I just finished up my second week of interning here at the center. It was extremely warm here for a lady from rainy Western Washington. I must admit that I am loving the sun and the heat. It has been nice to experience a different part of the country and find the beauty in the landscape.
This past week was my first time on Husbandry. No, this is not searching for a husband. Husbandry is caring for the animals. This encompasses feeding, cleaning, giving medication, and medical attention. The days here are divided into two shifts; the AM and the PM. Different tasks occur during each shift.
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Part of our main board with all the patients currently
at the center |
During the AM shift, we clean the enclosures, feed, and give medications. This past week, I mainly cared for our rehab raptors. I spent my morning husbandry shifts in the Avian Room. The raptors are in kennels. It is my job to clean the kennels, and put in clean nesting material and food. In order to safely clean the kennel we need to remove the raptors. The raptors we currently have at the center are Red-Tailed Hawks and Red Shouldered Hawks.
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| Red-Tailed Hawk |
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| Red Shouldered Hawk |
In order to remove these hawks from their kennels, we use raptor gloves. The hawks squawk, flap their wings, and do all that they can to prevent our gloved hands from grabbing them. Once we have grabbed them we place them in a temporary holding box. Then begins the cleaning process. We remove their old bedding and disinfect the kennel and remove any feces. After the kennel has been thoroughly cleaned we place clean bedding, fresh water and their meal into the kennel. We then carefully place the bird back into the kennel and move onto the next bird.
The PM shift is comprised of feeding all the animals and making sure that the food is pulled for the next day.
I have two big highlights from this past week:
Mountain Lion Encounter
On my second day of husbandry, I was cleaning an outside enclosure so that we could use it for a bobcat that was ready to be moved outdoors. I was removing the old mulch from the enclosure, when suddenly I heard my name on the radio. I picked up my radio and said, "Go ahead for Jamie." I heard the voice of Marijam, one of the animal caretaker staff. She asked me my location, and I told her where I was. She told me to stop my project and that she needed my help in the lion compound. I said "Copy", and stop what I was doing and started walking to the main office. While I was walking, I became filled with excitement because I getting to go into the Lion compound, which is rare for an intern who is new. I met her at the main office and we hopped in the golf cart and drove over to the compound. She explained that I would be raking leaves and removing foxtails from the enclosure. I would be working in Sasha's enclosure. Sasha is a mountain lion, and is one of the centers sanctuary animals.
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Sasha
Photo Courtesy of The Fund For Animals Wildlife Center Facebook Page |
Marijam explained all the safety precautions before we entered the enclosure. The enclosure is comprised of two runs. I was working in Run 1, and Sasha was in Run 2 behind a chain linked fence and a securely closed gate. I raked Run 1 for about two hours. During that time, I got to look at a majestic animal and hear her meow and purr. I loved every moment of those sweaty and back breaking two hours.
Exam Room
On Sunday evening, I was on the husbandry shift. I was assigned to take care of the birds in our two Aviaries and those in the Avian Room. After I had fed all the birds in these locations, Marijam asked me to prep food for the Opossum, Skunk and Raven in the exam room. I said okay, but my nerves began to kick in. Marijam is very strict about how to prepare food for the animals and will tell you if you did something wrong. So I decided to take my time and double check everything. I grabbed mice, fruits, and veggies for the Raven and the Opossum. For the Skunk I grabbed some Gerber's Turkey baby food, because the it was not taking food. I brought my prepared food for Marijam to inspect. She looked at my beautifully prepared dish and said "Good job. The only thing is that you could of made the veggie and fruit pieces bigger. But other than that great." A huge sigh of relief came over me. I actually passed her food inspection.
I then grabbed a larger kennel for Edgar, the Raven, and set it up for him. Once Edgar was in the his new kennel, I hand fed him because he is blind. Edgar will make squawking noises and open his mouth when he wants to be fed. When this happens, you grab a piece of food and plop it into his wide open mouth. While I was feeding Edgar, Marijam was preparing to feed the baby skunk. I asked her if I could watch and she asked me if I would like to help. Oh course I said Yes!!
I grabbed a pair of medical gloves and placed them on my hands. I quietly followed Marijam over to the exam table and watched as she placed the skunk on the table. She instructed me how to wrap the skunk in a small blanket and how to hold her while she syringed fed it warm baby food. We are feeding it baby food because it was not wanting to eat meat. The meat flavored baby food can help kick that natural instinct into gear. I placed my hands onto the skunk and gently restrained it while Marijam attempted to get it to eat. The skunk took very little food.
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Baby Skunk.
The blue dot is used to ID the skunk from its siblings.
Photo Courtesy of The Fund For Animals Wildlife Center Facebook Page |
These two experiences have reminded me about my passion for animals, and to help them. I am anticipating my remaining weeks here, and the various encounters that I will have with the wildlife that enter the Center's doors. I am happy to announce that the adventure has officially begun.
