Summertime Blues

It's not yet the middle of the summer and I'm already looking forward to the end. Although there has been a break in the number of birds admitted at the Center, the working conditions have become almost unbearable. I hear from folks all over the country that this year has seen an explosion of mosquito populations. That's pretty much always a given in South Florida, but they are much fiercer and numerous this year. Maybe it's the heat. The heat has been absolutely unbearable this year as we've reached record levels for week long durations at least twice that I can remember. Again it's a given that it's hot in South Florida, but when you work outside, 5 more degrees make it miserable.

All of these minor inconveniences aside, a rather catastrophic event tops my reasons for wishing the summer away, the closure of one the largest wildlife rehabilitation centers in South Florida. The Folke Peterson Wildlife Center is closing its doors due to lack of funding. Given the state of our economy and all of the other closures, why should we care about just one more? Given that thousands of people are out of work and major companies such as GM and Chrysler are in danger of disappearing forever, why does this stand out as particularly tragic?

For starters, Folke Peterson has treated approximately 5,000 animals per year. These animals range from squirrels, blue jays, ducks, herons, pelicans, hawks, owls, eagles, deer, and foxes. Faced with the closure of this center, citizens are now faced with driving to other wildlife centers that may be up to 50 miles away. Likewise, those that are unable or unwilling to drive will not have the option of Folke Peterson staff members picking up the animals. So how many of these animals will die a long suffering death in the street or be cared for improperly by well meaning citizens and either die or become permanently maimed? Half? One third? That's still 1-2 thousand animals a year. The faces of these animals that are not saved are the most heartbreaking consequences of the failure of our economy as it has affected those who would be able to donate funds to this facility. As the financially well off scramble to secure their uncertain futures, somewhere an animal with a simple injury that would be treated at Folke Peterson Wildlife is placed back in the wild to slowly starve to death or be devoured by a feral cat.

For humanity, why should this matter? These animals don't belong to us, and their survival doesn't affect ours. I have considered this matter many times, why do people rescue animals? In part, I believe that in many cases people feel helpless in their everyday lives or existence. They go about their business and everyday lives with little control over the greater scheme of the stock market, international conflicts, safety of their children when they go off to school, etc etc, you get the picture. When presented with an injured or orphaned animal, they are presented with an opportunity to do something greater, to change the world for THIS animal. For a moment, especially in these dark times, people are given a reason to hope, to see that there are moments in life when you CAN make a difference. Sadly without the help of Folke Peterson Wildlife Center, the light of hope will never exist for many of these animals and people who would help them. Depressing? Yes it is, but it is reality.

The effects of this closure are also far reaching in the South Florida community. There are those of us (myself included) that depend on the expertise and facilities that Folke Peterson Wildlife Center possess to assist with difficult cases or the overflow of wildlife. Likewise we have assisted them in times of overflow and in difficult cases. This was initially why Folke Peterson Widlife Center was created, to assist local rehabilitators and as a teaching facility. It has grown to what it is from that initial vision, and in 5 short years, that dream is now disappearing.

For myself, this is heartbreaking and feels a lot like a small knife in my heart and brings a lump to my throat when I think of the lights being turned out and the doors locked forever on this wonderful place of sanctuary and healing. For the people who have poured their hearts and souls into this place it is an unbearable sadness that I'm sure dwarfs mine by miles in comparison. They have stood by loyally to the very end, watching animals leave to their new homes and answering the phone only to tell people that they cannot help them with their injured wildlife. I know that this must be the hardest part for them is to go against what is infinitely ingrained in their personas, to help. As time ticks away, they still wait for that miracle that will save their precious center. There may be one.....I hope and pray that someone out there can still help.

Yes I can't wait for this summer to be over.

Some uncommon babies at the Center

This time of year we never know what will come to our center. The first chimney swifts were admitted that I've seen in my 5 1/2 years at the Miami Science Museum. These strange birds behave a lot like bats rather than birds, even clinging to the towel as seen in the above photo before they were transferred to Pelican Harbor Seabird station. These birds are appropriately named because they have adapted over the years to nest in chimneys because of the loss of habitat with the destruction of forests. They are seasonal migrants and only seen in most of North America during the spring/summer months.

This close up of the baby swift shows how birds develop. These birds are normally hatched naked but the feathers develop as little pin like growths all over their bodies. They are appropriately called "pin feathers" and indicate that the baby is unable to care for itself. I highly encourage you to read more at this great website I found at www.chimneyswifts.org

Likewise, this little bird pictured here is a loggerhead shrike. Although it may look very much like a blue jay or mockingbird, it behaves a lot like a raptor minus the talons. You can see the slight curve to the beak which is used for severing the spinal cord of its prey. It is mostly an insect eater, but will hunt mice, small birds, and lizards. Perhaps the most distinctive trait of this bird is the habit of wedging the prey on a thorn, or spike in a medieval fashion while ripping it apart. For more reading go to http://www.wbu.com/chipperwoods/photos/logshrike.htm You never know what unusual patient may be around the corner next!

Back Where They Belong

This beautiful little hawk is a young cooper's hawk that had fallen from the nest tree during the start of the rainy season here in South Florida. Her sibling arrived at the Miami Science Museum just two days before. We were unable to return them to the nest immediately due to ongoing storms which put not only the birds, but the humans at risk. We nervously waited a week but when we arrived, we not only found both parents, but another sibling still in the nest tree. Remaining baby in tree.

All renesting photos courtesy of Richard Williams, the concerned resident who brought both birds to our center.Parent in nearby tree
I prepare the youngster for the last leg of her trip home.

Once again Jeff Fobb is there to assist and he has positioned himself in the nest tree.

I climb up to make the hand off to Jeff. The young hawk is hooded to keep her calm.
Fortunately it was a success, but.....part of the story is missing in these photos. Would have been a great shot for a few laughs had Richard gotten the prelude to why I'm holding this young hawk who is now wet. Can't blame him though, we were all sort of in shock as the bird flew around from branches and towards the lake. She made a desperate attempt to grab at a palm tree that we all knew was a doomed effort, and fluttered into the lake, quite gently if I may say so! What happened next got me hauling my butt off the ladder rather quickly. A big black male muscovy duck made a beeline for our young friend and she desperately began to swim for the shore. As the duck gained ground I sprinted towards the lake, tossing my cell phone in the grass and heading straight into the lake with shoes, socks and all other clothing intact. Thankfully the lake was shallow, the hawk was within arms reach, and the only wet clothing I had to endure were the socks. The bird was safe.

On the third try of placing the bird in a tree farther away from the lake, the young hawk dried out a bit before flying about 10 feet across to the tree containing her siblings, and we all breathed in relief as she settled on a branch next to her other sibling and one of her parents. Too bad no one caught the more glamorous side of this story on film, but hopefully you got the gist of it and clapped just as we did at the happy ending to this story.

Taking a break, visiting animals in Georgia

What an amazing visit I had back to my original home town, Atlanta Georgia. When I left 9 years ago, I wasn't an animal rehabilitator and barely had started my journey with birds of prey. So what a treat to visit and learn about animals with which I had no hands on experience.


This rather unique face came slowly waddling over to me at the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell Georgia. Trust me, these animals are not usually so friendly, and I do NOT recommend trying this on your own. Because the director and I had previously communicated, I was privledged to receive a personal up close view of this amazing creature. This animal was orphaned as an infant when a trapper, ignorant of beaver natural behavior, mistakenly believed this animal's older sibling was the newborn baby. He almost died along with his brother from the time elapsed before discovered. I learned that beavers have a very close knit family structure and live together in what is called a "lodge." He has been in captivity for around 13 years and recently alone when his brother sadly died of organ failure.

This cute little guy is one of the most critically endangered freshwater turtles in the eastern United States. The bog turtle unfortunately suffers from overcollection for the black market pet trade as well as for the fragmentation of habitat which has reduced the overall variety of genetic variation. This individual is part of a breeding program to help re-establish the wild population through captive breeding. There is some great information at http://www.fish.state.pa.us/education/catalog/ab/bogturtle/bogturtl.htm

The next day was one I would not soon forget! I was again honored to get a behind the scenes visit at the Georgia Aquarium courtesy of our head veterinary consultant Dr. Gregory Bossart. I was thrilled (to say the least) to come this close to a beautiful beluga whale while it was in a training/enrichment session. Training is very important for marine mammals as they are exceedingly intelligent creatures and need varied mental stimulation and social interaction. It increases the trust and bond between the animals and handlers. Another added benefit is that medical procedures are performed with less stress when the animals are trained to present body parts for examinations and injections.

Lastly, it's no wonder that I love animals so much, considering that animals have always been a part of my life and my family too! Here's my mom's latest, Izzy, a two year old bundle of energy called a yorkshire terrier.

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.