TALES OF WILDCARE’S WILDLIFE HOSPITAL PATIENTS

San Rafael-based WildCare is on a mission to protect the environment by caring for the wildlife around us. Each year, with the help of dedicated staff¬ , volunteers, and donations, the center successfully cares for nearly 4,000 animals from about 200 species at its wild animal hospital. Meet some of the wonderful and amazing animals rescued by WildCare, and consider donating to help future patients of the Wildlife Hospital. This year, WildCare encourages people to take part in Giving Tuesday, a movement created to promote activism and giving on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Read below to learn more about the wild animals your donations to WildCare can help save.

SMALL BUT MIGHTY – BOBCAT KITTEN

When she was found on a Marin County hiking trail, it was evident that this baby bobcat needed help. Her little legs were wobbly, and she couldn’t walk very fast. Park Rangers that assisted with the kitten’s rescue saw that she was healthy, but having no idea where the den was, and with a busy hiking trail as the site of rescue, it would be impossible to reunite the kitten with her mother. Fortunately, the Rangers knew about WildCare. Bobcats are difficult to raise in captivity, and like all wild babies, they should never be raised alone. WildCare called other wildlife centers in California to see if there were any young orphans with which this bobcat could be placed. Fortunately, another rescue center had two orphaned kittens in care only a few weeks older. After a week at WildCare, the young bobcat traveled to her new temporary home. The baby bobcat is thriving in the company of her new siblings, growing up wonderfully wild. This young bobcat will return to WildCare in the spring, healthy and fierce, to be released back into her home territory.

LEAVING THE NEST (OR TRYING) – GREAT HORNED OWL

When this great horned owl left the watchful care of his parents, he ended up in a pickle. Flying over a decorative koi pond, the owl somehow touched a strand of electric fencing set around the pond to protect the fish. The shock of the contact knocked him into the pond. He ended up in the deep water, trying to perch on a pipe close to the surface. He was weak, and his feathers were saturated, giving him no chance of escape. A kind neighbor noticed the owl and called WildCare’s Living with Wildlife Hotline. A Marin Humane Officer rescued the bird and brought him to WildCare. The owl was very chilled and quite thin; it was apparent he was a young bird, recently on his own that hadn’t been hunting successfully. However, after two weeks of food and care in the Wildlife Hospital, the owl was plump and ready to return to the wild. His rescuers cheered as he flew free.

THE TINIEST COYOTE

This tiny coyote pup’s rescuers had seen a female coyote in the area a few hours before he was found. They said they saw her carrying something in her mouth … maybe a pup? When a mother coyote decides that a den site isn’t secure, she moves her babies to a new location – one by one. That’s likely what happened when this baby coyote got separated from his mom. Rescuers heard the baby crying and called WildCare for advice. Soon, the tiny coyote was on his way to the Wildlife Hospital in San Rafael. The pup was very cold on intake, which is dangerous for any newborn animal. Many mammal species are not able to maintain their own body temperature as newborns. Medical staff¬ gently warmed the coyote pup, gave him fluids, and o¬ffered him his first taste of the species-specific baby formula fed to the orphaned wildlife. While WildCare’s first choice is always to reunite baby animals with their mothers, this one was too ill to be returned to his mother’s care, so he went into foster care. WildCare paired him with another orphaned coyote pup, and the two grew up together. They were released to the wild together once they were old enough.

TALE OF A STUCK SQUIRREL

If you’ve ever had a birdfeeder in your yard, then you know how irresistible those seeds are to squirrels. A young female squirrel probably thought she had it made when she managed to get inside the bars of a squirrel-proof feeder. All those delicious sun-flower seeds within her grasp! Instead she found herself stuck, with her back half and head inside the metal bars, and her furry belly trapped and twisted on the outside. Fortunately, the homeowner called the WildCare hotline 415-456-SAVE (7283) for advice, and was instructed to bring the entire birdfeeder with the trapped squirrel inside it to the Wildlife Hospital. WildCare medical staff sedated the terrified animal, and used wire cutters to cut the bars, and pliers to bend them away sufficiently to permit the gentle removal of the squirrel from the feeder. While there were no external wounds, the animal’s stomach was largely distended. Fortunately, over the next two weeks the squirrel recovered and was released back to her home.

DUCKS IN A ROW – BABY DUCKLINGS

It’s easy for wildlife to become trapped in backyard pools. Most pools are built with walls above the water line that make it easy for animals to get into the water, but difficult for little ones to get out. WildCare recommends placing floating ramps attached to the side of the pool to allow wildlife to escape the water. This fluffy baby and six siblings were rescued from a Novato resident’s pool, but despite rescuers’ efforts, they could not be reunited with their mother. Ducklings imprint very easily, so it’s important to keep their interaction with humans to a minimum, and to raise them in groups. And that’s exactly what WildCare did, ultimately releasing these ducks back to the wild. Any duckling separated from its family group needs help! If you find a solo duckling, call WildCare’s Living with Wildlife Hotline at 415-456-SAVE (7283).

FLY LIKE A GOLDEN EAGLE

When this golden eagle’s rescuer found him, the bird was sitting still and hunched on a log, looking ill and far from majestic. At WildCare’s Wildlife Hospital, x-rays showed that the bird’s right wing had been severely broken, likely weeks earlier. This valiant bird had been deprived of flight and any means of hunting, but somehow had survived on the ground, eating anything he could scrounge. The fracture had already started to heal in a misaligned position, but fortunately had not progressed so far that the wing was permanently damaged. Physical therapy on wildlife patients must be done carefully and with great skill. Fortunately, WildCare’s medical staff¬ has extensive experience with physical therapy on birds of all sizes. Over the course of several physical therapy treatments, the fracture healed, the wing gradually loosened and movement became easier. The bird’s appetite also improved, and he started gaining weight. This beautiful golden eagle made a complete recovery and was able to take his rightful place in the open skies once more.

RUNAWAY RACCOONS

When you park a rented van at a long-term parking lot at an airport, you expect it to be as you left it when you return. Unfortunately, someone must have attempted burglary of this particular vehicle, as a window was broken when the van’s renter arrived to drive it home. A quick check of the contents showed nothing obvious missing, however, so the driver began his cross-country journey, taking the van from Florida to California. But something had changed… a pregnant mother raccoon had found her way into the vehicle and, days before the van’s renter returned, she gave birth to six babies in a cozy den lined with a chewed-up foam mattress. A mother raccoon stays with her young almost constantly when they’re first born, but the mom to these babies must have been away from the van on a quick foraging trip when the driver arrived and drove away. The newborn babies were left without their mom when the van made the five-day road trip. Fortunately, their rescuer knew about WildCare. The baby raccoons arrived at the Wildlife Hospital hypothermic, dehydrated and hungry. Sadly, one of the siblings had died in transit. The little raccoons went into care with the Raccoon Foster Care Team leader, who fed them every hour around the clock until they stabilized. While it’s ideal to reunite babies with their mother, time and distance and meant these baby raccoons could not be returned to their mother’s care. Legal restrictions kept them from being released back to Florida, or in California, so these six baby raccoons have all been placed as educational animals at centers in California where they benefit from enrichment activities and climbing areas, and help teach the public about their species. Every year, WildCare admits nearly 4,000 new wildlife patients with the goal of returning them to the wild. Over half of these patients are orphaned baby animals. Taking care of these babies is costly, as it requires time, energy and around-the-clock care. In fact, an orphan’s care from intake to release can cost upwards of $2,000. That’s why WildCare needs your support to continue helping Bay Area wildlife. Consider making a donation to WildCare to help support the wild animals in its care. WildCare is encouraging people to make donations this year on Giving Tuesday, a global activism movement taking place the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. If you see a wild animal that needs help, call WildCare’s Living with Wildlife Hotline at 415-456-SAVE (7283). To find out more about WildCare, visit discoverwildcare.org.