Wildlife
Rehabilitation Update - 1999
Dear Wildlife Rehabilitator,
This year saw 75 incoming injured, orphaned or problem animals received at Salmonier Nature Park. This number is down from the 94 received during the previous year.
Birds
We received 63 birds of which 20 succumbed to their injuries (1 was dead on arrival) and an additional 15 were euthanized due to the severity of injuries. Twenty-two birds were rehabilitated and released, one non-releasable bird, a male Bald Eagle, was donated to the Calgary Zoo and five birds remain in our care, with releases planned for two of these in the near future. A rough breakdown of incoming birds by order is as follows: Passerines - 24; Diurnal raptors - 15; Waterfowl - 6 ; Owls - 5; Gulls - 3 and others - 10.
In late April, two of our previous years releasable rehab birds (both Cattle Egrets), along with a rehabilitated Great Blue Heron from an offshore oil rig were released in the Codroy Valley. This successful event was conducted on our behalf by Gerry Yetman of the Eastern Habitat Joint Venture, and received favourable local media coverage.
Reptiles and Amphibians
Two incoming reptiles were received. A Garter Snake was retrieved at Witless Bay in August. This animal produced approximately two dozen young shortly after its arrival at our rehab centre. These were subsequently euthanized. We also received one Snapping Turtle, which apparently had been kept by a private individual who was unaware that this is an illegal pet on the Island. This animal was sent to a facility in Nova Scotia for subsequent release back to the wild.
Mammals
The remainder of our incoming animals were 10
mammals. These consisted of 5 "abandoned" or orphaned
young, 4 road-injured animals, and 1 problem animal. Of this number, 5 animals
died, 3 were released and 2 were maintained for display here at the Park. One of
these, an orphaned bull moose calf, was successfully bottle-raised and has
joined two female moose in our display enclosure.
Thank you
To the many local veterinarians and concerned citizens who have attended to and forwarded injured wild animals to us over the past year, a sincere thank you. Remember, if any of you are in this neighbourhood, we would appreciate your visits, whether to tour the park or just to say hello.
Sincerely,
Mac Pitcher
Animal Curator
