As I
said earlier, I have been volunteering at Liberty Wildlife for several years
now, first in the orphan care department (only open during baby season April to
September) and then in Medical Services. In Medical Services, we receive the
new patients and write an assessment of their condition and what medications
they will need to be on and how long. Treatments can be as simple as WDQ, a
warm dark quiet area to recuperate, and as difficult as removing fishing hooks
or recommending surgery and/or x-rays.
This
week, we have plenty of cottontails that simply need to grow up! This little
guy had to be fed bunny formula three times a day supplemented with lettuce,
hay and pellets.
Also
located in the ICU are old friends and some new ones. Frodo, the burrowing owl
on the left, was at one point an education animal. Education animals are
trained to sit on the gloves of educators and attend programs to teach the public
about Liberty and Arizona wildlife in general. Frodo, however, is retired. She
has lost her eyesight and is at the end of her long life, but you will always
hear her chirping happily away, safe inside her hut. She is hand fed as much as
she will take throughout the day. Other birds are in the ICU because they must
grow more accustom to people as they will in future become education animals.
They are taken out every day by handlers to eat on a glove, in order to
associate being on the glove as a good thing.
To Be
Continued…
CG
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