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Animals in the city don't
always need saving, but St. Francis - and you - can help when
they do Were you led blindfolded into the St. Francis
Wildlife hospital, you'd still have a good idea of where you
might be. Then there's the noise. It's a cacophony of crows cawing, ducks quacking, gulls shrieking, opossums hissing, woodpeckers tapping, pelicans clacking, turtles scuffling and a baby wildcat caterwauling. And that's before the door to the songbird room swings open and a wave of chirping and peeping rolls over you like a wave. The 26-year-old nonprofit rescue operation is, however, more than a distinctive place in rural Gadsden County. During the spring and summer, it's also an incredibly busy one. "We get so many calls this time of year," says Jon Johnson, the center's executive director and only full-time wildlife rehabilitator, as he picks up a yowling baby bobcat found beside a road. People call them to come get an orphaned baby bird, remove a snake, help an injured owl, capture an emu. Hold on - an emu? Yes, an emu (think Big Bird on a bad day). Three emus, actually. Last year, the center cared for nearly 4,000 sick, injured or orphaned animals, from emus to hummingbirds, bald eagles to albino pythons. "It's kind of like, who you gonna call?" says Johnson, a silver-haired, soft-spoken man. "If we don't do it, I don't know who would." About a third of the animals are retrieved by St. Francis workers (which usually means Johnson or one of several part-time employees) in response to emergency calls. The rest of the animals are picked up from its drop-off point at the Northwood Animal Hospital at 1881 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Injured, sick or orphaned wildlife can be dropped off there, without charge, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. St. Francis houses many of the smaller animals in cages (some individual) inside its 3,600-square-foot hospital. Others, such as the three emus, occupy outside enclosures. Its 42 outdoor pens (some the size of a house; others, a large bathroom) line a long, winding dirt path that meanders through some of the 35 wooded acres that house the entire rehabilitation operation. The outside enclosures hold scores of hawks, owls, shorebirds, songbirds, deer, pigs, peacocks and more. But sometimes, Johnson says, people are too quick to whisk away a baby wild thing, or remove a harmless adult, from its home turf. You don't want to remove a baby - or a harmless adult, which may have babies somewhere - from its home unless there's a problem. Because once workers at St. Francis heal an animal, their goal is to release it back into the wild. That's where this story comes in. What follows are guidelines that can help you decide whether to intervene - and if so, what to do - should you come across a baby bird or rabbit, an injured turtle, or adult raccoon. For more guidelines, you also can visit the St. Francis web site at www.stfrancis wildlife.org. Baby birds If you spot a feathery young bird with a short tail - a fledgling - hopping around outside, observe before you intervene. It may not be an orphan. It may be learning to be independent. Its parents may be very close at hand, watching their teenager fend for itself, providing food on an as-needed basis. In a few days, the teen may be able to be completely on its own. So, if there are no dangers around - cats, dogs, cars - you needn't do anything. If it isn't hopping around, however, but is just a ball of peeping fluff, perhaps it did fall from its nest. Again, if there are no dangers about, watch it from a distance for an hour or so. Its mother may return. If the baby is still there after an hour, however, look around for its nest. If you spot it, pick the baby up and put it back. It's a myth, says St. Francis education director Sandy Beck, that if you touch a baby bird the parents won't accept it. If you can't find the nest, Beck suggests you try this: Get a small container such as those that strawberries are sold in, or an empty margarine tub. Poke a few drainage holes in it, if necessary, then add some grass or pine straw. Put the baby bird in the container. Place the baby in its makeshift nest in a shady spot of the tree or bush closest to where you found it. If needed, use wire to attach it. Then wait for an hour or two to see if the parents return. You must stay away, though, they will not come back while you're around. If the parents don't return, or if you find an injured songbird, place it in a small covered box with air holes punched in the lid. Keep it someplace warm and quiet. Perhaps most important, do not try to give it any food or water. Birds, Beck says, breathe through a hole in their tongues. Water placed in its mouth will be inhaled. Take the boxed-up bird to the Northwood Animal Hospital or call St. Francis. Baby bunnies Before you mow in the spring and summer, walk around your yard. You may discover a baby bunny curled up in a bed of leaves. If you do, it's probably near its nest. When rabbits are about two weeks old, they begin to explore outside their nests, which are small, bowl-shaped holes about 5-inches deep, dug out by their mothers and lined with grass and even some of the mother's own soft fur. Bunnies are actually independent at three weeks of age, or when about four inches long in a sitting position. Before it's independent, however, the rabbit's only defense outside its nest is to freeze and hope that you, the predator, don't see it and go away. Its mother may even dart in front of you, trying to lure you away from her baby. But mother rabbits don't stay with their babies all the time. So if you spot a baby rabbit, and it's not injured or in danger, leave it be. Keep watch from a distance. Hopefully, its mother will return and continue to care for it as needed. If you suspect the parent is gone (perhaps killed), St. Francis recommends you put a string over the nest. If, by the following morning, the string hasn't moved or the babies are cool and clearly hungry, they need help. Bring them - or any injured rabbits - to St. Francis or the Northwood Animal Hospital. Turtles If you've been a driver for very long, you know the scenario. You're tooling down the road and there it is: a poor turtle trying to cross a busy road. If you stop, Johnson recommends, take a few minutes to really think through what you plan to do. You'll want to approach the turtle from the rear; note which direction it's headed; make sure you place it in the direction it's heading in. During spring, turtles are looking for mates and habitat; it is purposefully traveling somewhere. And always watch out for traffic. If the turtle has been hit and its shell cracked, Beck recommends you lightly tape the shell together, put the turtle in a box and take it to either St. Francis or the Northwood Animal Hospital. The tape will help prevent the turtle from becoming dehydrated. But it will have to be removed as soon as a professional is reached, for the wound beneath will need cleaning to prevent infection. Do not put the turtle in your trunk. Exhaust fumes, and possible heat stroke, make that a bad idea. Raccoons Raccoons can transmit rabies, a potentially deadly disease. When infected, raccoons can appear disoriented and unsteady on their feet. Yet even if they appear normal, do not pick them up or attempt to handle either adults or babies. Raccoons (together with skunks, bats, foxes and coyotes) offer perhaps the greatest potential for transmitting rabies to people. (Florida's squirrels, rabbits and opossums, on the other hand, have not been known to carry rabies.) During the spring, Johnson said, St. Francis gets a surprising number of calls about raccoons. People spot an adult raccoon near their house or somewhere they don't remember ever seeing one. They worry it may be rabid. Here's what may be happening, Johnson said. Baby raccoons, born in spring, are most at risk from predators during the night. Their moms, who would normally be hunting for food at night, may temporarily switch to daytime foraging so they can stay with their babies after dark. Perhaps the raccoon you're seeing during the day is a regular visitor to the same area late at night, when you're sleeping. If you have any concerns about a particular raccoon, however, do not hesitate to call St. Francis or animal control. For more information about rabies transmission, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention site at www.cdc.gov. HOW TO HELP EMERGENCY WILDLIFE CONTACTS: St. Francis Wildlife: 386-6296 Northwood Animal Hospital: 385-7387 On the web, go to www.stfrancis wildlife.org HELP AN ANIMAL: If you spot an injured animal, but must leave: Mark it in some way for the rescuer. Note mileage from the animal to the nearest landmark. Call St. Francis immediately. ANOTHER WAY TO HELP Attend a benefit for St. Francis Wildlife at 11 a.m. to past midnight on June 14 at the American Legion Hall at Lake Ella. The cost is $10.
Contact Reporter Kathleen Laufenberg at (850) 599-2375 or klaufenberg@tallahassee.com.
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