wildlife rehab volunteering report (hypothetical animal injury/death)
it's still slow, at least partially because of deliberate choices: they're not accepting baby gray squirrels at this time (gray squirrels aren't native; but they are accepting baby Douglas or flying squirrels, if anyone brings 'em in), because at the height of squirrel season they account for at least 30% of the shift work for 4-5 volunteers, plus 1-3 interns. there's some debate about it, but it's looking like if a "shelter in place" order comes down, volunteers will *not* be exempt; they'll only have paid staff to deal with all the critters they have, so they're pre-emptively declining the seasonal squirrel avalanche.
I suspect the other reason we don't have as many patients right now is due to the shutdowns currently in place. people aren't driving as much, so they aren't hitting opossums carrying babies or raccoons with families, and they aren't doing yard work as much, so less problems with unhomed squirrels, birds, and rabbits. and even if they do find an animal, once they find out we can't come pick it up a lot of people who call us decide to "let it go," or otherwise decide not to bring it in. (cont.)
re: wildlife rehab volunteering report (non-hypothetical animal injury)
which means that despite only having two volunteers for the morning shift, we were still able to accomplish all the major morning tasks. I helped with meds & tubings, which involved holding two pigeons, two gulls, a mallard, and a starling (we're taking starlings until April 1, after that we don't take them; they are invasive and if we accepted baby starlings we wouldn't have time for anything else). last week I also did meds & tubings and I don't remember exactly how many, but I'd guess I interacted with a half-dozen or less birds, including pigeons, gulls, a crow, a junco, and a finch.
we currently have a peregrine falcon who has a fracture in some part I didn't catch, a sharp-shinned hawk who... I don't remember what its problem is, THE OSPREY WHO WILL NEVER LEAVE OMG, *several* bats--the one with white nose is almost entirely recovered but we need to figure out how to make sure it's clear before we release it, and meanwhile we got another bat that may have white nose--um, I'm going to have to take these one at a time, I imagine. XD we do not currently have any trash (bald) eagles! the last one we had in care was released last week. it's unusual for us not to have *any* in care. (cont)
re: wildlife rehab volunteering report (animal death)
other things we currently have:
* a *lot* of pigeons omg
* several assorted small birds
* six yearling bears who are currently rambunctious as all hell and we're hoping to release them in the next couple of months (they're adorable but SO BIG and they eat SO MUCH)
* two two-month-old baby bears who are doing *great*, they've been eating well and they're now moving around on their own, yay!
* um
* we don't have the snake any more. it had gotten as good as it was going to get, and unfortunately it failed an "obstacle course" test (not sure what that involved, I really should ask, I'm curious) and it was put down. :( we still have no idea what was wrong with it in the first place.
* oh we still have the spotted skunk, who is doing much better! it's climbing properly, which is important because they're mostly arboreal, is out of vet care and is either cleared for release or will be very soon.
* I... honestly don't know if we currently have any raccoons. might have one adult out in the silos, but I didn't think to look/ask about it.
* two baby rabbits, one adult was released today.
* also didn't hear anything about the bobkitten but I assume we still have him, last I heard he was close to cleared for release too.
(end!)
PLEASE KEEP YOUR PETS INSIDE! IMPORTANT!
if you're here for the wildlife rehab news, I wanted to pass on a tip: DO NOT LET YOUR PETS OUTSIDE UNSUPERVISED. it's a bad idea any time, but right now it's especially dangerous. I've heard several reports of coyotes attacking and killing dogs, and of bears hanging around the edges of the Seattle suburbs. wild animals are getting much bolder with much fewer humans around, and a lot of them are missing their usual food sources (crows, seagulls, and rats that forage on restaurant leavings and trash; coyotes that eat rats that are disturbed and flushed into the open by human activity), so they're expanding their territories into unusual areas, like potentially *your yard*.
COYOTES WILL ABSOLUTELY ATTACK DOGS. this is because dogs trigger the coyote's territorial instincts. one coyote can mess up a medium-sized dog; multiple coyotes (there's almost always more than one) can take down even large dogs. and small dogs... well. KEEP YOUR DOGS INSIDE AND UNDER SUPERVISION AT ALL TIMES.
coyotes *rarely* attack cats. this has been studied; they will attack cats that are injured or old, or kittens, but cats are usually far too agile and *pointy* to be prey for coyotes. RACCOONS WILL ABSOLUTELY ATTACK CATS. most cat attacks attributed to coyotes are actually from raccoons.
