The Wildlife Center

I am finally at the wildlife rehabilitation center...finishing up my third week here and it has been AWESOME!!!! AHHH!!! I'm working super long days, but loving every minute of it--my passion for veterinary medicine is renewed:)

Here are some pictures so far:

Here are some baby bunnies. Starting about my 4th day of working at the center, we got hit HARD with baby bunnies. I think right now we probably have somewhere between 75-100 baby bunnies to feed every day. People think they are helping the buns--b/c they touched it or their dog found it--and some people are just ignorant....here are some facts:
-mothers will not abandon their young b/c you touched their babies and they can smell it (it's a myth)
-if you disrupt a nest and the buns are not injured, you can just reassemble the nest with their materials or leaves and such and the mother will come back
-the mother rabbit only comes 1-2 times per day so you will NEVER see her. She watching and if she sees predators (including you) she won't go anywhere near the nest so she doesn't draw attention to it
-if your dog finds the nest, but the uninjured buns back and leash your dog for 2 weeks--that's all the time it takes for the buns to grow up and get out of your yard:)
-i understand that people have gardens and rabbits can be a nuisance, but even if you "relocate" them to another area, more rabbits will set up shop in your yard...the only way to keep them out is to "rabbit-proof" your whole yard...and besides, they were there first! just fence in your garden. simple.
-baby bunnies are SUPER HARD to raise...even the best bunny rehabbers can only save about 25% of the orphans they take in...so leaving the buns in the nest is always the first choice.
-if you're worried the mother won't come back, put the buns in the nest and place a string in a design (like a circle or square) on top of the nest...if it's disturbed the next morning, you know mom is taking care of them...if not, it's ok to bring them to a rehabber

whew!!! that was a lot!! i've had to repeat that schpeel a lot these past few weeks;)


I have depressing videos of a raccoon and a coyote with distemper but they are sad so i won't post...the main message is to make sure to vaccinate your dogs!!!!!!!!!!!!! distemper is deadly!!

and here is a cute picture of a ruby-crowned kinglet:)
more to come later!