Wildlives November News Letter

LEAFLETS

A lot of effort has been going into the production of leaflets to help inform and educate the public in the protection and care of all species of wildlife. There will be four 4-page A5 leaflets produced and they are:-

1. Who are Wildlives, what do they do and how you can help.

2. Hedgehogs, helping make safe gardens, encouraging and how to help sick and injured.

3. Is it an Orphan? If you disturb a family, how to assess, how to help.

4. Casualties, when to intervene, handling, protecting and seeking professional help and advice.

The production of these leaflets is well under way and if you would like to have a copy(ies) please send a stamped self-addressed C5 envelope to Rosie. They are also available on this web site under Help Sheets

RESTRICTED ADMISSIONS

The centre is still not fully back to normal operation and the RSPCA have been advised that any cases that they need to bring to Wildlives must be between 10 am. and 5 pm. The Centre will only consider admissions from the public that have been previously arranged. With the restriction in the numbers of cases accepted, the overall numbers of animals treated over the same period last year is down by some 200-250. It is hoped that Wildlives will be back on course very soon.

	TAWNY OWL (ONE EYE)
	Having made an amazing recovery after the removal of one of her eyes due to excessive damage, 'One-Eye', as she has now been called was considered ready for release at the Centre. The timing of the release of Owls has to be well planned, not too late in the evening when it may be too dark to see if the owl has got into difficulties and not too early when other birds are about as they would mob the owl causing unnecessary stress. It has been found that the ideal time is when there are one or two blackbirds still about who will usually put out an alarm call near the owl, which tells you where the owl has flown to. You may remember Eric, another Tawny Owl, released earlier at the Centre, he is still about and is sometimes fed by Rosie. On the night of 'One-Eye's' release, Eric was already flying over the site and took food from Rosie. He then followed Rosie and a volunteer back to the enclosure that Bracken used to have and settled on one of the fence posts. Rosie opened One-Eye's pen and she flew straight over towards Eric and they both flew together around the site in the light of a full moon occasionally settling in trees and hedges.
Rosie watched her 'Harry Potter' themed pair flying around for 20 minutes or so and then left them to their future happy in the knowledge that all had turned out so well for them both.

Baby Hedgehog

A newborn baby hedgehog was brought to the Centre after the mother and her siblings were dug up by a JCB type machine. The mother and all but one of the siblings were unfortunately killed. The lone survivor has been called 'JCB' and she had two horrendously deep wounds the length and breadth of her body. They were cleaned and treated but little hope was given for her survival. But even small newborn JCB's are made of strong stuff and she has gone on 'like a train' Rosie tells me and has put on a lot of weight.

CHAIN REACTION

Wildlife this year has had a terrible time due to the extended periods of dry weather. The bottom of the food chain such as slugs, snails, invertebrates and worms have had a hard time surviving. The further up the chain the worse it gets until you get to the top where there is starvation among the Raptors. During the last few days 5 young Kestrels, all in emaciated states have been brought to Rosie for care. Two of them died soon after admission despite intensive care, rehydration and feeding. It seems that although the older birds are suffering they are just coping with the situation but the young birds do not seem to have the same ability to find sufficient food to maintain their body weight.

PEAK PERIOD
Now is the start of the Hedgehog increase in intake due to injuries sustained from many sources. The hedgehog is host to many conditions which, when healthy, cause no problem to the animal but when they suffer injury or stress these underlying conditions cause a string of events that strain the animals immunity and finish up with Rosie in intensive care.

BONFIRE NIGHT
Sometimes, warnings of dire happenings seem to be over-the-top and just a matter of common sense. The lessons have not been learnt however when it comes to the care needed when you have a bonfire, and with the 5th November nearly upon us we must take the following care.

Don't build your bonfire in the place where you will burn it until the day you are having your party, then you will not burn any hedgehogs . Please search the surrounding area very carefully as well! Pet owners always keep their pets indoors to lessen the fright that they suffer when loud bangers explode - Who will protect the wildlife? Will you, by not buying the louder banging fireworks?

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