In the Middle of Baby Season

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Among the many orphans at FWMA right now are two very precious young deer.  This little girl has been at the center for about 3 weeks and is doing remarkably well.  Her mother was hit and killed by a car.  She had also been hit and suffered internal injuries, but as you can see, she is up and moving and recovering nicely!

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This little boy has a sad story;  like all mama deer, this mama put her boy in a safe spot and told him to stay there.   All mama deer do this – it’s their way of keeping their babies safe.  Fawns coats blend in so well with it’s surroundings and they have no scent, so most predators neither see or smell them.  And mama is good at leading predators away.  She comes back to feed the baby, then off she goes again – leaving him to sleep in peace and in safety…and then a well-intentioned human comes along.   They see the baby alone and believe it’s been abandoned.  They pick it up and take it home.  They try to feed it – cow’s milk – which is just about the worst thing that can be done.  The only thing that cow’s milk and deer milk have in common is that they are both called milk.  When you’re only a couple of days old, you NEED your mama and you need to be fed.  After just 24 hours on cow’s milk, the little thing started to decline, finally reaching a point where the good-intentioned person realized if they didn’t do something soon, the baby was going to die.  That’s when FWMA was called.  This little guy is not out of the woods yet, but he is hanging in there and the odds are now in his favor.

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But baby deer also face the opposite problem.  Being left alone for too long can have tragic consequences.  Sometimes something happens to mama – she doesn’t come back.  The baby gets hungry and goes off in search of food.  When they are very young, without food, they deteriorate rapidly in the kind of heat we’ve been having.  FWMA just had a baby come in that had been without food for about 4 days.  She was covered in maggots and ticks and was so compromised, Chris had hope in her heart that this little thing would make it, but her head told her the truth.  It was too late.  So…a little piece of advice – if you come across a baby deer and it’s in a concealed, safe location, just watch it for awhile.  Chances are you’ll discover that mama is closer than you think!  But if it really appears to be abandoned, do both yourself and the baby a huge favor - call a licenced rahabber!   

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Two days ago, a young hawk with a hurt wing hopped up onto someone’s porch and started crying.  The people could tell it had a serious injury and FWMA was brought in to catch it.  He is doing very well but chances are, this is going to be a permanent injury.

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A Great Horned Owl met a car head-on and of course, came out the loser.  He’s already had one surgery and is scheduled for another next week.  Please keep this beautiful bird in your thoughts are prayers.

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One of Florida’s summer visitors hasn’t had a very good time.  Another car collison, this one causing a wing injury and head trauma to a Mississippi Kite.  The wing is probably going to heal – but the trauma to the head has caused some vision problems.  Hope for a positive outcome for this guy, too!

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Also meeting a car, this adult gray fox has a fractured hip.  After being confined for about 2 weeks, he has just started standing again!  Hopes are high for a full recovery!

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A Barred Owl that has been in the center for about 2 months has started to show some wonderful improvement!   After hitting a car, he completely lost his vision.  His hearing is still finely turned and he’s been doing well, but just this week, he’s starting to see again!  After 2 months of waiting, hoping and   watching him closely, he’s getting his vision back and it looks like he could be returning to the wild soon!

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Another of the new oprhans – coming from St. George Island, is this absolutely darling baby Laughing Gull.  At least, we think it’s a Laughing Gull.  Chris has never had a baby gull before – lots and lots of juveniles – but never a baby!  He is just the cutest thing with his little duzzy head!

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The injured and orphaned animals just keep coming in.  It is the busiest time of year!  Nine baby raccoons – three are out with foster mom’s.

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Most of the 30+ possums have been released.

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Ten baby bunnies are now running wild and free!

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Too many baby birds to list – many have been raised and released, but they just keep coming!  Almost ready to go Orchard Orioles.

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Mockingbird and Blue Jay

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Cattle Egret

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Red-Tailed Hawk

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It was recently publicized that FWMA had a great many donations come in.   It was reported that $19,000.00 in donations have come in. What wasn’t reported is that the bulk of those donations were in manhours (and womanhours).   Here is the breakdown on the recent donations:

Each volunteer hour is worth 18.00 an hour.  FWMA had 80 people volunteering 8 hours each for a total of 640 hours=$11520.00 in donated labor costs.

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FWMA received 5400.00 in monetary donation

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FWMA received 2080.00 in in-kind donations – that is donations of lumber and building supplies, food, drink, water and ice for the volunteer crew.

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Most of the cash donations went to purchase lumber and supplies, but as you can see, things are shaping up!  For more on the FWMA Cage Makeovers, please visit:  www.wakullawildlife.org.

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FWMA can still use the following items:  

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Bleach (gallon size)

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Dawn Dishwashing Liquid

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Paper Towels (really, Bounty does hold up the best under the strenous comditions at FWMA and believe me, this time of year, they are going through them!!)

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Canned Fruit Cocktail

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Birdseed and Nuts and Berries

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Pedigree wet and dry food or Friskies wet or dry food

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Gift cards from local retailers – Ace Hardware, Wal-Mart, Winn-Dixie.  Please check the FWMA website for a complete list of needed items!  www.wakullawildlife.org

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To our faithful following of Bingo players that meet at Hamaknockers Oasis in Panacea every Thursday night at 6:00pm  -  if you would like to bring any of these items to Bingo with you over the next two weeks, I will make sure it gets to FWMA!  And your name will be entered into a drawing for a special guft basket!

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Thanks so much!  See ya at Bingo! Bring Paper Towels!!

Judy

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