This young female bobcat came to EWRC for rehab a couple of months ago after she and her sibling were hit by a car on C-470 near Morrison. Sadly, the sibling died at the scene. The surviving cat was taken to Deer Creek Animal Hospital of Littleton, where Dr. Brod performed very complex surgery to repair two broken legs. The vets and staff at Deer Creek provided excellent treatment, as usual. The cat weighed 7 pounds when she arrived here to rehab; very small indeed! She benefited from a very secure and low-stress environment, and was fed proper bobcat food. Although her injuries were severe and her rehab course was complicated, she quickly gained weight and had doubled in size by the time of her final recheck at Deer Creek. Care had to be taken to allow her some activity but not too much, as displacement of Dr. Brod’s carefully-placed surgical pins would be disastrous. The cat has now completed her rehab at EWRC, and is currently working on strengthening her muscles and preparing for release. Donations to feed her during her final phase of rehab are greatly appreciated. Good towels and blankets are appreciated, as we need to replenish the linen supply, and donations for the purchase of food can be mailed to EWRC, PO Box 75069, Co. Spgs. CO 80970, write BOBCAT on the memo line. Also, coming soon to the EWRC website is the Bobcat Rehab Cam-check back!
Ben and Troop 123 built 25 owl boxes, just in time for winter enclosure prep! Troop 123 Scouts have been volunteering and helping us out for almost 5 years.
Frank Dodge shares his pix of subpermittee/volunteer Cheryl and Nadine, and Phil and Kickstand (below) at the Wild Bird Center Creatures of the Night program.
Brian Kerrigan shares his pix of subpermittee/volunteer Diana and Nadine Saw Whet Owl at Cheyenne Mountain State Park Creatures of the Night program.
We’re still keeping busy around here! Critters still arriving for rehab, others being released, and projects/winterizing going on, too. We’re busy planning environmental edu and outreach programs for 2009, and are very excited to partner once again with Indigo Mountain Nature Center for a major cooperative effort in education in 2009. We’ll keep you posted!
Celebrating a red-tailed hawk release after several weeks in rehab. A concerned hunter notified the DOW that there was an injured hawk at the roadside in Peyton. DOW officer Aaron brought the hawk to rehab all those weeks ago and now gives the bird a send-off!
This is what it’s all about-quality of life! The hawk flew to a nearby tree and gathered its bearings before soaring high and wide, until it was out of sight.
Ferruginous hawk came to rehab after being cut out of barbed wire fence in Simla. So many of these barbed wire birds don’t make it. So far so good with this one; no broken bones or dislocations, but some pretty substantial soft tissue damage when he came to rehab. He’s outside now and looking good, working on flying and landing.
Well, we’re still keeping busy during this fall season. The weather’s been pretty decent, no blizzards yet, but critters are still arriving to rehab pretty regularly. Some songbirds have missed their migration due to injury or illness and will be wintered over. Other birds and mammals are still being released back to the wild for another chance at life.