Monday, Jan. 05, 2009

From wounded wildlife, lessons in nature

Carson is 8 years old and spends a lot of time at school. She isn't very friendly and can stare down a stranger with eyes that hardly blink.

Carson isn't a child -- she's a red-tailed hawk who fell out of her nest as a baby almost eight years ago. She broke every bone in one of her wings in the 90-foot fall, which would have doomed her in the wild.

But Carson got lucky. The person who found her brought her to the Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center, in Hughson on the Tuolumne River.

Because of her extensive injuries, Carson couldn't be returned to the wild. Instead, she became an educational tool for the center, being taken to local schools and helping children learn about wildlife.

Carson is the exception to the rule at the center. Most wild animals that come to the center are rehabilitated by volunteer staff and returned to the wild.

"We see almost every type of wildlife there is," said Brian Ludlow, executive director of the center. "During the spring, our busy season, up to 2,000 animals come through here."

The care center got started in 1985 in Ceres, in the garage of wildlife enthusiast Donna Burt. She slowly expanded, and now the center sees everything from hummingbirds to coyotes.

The animals that come to the center are injured or are too young to make it on their own. Newborns are fed, and older animals are seen by a local veterinarian, with the goal of getting the animals back where they belong, in nature.

"Wild animals do not make good pets," said Nancy Haydock, a retired teacher and volunteer at the center. "Our primary directive is to get them back to the wild."

The busiest time of the year for the center is in the spring, when newborn and young animals are everywhere. Some fall out of nests, some are abandoned by their mother, some are severely injured by cars.

When an animal comes into the center, it is evaluated and a decision is made about whether it can be saved.

The center has rooms dedicated to songbirds, to mammals such as foxes and coyotes, and to water birds such as mallard ducks and geese.

Injured animals are kept in quiet, darkened areas so they can heal as quickly as possible.

Once an injured animal is deemed ready to return to the wild, it's taken back to where it was found and released.

"That's one of the best parts of this job," Haydock said. "Seeing that animal go back where it belongs."

Haydock was an elementary teacher for years, and when she retired in 2002, she became a volunteer at the center. She now is the songbird expert, and she takes critters to local schools to educate children about wildlife.

Carson is one of the animals that was so severely injured she couldn't be released back into her native habitat. There are a few other animals, such as Oreo the kingsnake and Owlbert the owl, that accompany Haydock to classrooms. These animals couldn't survive in the wild and so will remain residents of the center for life.

The center is nonprofit, relying on a few grants and donations to stay in business. Scrambling for funding in the present economy is hard, and Ludlow was brought in to try to get more money through grants.

The center also relies on volunteers to take care of the animals, some of which have to be fed every two to four hours.

"Wildlife don't celebrate Christmas," Ludlow said.

The center now has a baby raccoon that came into the facility Christmas Day, and at only 4 weeks old, still is bottle-fed by Renee Rhoy, a volunteer. Rhoy has been at the center for 22 years and evaluates the animals that come in to make the decision whether they can be saved.

Oreo the kingsnake is an example of the type of injuries the center sees. The black and white reptile came in with a cat bite. He was rehabilitated and then released near the care center.

But he came back. "I think he liked the fact that he got fed here," Haydock said.

Other animals that didn't make it back to the wild include a raven named Hopper, a skunk named Maggie and Oscar, a burrowing owl.

Haydock enjoys taking the animals into classrooms because most children never get close enough to wildlife to appreciate it.

"Kids are our future," Haydock said. "I love to watch them when they get up close to the animals." Although there are a few animals that never will be released because of their injuries, most of the animals that come into the center won't stay forever.

"It's important to get these animals back where they belong," Ludlow said. "They are not pets, they do not belong with people."

Haydock agreed. "Wildlife have a job to do, and they need to be in the wild to do it."

The center gives them a break until they get back on their feet -- or wings.