Newsletter Summer 2003


Bucky Goes Home! "Beavers are the animal kingdom's model of the work ethic incarnate." –Bill Adler, Outwitting Critters In our spring issue, we told the story of a young beaver who was found in a Salem backyard, the victim of a large canine attack. His back was covered in maggoty puncture wounds, and he was suffering from dehydration and infection. SWRA volunteers Jan and Larry Williamson rescued the animal and took him to Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Janette Ackermann, who spent countless hours cleaning the wounds and treating the beaver’s infections. It was a long, slow recovery, but it was a recovery! In late spring, Jan began searching for a suitable habitat release site. She found "a very sympathetic gentleman," Rex McMahon, who has 800 feet of property along a creek in Polk County. The creek is bordered by trees and brush through which beavers have made very identifiable trails. Mr. McMahon has mown a meadow about 30 to 40 feet wide, followed by another row of trees containing mostly hardwoods, which separates his property from the farmland east of him. The creek flows at about a 45 degree angle away from the road, where it is pretty quiet. Mr. McMahon cut up a windfall and left most of it there for the beavers and said, "I don’t care if they eat the trees," when Jan expressed concern about protecting a nice cherry tree on his property. On a cool, rainy day, Jan and SWRA volunteer Don Fox took the beaver to his new habitat. Jan says, "When he decided to come out of the crate, he paused to note the pile of food I left him (yams, carrots, and apples), then slowly went down the bank trail into the water, swimming away out of sight behind a curve and brush. As we stood there, he reappeared on the other side of the creek, went right to another trail, and up into a big cave in the bank that appeared to have trees and brush over the top. He acted like he knew right where he was going!" SWRA would like to thank Dr. Ackermann, Jan and Larry Williamson, Don & Sherri Antieau-Fox, and Rex McMahon for their generous help rescuing, treating, and finding a good new home for this beaver! Long may he live among sympathetic human friends!	We Love OurPatrons! "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."–Norman MacEwan We are very grateful for the summer donations and new memberships that have enabled us to purchase medical, in-care, and nutritional supplies. We thank: Karen Albers, Elaine Anderson, Nancy Battaile, Rich Beyer, Diana Bowen, Hilary & Susan Browning, David Burkhart, Claudia Burton, Jim Conley, Bill Cosby, Edward Crawford, Lisa Eckstein, Diane Elder, Jean Elvin, June Emerson, Darin Ferder, Kathryn & Willard Fox, Yvonne & Russell Graham, Carolyn Hahn, Bert & Jean Hegler, Eldon Isaacson, Robert and Sharon Mahoney, Sandee Martell, Timothy & Jaynette McKnight, Alex & Valoy Moneyhun, Johanna Plansoen, Kristina Primbs-Wetter, Al Prisco, Mary Rhode, Ted Richings, Joya Anne Rickaby, Jerome & Carol Schmidt, Daryll Smith, Annette Vasseur, Dan & Deborah West, Robert & Phyllis Willner, and Lola & Albert Worth. We also greatly appreciate Casey Brisbin of IMEX America, who supplied us with valuable plywood for building cages and aviaries. The generous staff at LifeSource Natural Foods has given us hundreds of dollars' worth of fresh fruit for our hungry birds and mammals. Melanie Smith would like to thank the following volunteers who helped her put the new roof on her outdoor raccoon pen: Don and Sherri Antieau-Fox, Anne and Brian Pope, Mike Brewer, and Jon Pope. Melanie says, "I send Larry and Jan Williamson special kudos for helping me with a very special-needs raccoon who is going strong against all odds and serves as an inspiration to those of us who occasionally feel like walking away from wildlife rehab because of its overwhelming nature at times." Newsletter Editor Maggie Meikle thanks Jim and Heather at Ink Spot Printing. They donate all the scanning work for our photographs and give Maggie good advice about desktop publishing, not to mention a very reasonable price for publishing Wild Times. Thanks, Jim and Heather, for your generosity!! Honoring Our Helpline Volunteers... A worried person called today, they didn’t know what to do or say. A bird has fallen into their yard, just watching it stay there is very hard. Should they leave it and walk away, or should they help this bird today? They called a number that they had, and the answer they heard made them very glad! It’s just a teen bird who is leaving its nest, leave it alone and the parents will do the rest. The person felt better that they knew what to do, And it made their day brighter to know others cared, too! Thank you for all the phone calls you take, for both the people and the animals’ sake. You’re wonderful and caring and this gift that you give, makes life all the sweeter for the creatures that live! --Reva Lux
Dibs and Dabblers We send warmest get well wishes to Susie Hardin. Susie is a very gifted rehabilitator, and we hope she’ll be back on her feet very, very soon! Deer and Waterfowl Rehabilitator Mary Bliss would like to thank her family and friends for their stalwart support of her work caring for wildlife. Besides volunteering for SWRA, Mary holds down a full time job, has a big family, and a farm. Did you know that All of our rehabilitators–indeed, all of the active SWRA members–are VOLUNTEERS? No one at SWRA is paid to help wildlife. Spring and summer rehab is a huge commitment and one that is impossible to undertake without a support system at home, because that’s where wildlife rehab takes place!	Who Do You Call? If you find an animal needing assistance, please contact the WILDLIFE HELPLINE, 503-856-8242. HELPLINE volunteers will triage your call and refer you to the appropriate rehabilitator if the situation requires in-care treatment. Many situations can be resolved through triage. By law, SWRA can only treat and release native wildlife. However, we will help you find humane solutions for non-native animals in distress. This fawn was found by the side of a road, dehydrated and weak. Blood stains on the pavement and no sign of mom meant it was time to help. Rehabber Mary Sterling has done a fine job caring for this little guy.
Capturing the Summer of 2003 by Maggie Meikle, Wild Times Editor "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." –Mahatma Gandhi This summer, Mary Sterling cared for 35 ducks, four deer, four chipmunks, eight Western Gray Squirrels, five American Crows, ten Scrub Jays, and a Common Raven. Besides volunteering for SWRA, Mary is a full time law student. Tari Edmonds cared for 513 birds this summer, releasing 396 of them. She is still working with three Violet-green Swallows, eight Barn Swallows, a Western Meadowlark, two Cedar Waxwings, two American Goldfinches, and a cat-attacked Rufous Hummingbird. So, you read all about us in the newsletter and wonder what we look like. You don’t? Well, I would, but then I’ve been living with house cats for so long that I’m bound to have absorbed their natural curiosity! Left to right: Mary Sterling, licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator–deer, crows, ducks, geese; Jan Williamson, Board Treasurer, helpline volunteer, animal rescue and holding house volunteer, rehab assistant and much more; Trina Brown, expectant mother, Board Secretary, helpline and holding house volunteer and much more; Joni Brewer, licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator–waterfowl, volunteer coordinator, Board Vice President, helpline and holding house volunteer and much more; Tari Edmonds, Board President, licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator–songbirds; Karen Costa, federally and state licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator–raptors, gulls, herons.	Sherri Antieau-Fox Sherri is a talented photographer, rescue volunteer, fundraiser, and much more! Darcy Toronto is a licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator who cared for and released 20 skunks this summer. Brave woman! Did you know that the skunk’s Latin name, Mephitis mephitis, means, "noxious gas?" Melanie Smith is a licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator who works with raccoons. Boy, does she work with raccoons! She has cared for 30 abandoned, injured, orphaned, and sick raccoons this summer.
Novelist Henry James said, “Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” These SWRA volunteers are role models to us all. They manage their families, their paid jobs, their social obligations, and their volunteer wildlife rehabilitation work with grace, competence, and goodwill. How fortunate we are in our community to have these wonderfully kind, giving, compassionate people caring for our wildlife!
The Most Common Causes of Wildlife Injuries: 1. Collisions with man-made objects 2. Cat and dog attacks 3. Shooting and trapping 4. Poisoning 5. Pollution Darcy feeds an infant skunk. Mary Bliss is a licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator who specializes in deer and waterfowl. Besides doing rehab, Mary is our helpline volunteer scheduler, does fundraising, and participates in many rescues and happily, many releases, as well! This summer, Mary took care of 58 (58!!) ducklings, 15 Canada goslings, and three deer. Yes, we rehab cougar, too! Sandy Johnson is our highly gifted large mammal rehabilitator. Helping hands for an orphaned Canada gosling. "Please keep me inside so I won’t be tempted to hunt birds and small mammals! I’m a predator, but I’m not native to Oregon, so I don’t belong in the local ecosystem. I just want to belong to you and a comfy chair!"	"To rehabilitate means to restore to health. Wildlife rehabilitators rescue and rehabilitate sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife. They release healthy animals back to the wild." –Shannon Jacobs The heart and soul of SWRA is Reva Lux, who has been a federally and state licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator for almost 20 years. She is a founding member of SWRA and continues to be our invaluable mentor, staunch supporter, and good friend! Melanie Smith is a licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator who works with raccoons. Boy, does she work with raccoons! She has cared for 30 abandoned, injured, orphaned, and sick raccoons this summer. This youngster lost her mom to a poacher. She was lucky enough to be brought to Mary Sterling, who finished raising her before release into the wild. Thank goodness for goat’s milk! This Western Gray squirrel baby and his sister were found in a nest on Mother’s Day. Another brother was found mauled by a cat a day earlier and did not survive. This squirrel was hypothermic, semi-comatose, and had a mouth filled with fly eggs. The mother squirrel had been hit by a car almost a week earlier. After Mary Sterling spent a long day warming, rehydrating, and picking out the fly eggs, baby started to respond. Two days later, he was playful and healthy and eventually released into the wild.