CORRECTING THE RECORD

Monday’s Pets column included inaccuracies with regard where to call for assistance with wild animals, per Jonathan Shore, deputy project leader at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

The phone number provided in the article is the main phone number for the administrative headquarters of the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Refuge) located at 906 W. Sinclair Road, Calipatria, and is not affiliated with Imperial County.

“The Refuge refutes the inference that we are the lead agency that the public should ‘turn to’ in Imperial County for ‘any questions’ pertaining to wildlife,” he said. “We at the Refuge are land managers, responsible for managing approximately 2,000 acres of wildlife wetland habitat for the benefit of migratory bird populations and the enjoyment and use of the American people. That said, we are happy to discuss and answer questions as it pertains to the mission of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Wildlife Refuge System, as well questions pertaining to managing and monitoring wildlife populations in the area, in particular migratory bird populations.”

Legally, under no circumstance can the Refuge respond to wildlife that needs to be removed from a home or business, Shore said. “For that type of service, I would refer the public to private professional residential/commercial exterminators.”

As for other wildlife “that may need any kind of help,” Shore said, “The Refuge is not a wildlife rehabilitation facility, so we are not staffed or equipped well enough to respond and care for injured wildlife. In the past, more than five years ago, we were staffed to deal with large die-off events impacting the local population of white pelicans and other migratory water bird species; however, that is no longer the case. We are happy to answer questions, provide advice, and assist if we can.”

Shore said most of the injured birds that are encountered by the public should be left alone. However, he added, if a member of the public feels compelled to handle a wild bird, the closest wildlife rehabilitation organization in the area is the Coachella Valley Wild Bird Center at 46500 Van Buren St., Indio. The center’s number is (760) 347-2647.

We strive to be as accurate as possible with every news story we carry. Sometimes errors occur anyway. We regret every error and attempt to correct the record when there is an inaccuracy. If you are aware of an error that we should correct, please contact Editor in Chief Tom Bodus at (760) 3373427 or tbodus@ivpressonline.com.