Passions

I have taken to scanning my previous posts to avoid writing about the same subject. What I have read leans toward cautionary tales of predation, destruction and decline; a rather negative perspective from one who loves the out of doors. As I have written previously, as a thinker, I look at all sides of an issue including those that have less than rosy outcomes. But what I haven’t written about as much is my passion for healing the natural world.

I stumbled upon wildlife rehabilitation more than twenty years ago. I had read about a local group that provided care for orphaned and injured animals and on more than one occasion, I attended get-togethers where the volunteers talked about the work they did. I loved the idea of rehabilitation but was held back by my fear of needles and blood. How much help could I provide if I passed out at the sight of an open wound?

Finally, I garnered enough courage and took on my first animal, an orphaned baby rabbit. Despite all my efforts, one morning I found the baby dead in the cage. Told not to give up, I was given a second with the same result. Then, I was provided a family of three bunnies. Two eventually succumbed but the third was successfully released. I was so excited.

Shortly after that, I took in three orphaned grey squirrels: Charlie, Ernie and Squirt. It was well into autumn and it was apparent that the three would not be ready for release before the snow came. In addition to providing food, medical care and shelter, the role of the rehabilitator is to ensure that the animal in care has sufficient skills to survive on their own. My little guys, only 6-7 weeks in age, showed little inclination to build nests with the materials I provided in their cage. The only answer was to house them for the winter.

So I built a release pen in my back yard, an 8’ x 6’ x 8’ structure of wood and hardware cloth. I placed a large, leaved branch inside the cage for climbing and hung a squirrel nest box in the back corner of the pen. Except for two ceramic bowls of water, only natural objects were placed inside the cage. I moved the three inside and watched. They immediately took to climbing and jumping and hanging from the top of the cage. That night all three climbed into the nest box to sleep. Food was now brought into the pen before they awoke, scattering it on the ground so that they could use their hunting skills to secure nourishment. I spent very time around them now for it was the stage in their development to learn independence and fear of humans. In my place, neighborhood squirrels climbed up the outside of the pen and gave my three the first opportunity to meet their new friends.

As the winter passed into spring, it was time to release my orphans. They had grown so much over the past eight months, now full size and feisty as they should be. One beautiful afternoon, I opened the release door at the top of the cage. Curious, the three poked their heads through and ventured outside. They scampered down the side and around the yard. In the evening, they returned to their nest box. This pattern was repeated for the next week until finally they returned no more.

It was sad to see them go but it was happy tears.  I had made a difference in the lives of these three little squirrels, a sense of satisfaction that I never got from donating to wildlife causes. For the next six seasons, I continued to rehabilitate, improving upon my skills. In the spring of my seventh season, family obligations forced me to give up my work and I never returned to rehabilitation.

But I stay connected, maintaining memberships in the two national organizations, reading rehabilitation journals and websites monitoring wildlife diseases. I remain strong in my belief for land and water protection to ensure that all wildlife have adequate habitat in which to live. So when I write about pesticide impacts and invasive species it comes from the point of view of a former rehabilitator. Nothing broke my heart more than to receive an animal harmed or orphaned due to human action. I know, deep down, that I will return one day to the work I love.