Welcome to INSTINCTS July 2014 Vol 4:3 The newsletter helping you follow your Wild Instincts. BUSY, BUSY!! After a slow, cool start to the official Baby Season, things have gotten steadily busier. And busier! AND BUSIER!! We are bursting at the seams with patients and they just keep coming. We are even at capacity for several species. In addition to ravenous bears, we have many other babies: red foxes, coyote, bobcat, otter, ducks, eagles, raccoons, fawns, squirrels, hummingbird, merlin, ground squirrels- just to name a few. We also have a number of injured adult patients like eagles with lead poisoning or downy woodpeckers injured from hitting a window or red squirrels from getting hit by a car. We even admitted a 2-3 day old orphaned baby beaver the end of May with its umbilical cord still attached. After she was initially stabilized, she was transferred to another wildlife rehab center that specializes in beaver. Beaver stay with their parents for two years. Fellow Mortals Wildlife Hospital, the center we transferred her to, has a yearling in care now so this one will have an older role model to learn from. Click HERE for adorable video! Young baby beaver enjoys her grooming. We also admitted an adult female rubythroated hummingbird that had struck a window. While she was in care, she laid an egg. It was infertile so never hatched. We have it in our education collection. Turtle Releases Finally the weather warmed up enough for the turtles that stayed with us all winter to be returned to the wild. They were in care from Nov 6, 2013 to May 20, 2014. A hummingbird egg laid while female hummer was in care for injuries from hitting a window.
Friday the 13 th in June was unusual in that just hours apart we admitted a 3-week old bobcat kitten and a 7-week old coyote pup. What is unusual is that BOTH these wild orphans were found and mistaken for domestic orphans. When taken to the vet to be checked out in the feline case or to the shelter in the canine case, the rescuers were informed they were not the domestic kitten and puppy they had thought. Both are growing like weeds and doing great! Coyote pup on day of admission, 6/13 Bobcat kitten resting. Growing up wild is hard work! (photo credit: Intern Susie) First day in outside enclosure, 7/9 Attention Lake Associations For those of you trapping Rusty Crayfish from your lakes, we will gladly take them off your hands. They make tasty food for the raccoons, bears and otter we have. It s a win-win. Your lake gets rid of an invasive species and our native species turn it into energy and fertilizer! Left: Bobcat day of admission, 6/13; Right: Morning of 7/19.
Packing Crate Reds Follow Up Last newsletter told the story of a dad who purchased a birthday gift for his son. When he got home and opened the box to look for the instructions, he found the booklet chewed up and two-week old squirrels nestled inside. Update: They ve been released! Day of Admission 5/25/14 In Memory or Honor of Donations have been received ~ In Loving Memory of Flutter, the sweetest dog in the world and to celebrate Yodette, the new sweetest dog in the world ~ In honor of Sara Mishefske s birthday ~ In honor of all our fathers, those who live on in our hearts and minds and those still among us ~ In Honor of Linda Seiter s retirement ~ In Memory of Riley Gartmann, a wonderful companion who brought smiles to many for 13 years ~ In Memory of Craig Fink and his love for snakes Bears We are at capacity for bear cubs. Some lost their moms to cars, one mom climbed a utility pole and got electrocuted and two moms were illegally shot. At least one cub was just found wandering so we don t know what happened it its mom. What we DO know, however, is baby bears eat a lot. A bunch of baby bears eat a LOT! Day of Release! 7/8/14 Sarah showing perspective to the bear chuck wagon. They are eating the equivalent of One Intern s Length. Right now they are eating about 50 lbs of food a day. That will only continue to increase weekly until their release in October. If we had to buy all the produce they eat it would cost about $3000 PER CUB! We have approached every possible retailer and contact about donations of expired product. We have donors that bring bags of
produce weekly. We get some left overs from the food pantry. We re working with a produce wholesaler to get their discards as well as purchase at a better price. Despite all this, right now we are buying about 40-50% of our needs, depending on the week. Remember, we still have raccoons, fawns, squirrels and others eating produce, too. You can help by donating produce. When you go buy bananas for yourself, consider some extra for the wild ones. See our wish list for a detailed list of needed produce. Not local? Gift cards to Walmart are always welcome. In Their Own Words Meghan Pluemer, UWSP Wildlife Ecology/Captive Wildlife Platteville, WI I truly have learned so much while interning here at Wild Instincts. How to feed, handle, and care for all the different species of wildlife are just a few examples of the things I ve learned during the work hours of my internship. However, the learning doesn t stop when our work shift ends. Mark and Sharon have taken time out of their busy schedules more than once to teach us everything from how to identify an Ovenbird call to how to use a charcoal grill. Not even a week into our internship Mark and Sharon offered to take us on a bird watching trip one morning. We all gathered at Wild Instincts and headed to the nearby boat landing. Once there, we hopped out of the van and instantly Mark and Sharon were pointing out birds, handing the binoculars around, and replaying the birdcall on a CD player they had with them. Another day, Sharon took the interns to the trails around McNaughton Lake and pointed out plant and tree species useful information for my future Treehaven course at UWSP. She also showed us bike trails and other recreational areas we can enjoy on our days off. Meghan about to release a litter of squirrels. Every day, especially when I m feeding the young Southern Flying Squirrel we have in our nursery (my favorite patient here) with an eyedropper, I look down at the squirrel and think, This is an amazing opportunity. I don t know where else I would get the chance to work with such interesting animals and learn so much from some incredible people. Being able to watch a patient s growth from a young animal with its eyes closed to growing to be an animal that is release age and able to survive on its own in the wild is a tremendous experience. Although this job involves a lot of long hours and tough daily work -- I ve learned that a normal day for a rehabber leaves him or her covered in milk formula, feces, mosquito bites, and other untraceable smudges -- watching the releases and the growth of the patients makes the long hours all worth it. This internship is one of the greatest experiences I have been a part of. The knowledge that is here continues to amaze me every day. Between Mark and Sharon, the volunteers, and the other interns, I am learning new things daily and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to intern at Wild Instincts and learn from all of these extraordinary people.
Sarah Keller Graduate, University of Maine Orono, Maine BS Wildlife Ecology When you hear the phrase wildlife rehabilitation you probably have some sort of mental image of what the job entails. Before starting an internship here the phrase conjured up images of resetting bones and patching up scrapes. Well it turns out that is only a very small part of what happens here. Patients are treated for any immediate injuries upon arrival but then they require time to heal. There is no take these pills and get back to us in a week. That means a lot of long term care for a lot of different patients. For the interns that means a whole lot of preparing meals and cleaning. For some reason wild animals do not seem to respect the rules for basic indoor hygiene. It is awe inspiring how filthy even just a handful of bunnies can be, and I am convinced that the eaglets have contests to see which one of them can shoot their poop farthest across the room. In most jobs if you found feces smeared everywhere it would be a sign that something has gone horribly wrong, for us it s just part of the daily. Now why would anyone want to work 14 hour days chopping vegetables and cleaning poop? Well the job is not without its perks. Coming from an ecology background my goal this summer was to get experience working up close and personal with wildlife. I was not disappointed. It does not get much more up close and personal than sticking your fingers in the mouth of a fully grown ticked off bald eagle in order to shove a tube down its throat because it could not keep down solid food. In what other profession could you bottle feed a baby bobcat and as the days go by watch it progress towards adulthood? It s a very satisfying feeling to successfully release a batch of feisty, crazy-eyed red squirrels, that just several weeks prior had been helpless, hairless, eyes closed orphans. Before this internship I can honestly say I have never had a warbler land on my head and start demanding that I feed it. There have been hummingbirds and hawks, baby beaver and baby bears, deer and deer mice, a call for a wolf rescue and a raccoon release. Then there are the education birds; showing off Ruby or socializing Amelia hardly feels like work at all. Wildlife rehab has its ups and its downs but it certainly was a worthwhile experience that I am not likely to forget. I will leave you now with some wise and undying words from our fearless leader, Any questions, comments, concerns? Okay go to lunch. In conclusion: the end. Sarah hardly at work with Ruby at the Presque Isle Country Fair.
Susie Carlson, UWSP Wildlife Ecology/Captive Wildlife & Environmental & Scientific Writing Amherst, WI Last summer, I volunteered at Wild Instincts for the month of June and this summer I ve come back as a full-fledged summer intern. My experiences from this and the previous summer are very similar and very different at the same time. Let me elaborate. Mark and Sharon always say it s difficult to train for being a rehabber because everything happens differently, uniquely. Each case has a different complication; each animal is an individual and has individual problems, attitude, etc. That s sort of what I mean when I say my experiences are very different and very similar. Similarities in my experiences at Wild Instincts are nice I know what I m doing or at least have an idea of what I m doing. Much of my experience last summer involved basic intern duties preparing food and feeding animals, cleaning, changing cage linens, scrubbing questionable things off of various surfaces. Though cleaning and being pooped upon isn t glamorous, it also didn t scare me away. The very same duties followed through to this summer; I ve cleaned more eagle and raccoon poop off of cage walls and floors than I d like to admit. I ve washed plenty of dishes. And I have fed many squirrels many times. Cleaning and prepping food sounds like it would be the same year to year, but it s not. Every day is different but the same. Animals grow and as they grow they get different food. One day, the raccoons may be fed formula. The next day, they may be off formula. But cleaning has to be the same all the time. Wrong. Each eagle has a varying range of pooping distance you have to guess each time you clean the room. A lot of the time I am wrong in my estimation. Being an intern at a wildlife rehabilitation center is a learn-on-the-job job. Sometimes, we learn to just be safe and layer the entire floor in newspaper because eagles have the startling ability to find open, clean floor. Though much of what I ve discussed previously has been similar, there are a lot of differences between this summer and last June. I didn t keep a species list last year (I should ve, but I didn t) and so telling the species that are different from last year and this year are a little difficult. Most of the species we ve worked with I had some experience with last year squirrels, fawns, robins, chipping sparrows, raccoons, geese, ducks, etc. This summer I ve had the wonderful chance to work with animals that need a lot more training to handle and animals we just didn t have last summer. New species this summer for me include a bobcat kitten, red fox, rough legged hawk, Sandhill crane, and a rose-breasted grosbeak for starters. Susie preparing to release a bald eagle. The biggest change in animal handling for me has been eagles. Last summer, we had one while I was there. This summer, we ve had five I believe (I ve lost count). At the beginning of this summer, I was trained in
raptor handling techniques and so this summer I don t have to watch from the sidelines. I ve held and helped feed quite a few of our eagles. It s a great experience; they re amazing birds and to say that I ve held one and fed one and watched them grow stronger is so rewarding. Much of our work at Wild Instincts is rewarding. Watching animals come in whether they are gravely ill or tiny babies and grow to be strong enough or old enough to be released is a treat. Not many people get to see a baby bobcat or get to feed one. I m glad that I was allowed to volunteer last summer and that I was able to come back as an intern this summer. I ve learned a lot in my time at Wild Instincts and I know that I ve chosen wildlife ecology as my future field of work. Tessa Collins, UWSP Biology/Captive Wildlife Platteville, WI Before this internship, wildlife rehabbing seemed like a dream job. Animals come in sick or injured and you love them, make them better and send them off into the woods, right? Well, it turns out that s not exactly how it works. Prior to coming to Wild Instincts, I had never actually seen a bobcat or a rough-legged hawk or a northern flicker. Now, just two months into my internship I know that bobcats, even little baby ones, don t think twice about clawing the hand that feeds them. A rough-legged hawk can and will jump from its cage at you as you try to feed it, and flickers, while not able to do much damage, can still poop all over your shirt. Despite these on the job hazards, I ve now watched a bobcat grow big enough for solid food, a rough legged hawk move to a flight cage to stretch its wings, and the successful rehab and release of a flicker. Though lots more work than I expected this summer has been full of unforgettable animals and experiences. I ve worked with over thirty species and, for now at least, the bald eagle is my favorite. Unlike the many mammals in our care that tend to hide or even charge you, eagles stand their ground and simply glare. They know what large intimidating birds they are. Considering only our eagle patients, we ve had some small miracles and some horrible tragedies this summer, and I've had eagle poop, blood and puke on my shirt. But somehow it s all worth it when you can see them heal and eventually be set free. I even had the honor of releasing one. This summer I ve seen dozens of deaths, done mountains of dishes, been exposed to far too many zoonotic diseases, and worked very long days. But I m irrationally proud I got to do it, and would like to continue. In September I have to go back to UW Stevens Point, but due to my experiences here at Wild Instincts plan to continue in animal rehabilitation. Tessa preparing to release an eagle.
GRATITUDES Special thanks to -Backwaters Bar & Grill for giving us the proceeds of their kayak raffle -Mole Lake Chippewa Fisheries for 800lbs of bullheads -White Birch Village Resort for 80lbs of rock bass -St Mathias Thrift Store For all the businesses supporting Wild Instincts click HERE TO TOUCH AN EAGLE Have you ever wanted to touch an eagle or feel the rush of its wings as it takes flight? Now could be your chance! Intern Meghan releases an eagle back to the wild. Intern Tessa releases an eagle back to the wild. We are raffling an Eagle Release! The winner will get to hold an eagle for a moment for photos and then toss it into the air back to the wild. The winning ticket will be drawn at the Walk in the Wild on Sept 13 th. Winner need not be present to win. Only 500 tickets will be sold; must be 18 to win. It is illegal to sell raffle tickets via Internet or to mail them so those not local, please contact us so we may put you in contact with one of our ticket sellers. Unfortunately, we do not have any out of state people selling tickets. You DO NOT have to be member of Facebook to follow us on Facebook. You can follow all our stories, photos and videos without joining Facebook. You simply can t comment on them unless you are a member of Facebook. Click on the box to see for yourself. Thank you for helping us help them!
WISH LIST, AMAZON and NOW AMAZON SMILES We are continually amazed and blessed by all those generous folks out there who take the time to check our list and go shopping. We d like to say a big THANK YOU for helping us help them, no matter who you are out there. Those Amazon users will be happy to know there s now ANOTHER way to support Wild Instincts drumroll.just by shopping as usual for your own personal needs! Instead of signing in to amazon.com, sign into smile.amazon.com. All your Amazon settings are the same, work the same, even Amazon Prime is the same. The only difference is Amazon donates a percentage of your purchases to Wild Instincts. A super simple way to support us! Some even see a need and just respond without giving us a chance to list it on our wish list. Every time we receive an item to help our mission it gives us a great feeling. We cannot do this without you and your help. Some select items from our wish list: ~FRESH PRODUCE!! (apples, bananas, berries, melons, carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower) ~Paper Towels ~FISH, fresh or frozen, whole or fillets ~Venison ~Treated 2x6 s (8 & 10 lengths) Fishing With Loons We are getting more and more calls from anglers reporting having caught a loon when fishing. Loons will follow fishing lures and are attracted to live bait. If loons are seen in the area you are fishing, pay attention to their behavior, and if they seem to be focused on your bait, please retrieve your lines and move to another location. Loons can live up to 30 years. Help protect them by moving to a different fishing hole. If you accidentally catch a loon, if at all possible, attempting to land the bird will provide the most reliable means of removing the hooks and assessing the damage to the bird. If you have a net, it may be possible to carefully land the bird. Once in the boat, putting a towel over them will help calm them. Get them to shore as quickly as possible. Keep them in a shady, cool area and call us. We will advise you what to do next. If it is impossible to catch the bird, then as a last resort, cut the line and call us. This can be problematic for the bird so we may try to retrieve the bird. Often times, though, they cannot be caught until they are extremely compromised. Getting the lead out of your tackle box will help in this scenario. If your tackle contains lead and a loon ingests it, unless it is removed it is a death sentence for the bird. There are reports of some people feeding some loons which have become relatively tame. This will guarantee that rewarded loons will approach fishing boats and become entangled in line and hooks. DO NOT OFFER MINNOWS TO LOONS! Thirteen-lined ground squirrel making sure we don t forget they eat some produce, too!
Species 1/1/14-7/8/14 American Badger 1 American Goldfinch 4 American Robin 19 American Woodcock 3 Bald Eagle 17 Baltimore Oriole 1 Barn Swallow 1 Beaver 1 Belted Kingfisher 3 Big Brown Bat 9 Black Bear 16 Black-and-White Warbler 2 Black-capped Chickadee 3 Bobcat 3 Broad-winged Hawk 2 Canada Goose 6 Chipping Sparrow 5 Common Grackle 5 Coyote 2 Deer Mouse 11 Downy Woodpecker 3 Eastern Bluebird 1 Eastern Chipmunk 1 Eastern Cottontail 55 Eastern Gray Squirrel 23 Gray Fox 1 Great Blue Heron 1 Great Horned Owl 1 Green Frog 1 Green Heron 1 Hairy Woodpecker 2 Hermit Thrush 1 Herring Gull 1 Hooded Merganser 4 Indigo Bunting 1 Least Flycatcher 1 Little Brown Bat 1 Mallard Duck 22 Merlin 2 Mourning Dove 5 Muskrat 1 Northern Flicker 5 Northern Harrier 1 Northern Saw-Whet Owl 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Porcupine 1 Purple Finch 1 Raccoon 32 Red Fox 3 Red Squirrel 8 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 River Otter 2 Rock Dove 7 Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2 Rough-legged Hawk 1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2 Ruffed Grouse 2 Sandhill Crane 1 Short-tailed Weasel 1 Snapping Turtle 21 Song Sparrow 2 Southern Flying Squirrel 2 Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel 12 Turkey Vulture 1 Unknown 5 Western Painted Turtle 10 White-tailed Deer 28 Wood Duck 6 Wood Turtle 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Total 406 Events Calendar Hodag Farmer s Market Bake Sale, Sat, Aug 9 th, 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. at Hodag Farmer s Market, Rhinelander. Third Annual Walk in the Wild, Sat, Sept 13 th, 8:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m. at North Lakeland Discovery Center, Manitowish Waters on Author/Naturalist John Bates will be presenting Fall Wildlife Migration and Adaptation, in addition to other fun things. The drawing for the eagle release will take place at 11:30. Click HERE for all the activities happening with this event. Wild For Wine & Cheese Cruise, Sat, Sept 27 th, Noon-2:00 p.m., Wisconsin River Cruises, Rhinelander. Join us on the Wisconsin River for wine, hors d oeuvres, raffles and more!