Sound Asleep

OK, I am completely slain by baby squirrels.

I know some people think they are tree rats and nuisances, building nests occasionally in someone's attic or eating all the food in the feeders folks put out to attract birds. But how can your heart not just swell to bursting with love when you hold sweet little sleeping babies in your hand like this? And he is sleeping because I just fed him warm milk... don't we adore our human babies in the exact same kind of moment?



I love how they sleep, with their skinny baby tails curled up over their face like we might pull up our quilts on a chilly night. And you can see him contentedly moving his mouth, as if he's savoring little dreams of his recent meal. He's so young his ears are still bent down to his little head. His fuzzy forearms! Those too-big hands and feet! His tiny shoulder blades as he hunts for his sisters to sleep! His wobbly attempts to navigate the blanket .... (I know, somebody stop me!). Even if you're not a squirrel lover, you've gotta admit, these babies are cute.

Here's an even smaller one -- just crossing over from being what we call a pinky (no hair at all, just born). You can see me put the milk nipple into the frame for a second to get an idea of how small, if not by seeing him compared to my thumb. I have a focus problem near the end, but his little black nose and whiskers become clear so hang in there.


A face like that just makes me smile, every time!

Are you with me yet?

Bedside Manners

We have a few tanks of squirrels in, nothing like what we were dealing with after Hurricane Ike. I guess that's a good thing. It's baby time in the squirrel world, so if we don't have many in, that means plenty of babies hopefully are with their mothers, growing healthy and strong in the wild, as it should be. We come in handy when something happens in that natural order.

I notice that they let me take care of the squirrel area, which delights me to no end, as miraculously I'm not allergic to them.

I'm finding differences in how some squirrels behave when it's not a crisis situation. Post-hurricane, so many of the squirrels were docile and limp -- probably because many were coming out of shock from that long, cold storm. Shaken out of cozy nests by 110 mph winds, being chilled and pelted by a dozen hours of rain and losing their mothers had them coming to us in droves sick and scared. There were also so many volunteers at any given time, and 20 babies in a tank, I guess those squirrels became a little more used to the commotion and being handled.

We effort to not imprint ourselves on the animals. You want to play with them, hug and hold them but that only hurts them when they go back into the wild. While they can adapt, the fact that they don't fear people might cause them to approach folks, or even innocently climb up their leg or arm -- and that can result in them getting hurt or killed (or shot, depending on how far out you live).

I have two tanks of siblings who seem pretty scared when it's mealtime. I try to move slowly and quietly, pick them up and put them back gently, but I notice they stay frozen and won't open their mouths to feed. The others smell the milk and grab onto the syringe and gobble the nipple with gusto.

So I learned that if I let the scared few sit on my chest, put a piece of fuzzy blanket over their head, and let them sit there for a minute under the covers, they relax. I can then slip the syringe of milk under the edge of the blanket and they are interested. As soon as they start drinking they get what's going on, and from there I can refill it and feed them normally, without any need for cover or cajoling, til they're full.

Here is one of those guys who has just finished eating and has gone back to being a little spooked. That's good, because he remains "wild".



You can see that he's a little nervous again because he's sitting so still... and it's not because he's pleasantly sleepy from a full belly. When I open my hand so you can see him, he starts just a little. But he seems to be more at ease once I swing the camera around.

I quickly put him back in his bed and watched him happily eat a few apple slices for dessert. He is getting old enough to be eating some softer fruits and nuts on his own.

Fuzzy Silly

If you CLICK HERE you can see a few pictures of the baby great horned owlet that we have been raising. That time he was being coy, and had his back to the camera. This time I saw him in his tank with his stunning eyes facing front, and he was doing goofy baby owl things. I grabbed my camera and took a quick little video.




Isn't he funny? The sparse little fluff covering him is called down. It will be weeks (45 days in all) before he begins to grow real feathers. He's so wobbly -- unlike baby ducks and chicks, owlets can't get up and walk... they must wait for their mother to bring them food for the first 5 weeks. Those babies have to be pretty darn patient to wile the hours away unable to do much but sit and wait for meals. By 10 weeks they make their first hesitant forays out of the nest.

We feed him several rat pups (not live) a day, to duplicate how his mom might return to the nest with something she'd caught. At least this little one has no competition for meals with any brothers or sisters. I bet he's going to grow up to be so handsome and graceful... though you'd never know it with the way he looks and acts now

Growin' Horns!

For those of you who fell in love with the baby goat I came back in a week and he'd already begun to grow horns!

It's in goats nature to climb, which might account for the charming and hysterical little leaps he was taking when he first arrived. CLICK HERE to see that -- you should not miss it if you haven't.

So now, less than 2 weeks later, he is able to get up on some things, and he was amusing himself and all of us by using a swivel chair. OH endless funnies... but we tear ourselves away to go back to cleaning and feeding. PS: I promise you, in real life I don't talk with the high squeaky voice you hear on these videos!

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Cute Little Soft Little Warm Little Guys

OK, I admit it. I have lived my entire life without ever seeing an opossum... My only reference was to Granny's constant mention of opossum recipes on the Beverly Hillbillies...which should give you a guess at how long I've been on the planet with nary an encounter. Tsktsk, such a city girl.

Until I started to volunteer at the Wildlife Rehab... and then I started to clean out their stinky cages. They are STINKY! But that is the only bad thing I can say about them. I find them quite amenable. They look like a big rat but they are actually marsupials; like koalas and kangaroos they have a pouch in which to carry their young.

I know they have more teeth than any other animal, but they are really quite harmless. They open their mouth to show them when a threat (in this case, US) approaches them. I totally understand that... I am always mindful that when we humans peer at or reach in for any of these creatures, it has to be akin to alien abduction for them. I'd personally be quite terrified, even if the giant hand and face was trying it's best to feed, comfort, medicate and heal me.. and make sure I have fresh sheets and that the temperature is just right, etc...

We use a baton to technically hold them back when changing the paper in their cages and putting in food, but I have never known one to snap or be aggressive. How many people call, having found one eating cat food in their garage, asking if they should shoot it! Um, no. Just take the food away, wait til they leave and shut your garage door more often. In fact, these harmless little guys eat most of the things people think are pests -- snakes, rats, even cockroaches. And they are less likely to carry rabies than you think. Only trained people should try to handle them however.

This really nice mama opossum let the vet tech pick her up so we could check on the babies, and I asked if I could quick snap a picture. The mother is only smiling that way because she's being grasped by the extra skin behind the neck (same place that cats pick up their young). It makes them look scary.

I found this fascinating: They have from 5 to 25 babies but only 13-15 teats (hopefully all working). Whomever gets there fastest wins a shot at life... survival of the fittest at work. They have to crawl about 2 inches from the birth canal to the pocket or marsupium (you can see this better below) and latch on to a teat for milk. There they stay for anywhere between 70-125 days. (See their little tails sticking out?). I expected to see a horizontal pouch slit, like kangaroos have, but the opossums is vertical. Isn't that amazing?
Once they are bigger, they stay by their mom for a while before going on their way. I got some training on how to feed the orphaned babies, which we are getting in at this time of year by the handful. I'll write about that once I actually do it. In the mean time I picked up this fella to get comfortable handling him and was amazed at how soft, warm and cute he was. (Cracks me up that he starts out holding on to his foot -watch for it below)

So remember to be kind to and not afraid of opossums. And please do look out for them when you're driving at night!

Destined to be a Great Horned Own

We got a baby great horned owl in to the Wildlife Rehab abotut a week ago. Here he is looking silly sitting around in his little enclosure.

He looks half plucked and fuzzy, unkept, bent beaked and like he might not have use of his legs. Click on the photo below to see it enlarged -- This fella's a little Benjamin Buttonesque, wouldn't you say? But he is perfectly fine.. he just doesn't have a mommy. Except us of course! We clean up after him, give him a soft place to sleep, feed him all he needs so he can grow into his beautiful eyes. Those big, golden, mezmerising eyes are the only sign of what's to come.

Because you see, when he grows up, he will be among the most handsome and mysterious birds on earth in my opinion. Here's an idea of what he'll look like:

I took a little movie of him today, doing cute things in his cage which I will upload and post in the next few days, so please come back-- this little guy is quite amusing to see in motion.

Baby chicks

I mentioned a ways back that there were a large group of chickens sitting in the large warehouse next to the rehab center, cock a doodle do-ing all day long. They really make quite a racket.

Well, we took in about 6 tanks worth of baby chicks, 8-10 a tank, and kept them warm, clean and fed. They grow so fast! I came in one Thurdsay to little yellow puff bals and the next thursday to these guys below, double in size from before, and already growing out heavier, mutli- colored feathers. To look down on the tanks from above you can appreciate how beautiful they looked much more. I wish I had taken a photo from that angle, but I was too busy scooping them out into a new tank so I could clean the one they were in.

Instead, I took this quick little snippet of them eagerly drinking some fresh water I'd put in while they were waiting for me to finish up and get to feeding them their breakfast. They are as cute, swallowing with their little beaks in motion, as the baby ducks where that I filmed HERE.

All those roosters crowing made me think twice about having chickens when I buy a home/have some land. I thought it would be a great way to have live animals, while having a source of fresh food (just the eggs!!!). I was thinking that would be even easier than trying to grow things in a garden. But do I really want to be woken up at 4 AM by a rooster crowing? And apparently they don't just do it in the morning if these guys we have are any indication. One of them goes off literally every minute.

This Is How We Learn

If Laura M is coming here to visit, please scroll down and don't miss the bunny video in the two posts below this one.

We have a variety of raptors and owls who come to the Rehab Center with concussions, broken wings etc. If it was awhile before someone found them they may be dehydrated too. Injuries often happens as a result of man, though not always. It's man who brings them in and man -- woman in our case -- who tries to save them, so I supposed there is some balance in the world.

See this nice, but REALLY BIG bird -- with the sharp beak? And the intense claws?

Well I had to administer a tube feeding of one just like it the other day.



Oh yea, that's right -- I was just finishing up with the squirrels and one of the women who run the place came over to me with a big syringe (about 6" high and 1/2" circumference) filled with a formula of Pedialyte + nutrition. Instead of a needle it had a long, very skinny tube on the end of it. She handed it to me and within seconds was back holding a bird much like the one above. There is a special way to grip these birds so you can care for their injuries. With ultra-thick gloves on you must grasp them between the ankles with your thumb and two fingers to protect you from the talons and hold them still (If they are very distressed, it helps to cover their eyes while doing an inspection).

She sat down while I stood and told me: You are going to see a hole in the middle of his throat and pockets on either side. You are to stick this tube down either pocket and inject the fluid slowly. Be sure to not go to fast.

If I either put the tube down the hold or any liquid came backing up too fast and went in there I'd kill him... no pressure! Apparently that is like his windpipe. I was both terrified and eager to become capable. I was thinking how squeamish we all feel at the thought of them putting a tube down our throat in the hospital, let alone being the one to DO it. But, focusing on my desire to help, I overrode my fear.

She opened his beak with her other hand and extended his neck at the same time. Sure enough, things were as described, but it was awfully dark down his throat. I marshalled every bit of my over-40 eyesight and gently aimed for the left pocket and smoothly as possible threaded the tube in. At this point she told me when I hit some resistance I'd know it was his stomach and to stop there. The concept gave me a shiver but I did just fine. Then she told me to push the plunger, but to make sure that none of the liquid would back up... which I did and it didn't. Got through the whole giant syringe, and I pulled the tube out, and the bird went back into the comfort of his dark cage with a little mouse for dessert.

It was one of those things that's terrifying but with a life in hand, you reach new heights of ability and concentration. In truth, once this is done a few times, it probably is a no-brainer. But having no prior warning or experience, it was a big deal for me. She had no one else on hand who could do it, and the bird needed lifesaving fluids. This is why I love the Center so much. I watch, I ask questions, I study, I am careful, and because these lives depend on you, you learn to do things quickly and correctly.

Who needs to climb mountains or sky dive for a thrill? I'm kept on my toes by the feathered and furry every day.

Early Easter Part Two

As promised, here is the next part of feeding the baby bunnies this week at the Wildlife Rehab Center (If you're wondering what I'm talking about just scroll down past this to see the previous post -- caution: video to make you swoon is included).

The women who run the center, who are experts, taught me how to do this. You hold the baby's head gently between thumb and forefinger and go in with the milk at the side of the mouth at first, because even at this stage the bunnies have front teeth! They squiggle more than any squirrel, rambunctious as they are. I was amazed at how strong their arms and legs were as they pushed against the inside of my hand. The babies are just so small!

Did I mention how humbling it is to have this little life squirming around in your hand? This was my last feeding of the day with the last of the three bunnies so I asked another volunteer to take a little footage... For that reason, held him a bit loosely, allowed his head to move. It takes a minute for him to get it right and then my coworker zoomed so you can see a little better.



(if you listen closely you can hear both me saying it's a bad hair day and the constant cock a doodle do's of a large bunch of chickens who are being held in an ajacent building. They were confiscated by the SPCA -- maybe it will be on a future Animal Planet show)

Even at this age they chew with that cute wrinkly nose action instead of suckling. It's a trick to get it into their mouths. I tried to start out with a drop of milk on his lips (do bunnies have lips?), hoping he would just open up, but apparently that's not how bunnies work. Baby squirrels smell the milk on your hands from the second you pick them up and even with their eyes still closed they start hunting for the source.

I know that was short but again, they are the priority. I just wanted to have a little of this on film to let people know of the wonderful work that is being done out there, by the people who set up places like this and work tirelessly for the well being of animals. I just get the privilege to make a tiny contribution. The joy I get in return is immeasurable.

Easter Arrived Early

As promised, here are some videos of what I did yesterday. There were some newborn bunnies, to add to the larger babies we have been caring for. I have never seen baby bunnies, and certainly none this small. Their eyes open in about 8 days, so we figure these might be anywhere from 3-6 days old.

How to describe. SOFT. Little folded back ears. REALLY squiggly and strong. Not so easy to feed. Here's how I first saw the squiggling little bunch of three. They are all curled together inside a small kleenex box. They have a little flannel in there and look how much room there still is with THREE bunnies.



I took one out to feed, which is a trick because my hand was larger than the hole on the kleenex box they were kept in. And it is a humbling sense of responsibility to handle something so tiny that is a living being. I put him on my lap for a moment while the milk was warming up.




Ooooh I just keep pressing play to watch these again and again. They're just too short but I don't want to take away from the job I have to do. I will post the video of me feeding this little one tomorrow. For better or worse, I've largely been a city girl so I have never seen bunnies like this. Have any of you seen bunnies this small in your yard?

What a Treat.

Oh, yes it was. The day after I posted that there was a new baby giraffe born at the zoo (click here to read) I got to go in and say hello up close. Really, how lucky can a Naturegirrrl get?

At the start of the little vid below you can see him standing in his little pen, part from the adults, who you can clearly see a are quite a bit larger than he is. His dad is 17 feet tall, and the baby is only 5'9 (STILL, that's a few inches taller than me!).  The giraffes you see behind him are not the tallest ones in the group.

Keep in mind, that I was able to get this close by virtue of what I do with the zoo.  They are very careful to protect these animals as well as the people that visit them. 

I had an amazing day today at the Wildlife Rehab Center feeding the tiniest baby .... well, I don't want to spoil it. Please stop back tomorrow and see.

If you could visit up close with a baby animal, which would it be?

Update

Now that my schedule has a lull, I am very much looking forward to getting in some regular hours at the Wildlife Rehab Center and at the Zoo.

I don't work at these places, I'm a volunteer, and the hours are left up to me. When I go, I could stay all day. Time flies. I'm completely present and fully absorbed in whatever I'm doing. There is always something new going on, something to learn, something I haven't seen, or if something is becoming familiar, I'm pleased -- as means I'm gaining real knowledge and useful skills.

At the Wildlife Center they'd told us to rest up over the holidays because once spring comes, they take in up to 1000 critters each month and need us to come in as much as we can. Many are babies.... spring is the time for all things to be born, and so it is in the animal world. We'll get lots of baby birds in, which I've never worked with before. Various species of birds have their young at different times, so you can almost tell what month it is by what comes in when ie: raptors or finches or songbirds. Some species have only one brood, and a few have several over the spring and summer. I look forward to seeing the procession to learn more about birds in general, and their mating habits, and how their babies need to be fed, and grow. I learned that about squirrels after Hurricane Ike had us trying to feed 1200 darling, squiggling, sleepy, vulnerable little ones. CLICK HERE to read about that.

There will be baby squirrels but of course a more manageble amount. We have about 10 we've been nursing the last few weeks. They are my favorite (along with baby ducklings and geese). I'm told we'll get as many opossums as birds (I'll post on opossums a little later).

WRC occasionally gets a baby deer or GOAT or sheep, or chickens too. There were at least 5 tanks with a dozen chicks in each when I went in on Saturday, with god knows how many roosters crowing from the large warehouse attached to our building. Since the wildlife center is part of the SPCA (yes, the one you see on Animal Planet) I guess this was a confiscation, and we always get the babies, who need the most care.

The Wildlife Center is really a hospital/nursery, and we take care to keep everything clean and organized. Various vets also volunteer their time to come by and give us their much valued talents, in addition to the ones at the SPCA. In April, I'm looking forward to an all day training on how to clean birds up after an oil spill. Apparently there is a season for that too, and the women who run the Wildlife Rehab Center go wherever they are needed -- mainly along the Gulf coast -- to set up and work tireless days and nights rescuing birds from tragic and hard deaths. They can be there for weeks, stumbling back to meager accommodations to get some sleep. I am always amazed and inspired by the patience of these three women, their focus on the well being of the whatever animal that is put in their care, no matter what the conditions are for themselves. They set a great example.

I'm going this morning, as I have been every Thursday morning recently, but will begin to fill in for afternoon feedings during the week as needed. I will bring my camera and return to my desk, with lots of stories to tell!

For now, a familiar scene: Can't wait to get there to these little ones. I just love their furry forearms!

I'm Sweet on This One

I haven't seen him so far this spring but my favorite duck in The Park, besides Elvis of course, is this one:

He's a stand out from all the others in my mind, a truly special guy. His little chest is narrow, his beak is orange (not the usual yellow or brown or black), and his slim, rubbery feet match. His feathers are a nice caramel and white color, so he's quite well dressed overall.

When he sees that I have food he runs faster than any of the other ducks; his little webbed feet carry him impossibly fast to my side. He even swims faster than the rest, as you can see below.

His head darts in all directions, as if he's had one too many coffees. I think he'd just a very excited little duck!

I was standing above him on a bridge dropping bread with one hand, taking movies with the other. He comes swimming up at lightening speed and you can even see how his funny feet paddle madly to keep him in place. It's so comical! He amuses me to no end!

(that high pitched honking in the background signals the approach of Mr and Mrs Goose - click on this or on Elvis to read about them. The three that swim up are Black Bellied whistling ducks, but I call them Squeaky Beaks, for the high twittering little noise that they make)

It was no surprise then that when I got home to research what he was, I learned that he's called a RUNNING Duck! No lie. He is the only one in all the waterfowl that are at the park, and at the several other little lakes where ducks and geese collect themselves, I have never seen another.

He's truly one of a kind.

Spring Babies

Sometimes it's hard to get comfortable... and you just need to find the right spot.

Lunchtime in the Park

I'm just amazed at how close these squirrels let me get to them. Perhaps it's a small price for a tender, succulent cashew nut. Does that make me guilty of bribes?