Wildlife center is crawling with rescued animals
People are dropping off twice as many animals as usual at Liberty Wildlife, a rehabilitation center in Phoenix. They bring them in containers with air holes cut in the top, 827 animals over six days, compared to the usual 450 this time of year.
It’s a combination of people spending more time outside, higher temperatures and wind storms, said Laura Hackett, a wildlife biologist.
The staff is overwhelmed.
A hundred baby raptors, just fluff balls right now. A tiny burrowing owl with a leg splint. A baby coyote found abandoned on Scottsdale’s Lost Dog Trail. Hundreds of baby rabbits.
Mostly, it’s young birds leaving their nests for the first time or tossed out by the wind. Twenty-five Cooper’s Hawks were brought in over two days. Volunteers feed hundreds of chirping songbirds with tweezers.
Some birds are injured, and while bird bones fuse with wraps and splints, some require surgery and pins. Eight veterinarians volunteer at the center.
They are short volunteers because of the pandemic. Those who come in stay longer than the usual four hours per week. The center also gets fewer donations of paper towels, gloves and hand sanitizer.
Still, almost everyone who brought in an animal donated.
When the animals are healthy and big enough, they are released in areas where there is water and shelter.
Hackett expects this blitz of animals will continue for several weeks. The additional work is worth the results.
An emaciated baby gray fox found near his dead mother in an electrical sub-station was covered in a sticky substance. Nothing the staff normally used — Dawn dish soap, chinchilla dust, chemical solvents — could get it off.
A veterinarian suggested using Country Crock margarine, and it worked. Even in a pandemic, life finds a way.
To volunteer or donate, go to www.libertywildlife.org.