Helping Others Who Help Animals

From time to time, the Miami Science Museum's Wildlife Center is asked by another institution to participate in a very special event to raise funds. In these difficult financial times, these events loom large in the continued survival of non for profit organizations. We were honored to support the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium in their annual Spring Fling at the Ft Myers Convention Center. Pictured below are some of their reptiles featured inside.
Our friends at Calusa Nature Center have given homes to several permanently disabled raptors from our center. Although this bald eagle pictured here didn't come from our center, he was rescued in Kansas from a prison facility. Their center has been home to screech owls, a red shouldered hawk, and a great horned owl from our facility.


We were also thrilled to meet animal advocate and television celebrity Jack Hanna at this event. He presented several videos presenting various causes ranging from sea turtles to mountain gorillas. There were a lot of cool and interesting animals for us to see (other than our own). Pictured below is me with our short tailed hawk and Jack Hanna of course.

On Saturday I attended Folke Peterson Wildlife Center's annual fundraiser. There was arts, crafts, facepainters, the police department with their working animals, and tours of the beautiful display cages along the Findley trail housing birds of prey, waterbirds and grey squirrels. The highlight of my day however was meeting this beautiful swallowtail kite. This bird resides at the center as an educational ambassador. Swallowtail kites are named for their long scissorlike tail and their ability to glide along the thermals hanging in the sky motionless like a kite. Their diet is primarily insects but also small amphibians and sometimes birds.

Please support your local non for profit organization in these difficult economic times, whoever it may be, no matter how small your donation. Without these organizations, who will be there when you need help?

How do you practice rattlesnake medicine?

Answer: very carefully! This canebrake rattlesnake is the latest snake to be treated in the wildlife hospital. With the help of our friend Jeff Fobb from the Miami Dade Venom One Response Unit, we were able to restrain this snake to have a closer look at what appears to be some sort of condition affecting the head of this snake. But first the snake must be coaxed into the clear tube to create a safe environment for the team to examine her.

Once safely inside the tube we can safely handle this dangerous pit viper to get samples to send off to the lab for a more accurate picture of what may be going on inside the unhappy patient.

Fortunately, she could not double back through the tube.

Finally, we had to go after the most dangerous part of the operation, the mouth of the snake. I found it quite interesting that she kept her fangs "sheathed" or covered by the protective soft tissue of the mouth to protect them from injuries. Not such a nice snake as one might initially think, but certainly a smart one.

We are very grateful to be under the advisement of Dr. Doug Mader, one of the leading reptile experts in the country for this particular case. So far with very minimal treatment, her attitude has improved greatly and we are still waiting for some of our results. With any luck, she will be back in her enclosure in no time.

A Python in the Hospital!

We jumped at the chance to help our friends at the Miami Dade Venom Response Unit with this rather large python that they use for their education programs. We realized however that we may have bitten off a little more than we could chew! At almost 80 pounds this patient was NOT content to be a willing participant in her treatment for an upper respiratory and mouth infection. With a little help and training however, we have figured out a reasonable treatment plan for this animal.

This snake is instrumental in educating people about the importance of responsible pet ownership. Pythons, especially burmese pythons, like this one are thriving in unknown numbers in the heart of the Florida Everglades. They represent the threat of an ecological disaster as they are a super predator that will prey on birds, mammals, and even alligators as seen in incredible pictures circulating on the Internet. How did this happen? People impulsively purchase exotic animals without considering the long term housing and growth patterns of these animals. When no longer able or interested in keeping them, they release them in the wild rather than to find an appropriate home. This particular snake was captured in January in Homestead Florida, the doorstep to the Florida Everglades. It is tame enough to be handled, but still wild enough to show the dangerous nature of these large predators.

Lt. Jeff Fobb (pictured above) trained us on how to safely remove the python from her enclosure and how to secure her head for the mouth rinse that would help clean the infection.

The brown substance in the mouth is betadine, an antiseptic used to clean wounds. Although the mouth is a little scary to look at, it is not what puts the handler at risk. This python could easily kill and digest a small goat kills by constriction, or squeezing, not by venom. Luckily, this particular snake is not overly aggressive and only defends itself against our advances to extract it from its cage and forcibly restrain it as we administer treatment.

Finally after all these treatments, the snake is treated with a nice shower from Lt. Fobb. It seems to enjoy this rather relaxing end. For more information on pythons in the everglades go to http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/10/22/predators.in.paradise/index.html. Also look for the story on this transfer to us on Animal Planet's Animal Cops Miami.

Here's a peek at our littlest eastern screech owl admitted so far this season. He/she is absolutely adorable and I got all of the doting out of my system the day it came in. I then turned it over to the second foster mom to give Lucille a little break. This little owl is one of the most fierce, yet sneaky dive-bombers that we have at our center. Her aggression preceeded the beginning of baby season and no one was safe as we entered the mew that she shares with several other screech owls. My advice for all that enter her realm: just keep your head down so her attack lands on the back of your head. I was unfortunate one year to look up and get four little needle sharp talons right on my forehead!

A Word About Baby Mammals

Lately, it seems as if the mammals have replaced birds as the number one patient at the Miami Science Museum's Rehabilitation Center. At about 8 weeks old this grey squirrel is severely underweight and suffering from a broken front leg. Every year, well meaning individuals cost squirrels such as this one their lives from improper feeding and lack of medical attention.

Did you know that it can take days of fluid therapy before a young mammal is ready to be fed a commercial or home made formula. Likewise they must be fed sometimes every 2 hours when very young in order to develop normally. And they must be stimulated to urinate/defecate every time you feed them. Still have time to take care of that baby squirrel you found in the yard? Consider this. If you are lucky enough to feed it the proper diet, AND manage to avoid allowing the youngster to aspirate or inhale formula into its lungs and develop pneumonia, you may want to consider what will happen to this animal later. Without the proper socialization with other squirrels, it will be socially and mentally lost when you try to release it later. It will no doubt not want to leave the safety of your care and be "imprinted" on humans. As a rehabber I can tell you it is disheartening and sometimes infuriating to see these animals end up like this, robbed of a life in the wild because of some human's well meaning yet poorly handled attempts to rehabilitate them. If you want to raise squirrels, why not volunteer at a rehabilitation center? We always need help!
It is interesting however, to note people's responses to opossums. I was recently amazed to hear all the pro opossum discussion amongst my neighbors. People were actually excited about having them in their backyards and felt that they were beneficial to keeping the rats away (they are). It would seem that slowly but surely, the old stereotypes of the vicious opossum is giving way to the actual facts about how amazing they are. As the only North American marsupial, the female gives birth to underdeveloped young that once born, crawl into the pouch and attach to the nipple for several weeks until fully developed. Once they crawl out, they continue to cling onto the mother for a few more weeks until ready to survive on their own. We occasionally receive them after they have accidentally fallen off and are about ready to survive on their own. Unfortunately however, the majority of babies this time of year come from the pouches of dead mothers struggling to cross the road with their heavy load. You can help them by watching out for them out on the road late at night and giving them more time. Also, please make sure to turn on lights for a couple of minutes before letting your dog outside, it may give that mother opossum a little more time to get going before falling victim to a large dog.

This is a sad picture I know, but a necessary image to convey the seriousness of the situation. This mother opossum actually survived for several days with a fractured skull and jaw. She was able to survive and give her babies a little more of her milk and a better fighting chance before she passed. Rest in peace mother opossum.

Saying Goodbyes Yet Again

It was bittersweet as we said goodbye to one of our long term cases, a juvenile cooper's hawk that had come into our center as an orphan last season. It had been a mystery as to where her parents were and nest were. She had been found by a concerned citizen on the side of the road. One of our volunteers, also a falconer searched for her nest and siblings in the area but was unsuccessful. She fared very well in captivity and our plans were to release her as soon as she had some flight time and experience hunting. She did however contract a very devastating infection in her mouth which resulted in a deformity on the opposite side of her face that is pictured here. While this deformity never impeded her ability to eat, it was feared that it was greatly weakened by this deformity and would be a heightened risk of breakage in the wild. Kept in captivity, she could be monitored closely and receive medical attention should injury occur.
















Because she was admitted at such an early age and constantly handled for medical treatments, this bird became very acclimated to humans and thus a star candidate for wildlife education. It was very tempting to keep this non releasable bird at our center for our education program. She would have surely proved to be an excellent advocate for the cooper's hawk in the wild, especially considering the constant persecution we see of them by domestic bird breeders and keepers. We opted however for her to be placed into an educational program in which she could be free flown by experienced master falconer Ray Pena http://www.flightoftheraptor.com/ for literally thousands of people who attend Renaissance Festivals all around the country including Florida. Although I would greatly miss her, I was thrilled that she would be able to fly free among the admiration of the adoring fans she would surely gain visiting the various Renaissance Festivals. You bet I will be there to visit her next year!


Another happy moment to report as a red tailed hawk was returned back to the neighborhood in which it was found. Museum wildlife staff member Meranda assisted an excited young man in releasing this hawk, which had suffered from an unknown illness, perhaps a mild toxicity. After an initial period of stabilization, this bird recovered very quickly. The entire neighborhood anxiously awaited the news that their frequently seen hawk was ready to return home. As you can see, it was quite the celebration and everyone turned out for this happy moment. We are always proud to see such enthusiasm and to share these miracles. It is the everyday citizen who is the critical link in saving these birds. Without them, we wouldn't be able to share these successes.

Another Spectacular Release

Here's a nice shot of another member of the Miami Dade County Firefighter's Venom Response Unit. Lisa Wood, a former wildlife rehabilitator was excited as we prepared to release a sharp shinned hawk that fully recovered from a particularly nasty fracture to her wing into a beautiful park in rural Davie Florida. Sharp shinned hawks, like cooper's hawks are accipiters and primarily prey upon other birds in an ambush style of hunting. We only see these little guys during the migration season which is slowly winding down. It seems as if we saw many more of these adorable, but amazing little hawks this year than in previous years. One can only hope that this is a good sign that they are either becoming more numerous or adapting to an urban lifestyle. In either case, it may mean that we will continue to see more and more of them every year. The cooper's hawk has made quite a living hunting abundantly in urban areas as pigeons, doves, and starlings abound. It does however make them an unfortunate target of those who would shoot them out of hatred for their adaptability and unfortunate habit of hanging around domestic pigeon breeders. Lets hope that the sharp-shinned hawk, because of its diminutive size, can slip under the radar.