today at the wildlife center

I’ve been getting there about an hour before the place closes, and most people are leaving or have left. The majority of the shift I have the place to myself. The downside of this is that I don’t do much animal care at all, the raptor cages having been cleaned and the raptors fed already. There are other birdies and some mammals still there as well, but these are also cared for before I arrive.

Today, though, I got to do something I haven’t done before. I fed a baby bunny. It was a young cotton-tail. It was handed to me wrapped in a towel, and I used a special syringe to feed it. It was so cute! Sad though, because it has had some spinal/nervous system damage – something like that. A cat had got it, I think. Cat maulings are very common causes of injury. The rabbit, due to its injury, lolled its head over to one side a little. Surprisingly, sometimes rabbits can recover from this condition, with time and care. This one will be given two weeks. If it is not better after 2 weeks, that means it will not get better, and keeping it alive would be inhumane, so if it doesn’t recover, it will have to be put down.

Other than feeding the rabbit for a few minutes, I scrubbed the walls and perches of the main owl cage for awhile (it’s empty now, so thorough cleaning is safe to do) and sprayed it out, and then mostly did data entry. I’ve fairly good at it, and quick.

I visited with a few of the resident animals before going home. I fed the raven two dead mice, and talked to the burrowing owl, and the skunk for a little while. I am not allowed in the skunk’s room, but the door is a steel screen door – like a security door that goes in front of the main wooden doors of most houses. The skunk, temporarily named “Skunkie,” and I could see each other, and smell each other. He doesn’t have a bad odor, though, as long as he doesn’t spray. I don’t know why he hasn’t been de-scented yet. I sure wish I could play with him.

I also checked on the animals in our indoor cages, where they stay before moving to the larger quarters outside. And I looked in on the animals in the outdoor cages too. Only a few wild animals left. Several hawks, a few rabbits, oppossums, raccoons, a few herons, a goose a duck, a couple turtles ..  It’s quiet out there.