From Squirrel to Raccoon and More
Cottontail rabbit
Our Directors brother called us when he noticed an injured rabbit outside of his work. At this time, our Director was just starting in the wildlife field and our organization was still being planned out. The injury described sounded severe, Dezerae decided she at least should take a look. She drove over with gloves and a carrier just in case. She followed the rabbit around a bit from a distance to get a look at his wounds. One of his legs was twisted horribly, barely hanging to his body and dragging behind him. At this time our Director did not have a live trap, which is how this rabbit should have been caught. So she had to make due with what she had, because no one else was going to go out and trap or catch an injured rabbit. His injury was not recent, and he hadn't been seen in the area before, so would likely not stick around for very long. Chasing and/or catching prey animals is extremely risky, they can become so scared they have a heart attack, or develop capture myopathy. Capture myopathy is a fatal condition resulting from extreme stress often associated with animal capture. Rabbits also have the ability to Unfortunately this little rabbits injuries did not appear to be something fixable, he was simply suffering. The goal was to get him to a veterinarian for humane treatment. So our director made the decision to try to catch him. He was going under a fence and continued to go back and forth. Our director had her brother go to the other side of the fence to scare him under to her side. There she waited with a pair of gloves. He ran under her feet and into a pile of scrap metal. Our director was able to move a piece and saw him, and just like that she snatched him up, threw a towel over him to calm him, and then got him into a carrier. Thankfully his capture was a very quick process because he was so injured. In most cases if wildlife can run from you that do not need any help. The Veterinarian was not open until the next day, so over the night he was placed in a cage with a hide box, soft blankets, plenty of water and delicious food. He had a great appetite and seemed to know we were here to help.
Upon taking him in to a veterinarian we were able to get a better look at his injures. His back leg had been broken some time ago, twisted and dragged about so much that the bone had punctured through the skin. Either the weight of the disfigured limb, or the original injury, had caused his other back foot to to become bent awkwardly, it was bloody and rubbed raw down to the bone. How that little bunny was even still walking was beyond us. He had to be in excruciating pain all the time. He was thin and malnourished and likely suffered from other issues we could not see with just a physical exam. He was humanely euthanized.
Some weeks later we were called again by our directors brother, Cory, about some rabbits in distress. This time it was a group of babies in a nest. It was starting to rain, and mom had made their nest in a very small drainage ditch. The drain off was already surrounding the nest, threatening to flood it. Thankfully, with our help and the work crews quick thinking, they were able find the other end that had been plugged, they unplugged it, draining most of the water away from the nest. This allowed their mom to get down into the drain. Their mama, sensing the danger, immediately started to move her babies out of the ditch and off to somewhere safe. She was able to get every one of her little babies to safety.
Upon taking him in to a veterinarian we were able to get a better look at his injures. His back leg had been broken some time ago, twisted and dragged about so much that the bone had punctured through the skin. Either the weight of the disfigured limb, or the original injury, had caused his other back foot to to become bent awkwardly, it was bloody and rubbed raw down to the bone. How that little bunny was even still walking was beyond us. He had to be in excruciating pain all the time. He was thin and malnourished and likely suffered from other issues we could not see with just a physical exam. He was humanely euthanized.
Some weeks later we were called again by our directors brother, Cory, about some rabbits in distress. This time it was a group of babies in a nest. It was starting to rain, and mom had made their nest in a very small drainage ditch. The drain off was already surrounding the nest, threatening to flood it. Thankfully, with our help and the work crews quick thinking, they were able find the other end that had been plugged, they unplugged it, draining most of the water away from the nest. This allowed their mom to get down into the drain. Their mama, sensing the danger, immediately started to move her babies out of the ditch and off to somewhere safe. She was able to get every one of her little babies to safety.
Buddy the fox squirrel
Buddy was a usual attendee at our President's bird feeder, when one day he showed up very injured, with a broken tail and wounds from being shot by a pellet gun. For 3 days our Team tried to catch him, until at last they were successful.
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After a trip to the veterinarian, x-rays, and an antibiotic shot, Buddy was deemed releasable and was kept at a rehabilitation facility for two weeks to heal up.
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At last he was able to be released back into our Presidents yard, where he still visits, recognizable by his permanent tail injury.
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Coopers Hawk
This adult Coopers Hawk was running around down town Colorado Springs, amidst heavy traffic with a badly injured wing
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Our Team was able to capture him in under an hours time, and transport him to the nearest Raptor Rehabilitation Center which is located in Pueblo Colorado
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Unfortunately, this little one had not only a wing broken in two places, but a shattered sternum, and was extremely malnourished. If left in the wild, he likely would have spent several remaining days slowly starving. He was humanely euthanized.
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Raccoons
This young raccoon was likely hit by a car, and suffered from a broken back. State Wildlife officials did not have the resources to pick him up, or even humanely euthanize him. The only medium mammal rehabber in the area was already full for the
season and was unable to take him. Our Team went out and captured him, and spent over 5 hours searching for a Veterinarian willing to see him. Unfortunately his injuries were not repairable, and he was humanely euthanized.
season and was unable to take him. Our Team went out and captured him, and spent over 5 hours searching for a Veterinarian willing to see him. Unfortunately his injuries were not repairable, and he was humanely euthanized.
Last week we got a message on our page about a wounded raccoon hanging out in a parking lot. For the past several hours, the employees of the establishment called the department of wildlife, animal control, state patrol, the humane society, other rehabbers and veterinarians to no avail. Their last ditch effort was to search on facebook and that's how they found us. One of our team members immediately left and went to the business to take a look. It was obvious he had several injuries and had likely been hit by a car. He was about a year old male, and the biggest raccoon we've worked with yet. After almost an hour of unsuccessful attempts to catch him, our team member called in some back up and we sent out another member. Once there was two it took less than 10 minutes for us to catch him and get him into a carrier. From there we called around until we found a Wildlife Rehabber in Woodland Park that could take him. Due to his injuries, he was humanely euthanized. His injuries had already started to heal, meaning it had already been some days since he was hit, and he was just suffering. The endings we see with wildlife are not always the happiest, but we are still glad we could bring this one some peace and a humane passing.
Bull Snake
This Bull Snake was persistently staying in a yard where he was very unwelcome, so our President caught him and relocated him to one of our members garden's.
Fox Squirrel
One morning a very injured squirrel showed up in our Founder's backyard. His back legs had been injured somehow, and he was having a very hard time walking or even standing. He did not even try to move away when our Founder approached him to take a look at him. We were able to capture him and get him to a Veterinarian where he was humanely euthanized due to his injuries.
Bushy Tailed WoodRat AKA Pack Rat
The first call to our Wildlife Response Team in 2019. We were called out to help this little girl, who was mistaken as a chinchilla at first. However, she is really a Bushy Tailed WoodRat, a species native to Colorado. She was lying in the middle of a parking lot. At times she would seem unresponsive and to pass out, when alert and moving she was having trouble walking. We drove out and picked her up and started reaching out to rehabbers. Some of our local rehabbers did not want to rehab her because she is a rat, others were to full or not accepting temporarily.
This is why we are opening a wildlife rehabilitation center (we have had all inspections and are awaiting approval at this point). This is also why we have started a Response Team. We will not discriminate.
We were able to find a rehabber that would accept her. She had likely gotten lost in the large parking lot, and had become dehydrated and disoriented. After a few days in rehab with food and water, she was as good as new and released.
This is why we are opening a wildlife rehabilitation center (we have had all inspections and are awaiting approval at this point). This is also why we have started a Response Team. We will not discriminate.
We were able to find a rehabber that would accept her. She had likely gotten lost in the large parking lot, and had become dehydrated and disoriented. After a few days in rehab with food and water, she was as good as new and released.
Fawn
The second call of the season was our first fawn call. We received a message about a fawn in the middle of town. A concerned individual was worried that, due to its location, people would try to mess with it. Most fawns brought to rehabbers are unfortunately kidnapped, and not really abandoned or in need of rescue. Mom deer will often leave their babies for hours, which leads to people thinking they are abandoned.
We decided to drive out and have a look. The fawn appeared healthy but was unfortunately in a very public spot. We searched the area for any signs of an injured/killed deer. There was none, which was a great sign. We camped out a few parking lots away, just close enough to observe the surrounding area to make sure no one bothered the little fawn. We were sure mom just hadn't realized she'd left her little one in such a bad spot, and would likely be back once there were less people and cars. We waited a couple hours until it it was so late/early that there were no more people or cars going through the area. We decided the fawn was okay, and mom was more likely to come back with us gone, so we left. We checked back a few hours later, in the early morning, and the fawn was gone. We are sure mom came back and took her fawn to a safer location.
We decided to drive out and have a look. The fawn appeared healthy but was unfortunately in a very public spot. We searched the area for any signs of an injured/killed deer. There was none, which was a great sign. We camped out a few parking lots away, just close enough to observe the surrounding area to make sure no one bothered the little fawn. We were sure mom just hadn't realized she'd left her little one in such a bad spot, and would likely be back once there were less people and cars. We waited a couple hours until it it was so late/early that there were no more people or cars going through the area. We decided the fawn was okay, and mom was more likely to come back with us gone, so we left. We checked back a few hours later, in the early morning, and the fawn was gone. We are sure mom came back and took her fawn to a safer location.
