Since the last update, LWR has taken in only two additional animals—another flying squirrel and a DOA Eurasian collared dove—and we have 3 gray squirrels in release phase and 3 in pre-release, including the two sibs from the last update. If you recall, they came in with bloody noses and one had a broken arm. I’m happy to report that the broken arm healed nicely: you’d never know it had ever been broken, since he doesn’t even favor it now. Young animals heal so quickly, given a safe haven while the healing takes place!
Next week the Great Horned owl (GHO) will go back for x-rays to determine the status of her leg. This is causing quite a bit of suspense, as we’re hoping it’s healing properly but won’t know for sure until it’s x-rayed. If it’s not showing signs of healing after 4 weeks in a splint, we have no choice but to euthanize.
I can just hear some of you now, wondering, “But why? If she’s an imprint and not a candidate for release, why not just amputate the leg?”
Well, for starters, it’s against federal law. That’s the simple explanation. The reason it’s against federal law is the more complicated explanation. You see, birds of any kind—songbird or raptor—don’t ever really sit down. They’re always standing, shifting their weight from one leg to the other and sometimes pulling one leg into their chests to put all their weight on the other leg. To take away one leg means all the weight is always on that one good leg, which can cause all sorts of foot problems and severe pain for the bird. Furthermore, raptors use their feet to hold their prey so they can tear bits off to eat. A raptor with only one good leg faces a double whammy of inability to properly hold its food AND the very real risk of severe and painful foot infections. So it’s just more humane to put the bird down rather than have it face a life of constant infections and pain. See? Sometimes federal law DOES make sense!
Next week the Great Horned owl (GHO) will go back for x-rays to determine the status of her leg. This is causing quite a bit of suspense, as we’re hoping it’s healing properly but won’t know for sure until it’s x-rayed. If it’s not showing signs of healing after 4 weeks in a splint, we have no choice but to euthanize.
I can just hear some of you now, wondering, “But why? If she’s an imprint and not a candidate for release, why not just amputate the leg?”
Well, for starters, it’s against federal law. That’s the simple explanation. The reason it’s against federal law is the more complicated explanation. You see, birds of any kind—songbird or raptor—don’t ever really sit down. They’re always standing, shifting their weight from one leg to the other and sometimes pulling one leg into their chests to put all their weight on the other leg. To take away one leg means all the weight is always on that one good leg, which can cause all sorts of foot problems and severe pain for the bird. Furthermore, raptors use their feet to hold their prey so they can tear bits off to eat. A raptor with only one good leg faces a double whammy of inability to properly hold its food AND the very real risk of severe and painful foot infections. So it’s just more humane to put the bird down rather than have it face a life of constant infections and pain. See? Sometimes federal law DOES make sense!
The red screech owl, during a follow-up visit to Smalley’s, was diagnosed with a luxated lens. Basically, this means the trauma to his eye was so severe that the lens was ripped loose and displaced. And yep, this means he’s blind in that eye and may eventually develop glaucoma and/or a cataract. As long as he’s in no pain, he can still be groomed for use as an educational bird, though. At the moment, his eye has improved considerably in appearance, at least, If you’ll recall, he couldn’t even open it in the photos I posted in the last update. At left and below are some shots of him a week ago and two days ago.
Close-up a week ago
'If I fluff up, that camera thingy won't steal my food!'
Close-up two days ago
And finally, we have more photos of the flyers, who are very active little rascals…at night. Remember, they’re nocturnal, as if those huge, dark eyes didn’t give that away! They’re eating solids in addition to their formula and are down to three formula feedings a day. Notice in the photos that their fur looks oily or greasy. No one fully understands why their fur looks this way, although several other rehabbers I’ve talked with speculate it could have something to do with their aerodynamics. Despite its oily look, their fur is actually very, very soft. And if you’ll take a close look at their tails, you can see that they’re flat, unlike the bushy plumes of their diurnal cousins the grays. Actually, I’ve always thought their tails resembled furry feathers. A flying squirrel’s tail acts as a rudder while it’s gliding; if the flyer loses its tail it can still glide but cannot control its direction.
Just hangin' out...
Hurry! Inside! Blasted paparazzi!
RSS Feed
