but he knows that his cage is a safe place and flies back there after a few minutes. So, he goes back and forth all day! He also seems to eat more when I'm around, and is getting calmer when he is handled. We are getting used to each other!  About to jump out of nest box and attack! And what about Mrs. Angry hit-by-a-car grey squirrel? She was hit by a car and found by a Good Samaritan. Another Good Samaritan came across the scene and brought her to Wild Things, over an hour away. She was very out of it, but no obvious broken bones. After a week of being treated with anti-inflammatories for any brain swelling, and several weeks to rest, she was ready to go!  I left her with lots of food! I brought her back to just where she was found. With adult animals it is best to release them where they know and have possible food caches and dens/nests. I hated leaving her in a slightly urban area with streets, etc. But it is where she knows. And yes, I was very worried as it is super cold and snowy...but that's what is sometimes tough about rehab: balancing keeping them in rehab and safe, and recognizing that they are wild and stressed out being kept in a cage. The lady in who's backyard she was left was left with lots of food and instructions to put lots out for her. And I left behind her cozy nestbox so she would have a place to stay before finding a proper squirrel nest!  I hated leaving her crate on the ground, but I couldn't bring it up a tree!    I LOVE FLYING!!! The little flyers are so crazy and don't sit still for a minute. I let them out part of the day for exercise. This is what you see split seconds before they land on you...sometimes right on your face! They are doing so well and are going to be in great shape for release come spring.
A friend of a friend just cut down a dead tree a few days ago and at least 30 flyers came out and went flying through the trees...with temperatures well below freezing, hopefully they went straight to find another nest (they may have several in an area). I have heard that they nest 20-40 individuals in a nest during the winter which is one reason I didn't feel comfortable releasing my 3 in November when they were finally old enough. This story confirms my decision. Hopefully in the spring they will have plenty of time to find snuggle buddies for winter 2011-2012!  Victoria & Liane at the Wild Things table It takes a lot of time and money to look after injured and orphaned wildlife and Wild Things needs to spend a lot of time fundraising to continue its mission. 2010 was the first time Wild Things participated in the Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair (IAGF) for the year-end holidays. The IAGF is a great resource to many nonprofits; every year over 60 nonprofits participate and members of the public can come by "alternative gifts" as holiday presents. For example, the Wild Things gifts were:
$5 for an enrichment toy for an animal $15 for a shelter for an animal $25 to save a squirrel $50 to save a fawn $open to give to Wild Things (you can decide how much you want to donate) Wild Things raised over $1000!! Wowee! Plus it was really fun meeting so many members of the public and sharing the Wild Things' mission. Many thanks to Lauren and Lowell for helping man the table, Liane for getting off the plane and standing with me for 8 hours straight, Glen for helping get the Wild Times winter newsletter ready in time, Joshua for helping me set up and break down, AND ALL THOSE WHO BOUGHT WILD THINGS GIFTS: What a great gift for all the wild things!! |
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