11

Cameo Shots and Comical Logs

The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it.

PSALM 24:1

Woods cameras are wonderful at capturing cameo shots of wildlife that you and I otherwise might not get to see. I got our Stealth Cam (one brand, although there are others) as a birthday gift for my husband so he could track the movements of deer out back. He used it less than he thought he would, however, so he regifted it to me to keep track of my released rehab beasts.

I load batteries into the Stealth Cam, strap it to a handy tree, and let it do its thing while I stay inside, warm and dry. It will take pictures or videos, and we enjoy both. The discoveries I make from a single night’s worth of photos are both fascinating and reassuring.

Discovery #1: No bears are currently hanging around the supplement feeding area toward which I angled the camera. (Very reassuring! I won’t think about any angles the camera isn’t capturing.)

Discovery #2: All four of this year’s released juvenile raccoons are still alive and are looking fat and sassy as they play around in the weather creek and wade in the pond. (Very reassuring! Yes, I can usually tell my current season’s charges from other raccoons, either by their size and unique facial features, or by the distinctive ring patterns on their tails. A positive identification naturally gets harder the longer they are out and about on their own.)1

Discovery #3: The fox that recently ate six of my chickens is still in residence and also looking fat and sassy. (Not so reassuring!) It’s a good thing I had a baker’s dozen chickens to begin with, or I’d be out of eggs for sure. But wow, what a gorgeous animal the well-fed fox is!2

Discovery #4: Again, no bears are currently hanging around the supplement feeding area toward which I angled the camera. (Again, very reassuring!)

Discovery #5: The area’s resident porcupine apparently gets the supplement feed all to itself when it comes around. No other animals are ever within sight of it. (Who can blame them?)

Discovery #6: What is that? Good grief, could it be a lone wolf moving through the area, which happens now and again? (Not at all reassuring! Some people who saw this cameo shot thought it was a large coyote instead, but several wildlife people who watched it voted wolf.)3

Discovery #7: Aha! Still true that no bears are currently hanging around the supplement feeding area toward which I angled the camera. (Still very reassuring!)

Discovery #8: This year’s Ringtail Gang apparently has made the acquaintance of last year’s Ringtail Gang or some wild-born raccoons. All eight ring-tailed beasts in the cameo shot are looking fat and sassy.

Discovery #9: The barred owl (no dummy, and very majestic) is haunting the trees just above the pond where many dinner-sized critters come to drink. This owl will answer me when I call. (I made that discovery one day by hooting at it in a poor imitation of its distinctive barred owl call, but it acknowledged my efforts anyway.)

Discovery #10: And one more time, no bears are currently hanging around the supplement feeding area toward which I angled the camera. (And always very reassuring!)

And so it goes with the woods camera. As soon as a wild animal crosses the sensor, the camera captures a cameo shot or a video far more entertaining to watch than TV. Sometimes I position the camera by the little drinking pond, sometimes by the squirrel cage, sometimes by the raccoon feeding station, and sometimes in the old orchard that the deer dearly love. Then all I have to do is retrieve the SD card on one of my walks and pop it into my computer. Instantly, we can see who is doing what and where out in the backwoods. The woods camera gives me an even bigger window into the fascinating world of wildlife, a window I never tire of looking through.

Laugh-Inducing Daily Logs

Delving into the pages of my daily animal care logs is another way to get a quick and often funny peek at what goes on in and around the Lion’s Den. I keep daily logs for a number of important reasons, and they differ from the call logs in the previous chapter because they detail the animals I actually take in. They cover every wild animal every season, recording their care and feeding from intake all the way to release and often beyond. The entries are useful for future reference, should medical or other questions arise about either the humans or creatures involved in the different scenarios. They also refresh my memory about what worked and what didn’t with certain species, ages, and stages, and they help me document the statistics necessary for the yearly reporting requirements in my state.

Beyond the practical reasons for keeping daily logs, going back and reading through them provides me with some laughs after the fact. There are a fair number of sad or difficult moments that come any rehabber’s way when dealing with wild animals in crisis, so I find it especially encouraging to take time to celebrate the successful moments and laugh at the comical moments.

Nothing makes me smile as much as going back and reading about the “live and learn” lessons the various gangs of baby raccoons have taught me over subsequent seasons. They alternately surprise, delight, and dismay me at every turn. There seems to be no end to the raccoon species’ quirky little personalities, as the following log entries show.

Raining Raccoons Again, Season 2

June 30

Intake today: an almost three-pound male raccoon kit between two and three months old, “Ringtail.” I can’t say much for the originality of his name, but I can say these people have had him too long. I’m glad they’re finally surrendering him to a rehabber. They’ve gotten Ringtail completely used to being handled—spoiled even. But he seems healthy enough, if a little too happy to be around humans.

Imagine rescuers letting a raccoon hang out on their kitchen counters! Not something I would do now that I know more about zoonoses—diseases transferable from animals to humans. Sorry this guy came in alone, especially since he’s so used to hanging out with people. He will be lonely…

July 1

Ringtail will not be lonely after all. Intake today: an almost three-pound male raccoon kit between two and three months old, “Thief.” His name is an apt description of just about any raccoon anywhere.

Same situation as yesterday: Thief lived in the house with his rescuers, slept on the dog bed, ate with the family. I hope they and their pets are still healthy! On the bright side, he seems healthy and has been under their observation long enough to pass the distemper quarantine, the same as Ringtail. So these boys are together already, play-fighting like lunatics. They will be so good for each other.

July 8

Today’s intake after a one-week break: a barely two-pound female raccoon kit around two months old that I’ve named “Goldie” because her fur is so blonde. I think she might actually be a rare blonde raccoon. She’s so gorgeous.

Lots of eye appeal here, but not exactly a warm or welcoming disposition. Goldie is what rehabbers call a “grumpy”—a baby that comes in completely wild, snarly, snippy, and nippy (and in this case, full of fleas). Goldie made it clear from the get-go that absolutely no warm fuzziness is allowed between us. In fact, she has earned herself the nickname “Fruit Loop” with me because she’s so crazy. This one will be a challenge. She intimidates me instead of the other way around.

P.S. Poor Michael! My husband will soon be the fruit loop if this rainstorm of raccoons keeps up.

Goldie the Grumpy

“You just have to wrap grumpies tightly in a towel, like a vet wraps a cat,” says a mentor when I call her in dismay about trying to feed grumpy Goldie. “Then you bottle-feed them by force until they realize you’re not out to kill them but to nourish them. Then they will relax.”

Goldie shows no sign of relaxing, other than when she’s watching Ringtail and Thief at play in the cage across the room. I’ll keep her cage within sight of theirs and then pop her in with them as soon as her distemper quarantine is over. The boys can deal with Miss Grumpy! They certainly seem interested in doing so. They’re spending a lot of time girl-watching across the room these days!

Goldie came in off the side of the highway, where she was in danger of being hit by a car. She seems to hate humans, which won’t be all bad come release time. I won’t try to win her over; I’ll just take care of her till she can take care of herself.

Last One in Is a Rotten Egg

With all these raccoons raining down on us and growing up so fast, Michael and I finally decided to dig the pond we’ve been thinking about for a few years. The effort was Herculean, even using his heavy equipment. It was dastardly hot and mucky. But oh, the looks on the raccoon kits’ faces when they first approached the new pond on a walk and realized it was a swimming hole. The fun they had made all our efforts worthwhile!

We even put planks up between the trees in a sort of overhead walkway system above the pond, so rehabbed raccoons could go back and forth from tree to tree. And Michael installed a wooden feeding platform up there as well. Now I can toss supplement food up there, and the raccoons can come and get it without ever coming down within reach of the larger canine or feline predators (coyotes, wolves, bobcats, even cougars—Northern Michigan has them all). This is going to work so well!

Meanwhile, Goldie is helping the boys learn how to behave more on the wild side, and the boys are helping her be just the tiniest touch more civil in captivity. She won’t have to be civil for long (which I define as not trying to bite my hand every single time I feed her). These three will soon go on full release back by the new pond, where I think they’ll live very happily.

The raccoons playing at their new pond

Coon-Free Comical Logs

Not every Lion’s Den log entry involves raccoons, although raccoon kits certainly seem to have taken up the bulk of my rehabbing time and effort so far. What follows are a few entries about some of my more memorable non-raccoon visitors.

Bubble Trouble

Intake today: three tiny squirrels from a veterinary practice north of the Mighty Mack. That would be Michigan’s Mackinac Bridge. A vet tech brought these down and across and says they’ve been nose-bubbling formula, so pneumonia is a big concern. I’ll feed them s-l-o-w-l-y with a small Miracle Nipple rather than a syringe, which I hope will end the bubble trouble.

A mentor tells me the esophageal opening where milk goes down a baby squirrel’s throat has the same diameter as a small paper clip. No wonder it’s hard to get formula into them without it spurting out their noses or going down into their lungs! She also tells me that when nose bubbling happens, I can cover a squirrel baby’s nose and mouth with my mouth and suck out any extra formula so it doesn’t enter the lungs. (Note to self: As disease-free as squirrels generally are, that particular rehab trick probably is not happening here.)

It turns out these babies are red squirrels, which is fine as long as I release them far enough back in the woods that they don’t reappear in the yard and build nests in our car’s air filter, which for some reason irks Michael. All three are eating very well now. There’s no reason they shouldn’t survive and thrive, even without mouth-to-mouth (and nose) assistance from me.

Bird Trouble Begins

Intake today: a pigeon fledgling [yes, the infamous Pigeon George you met in an earlier chapter].4 This fledgling is two-thirds the size of an adult but still wants to be fed substitute pigeon milk [crop milk] by mouth, along with peas. This fledgling wants to be fed a lot. A lot of peas. A lot of formula. This fledgling knows what it wants, and it wants it a lot.

[And later] Now that George is taking in seeds and other foods, I am beginning his “soft release” by day out near our bird feeder. No need to wait because he came in almost ready.

George is definitely enjoying his free flights! But he wants back in the cage at night. Did I mention George likes to land on my head? It turns out spikey talons and soft scalp are not the best combination.

Squirrel Family Reunion Fail

Intake today: a squirming ball of seven(!) almost pinkie red squirrels that an animal shelter volunteer found had been unceremoniously (and probably unknowingly) dumped on the ground at a huge fundraising sale. The mother squirrel apparently did not travel with the babies to the site of the sale.

The volunteer knows the yard where the box of sale items with baby squirrels buried inside first originated. I’ll warm and rehydrate them and take them out there to see about reuniting them with Mama. Maybe she’s looking for them around a nearby tree and will retrieve them from underneath. It’s worth a try!

[And later] No squirrel mom came to retrieve the babies, although they were left safe, warm, and accessible under a tree all afternoon. No point in leaving them there since squirrel moms won’t retrieve babies after dark. Looks as if I’m taking them home again. They came in so dehydrated and chilled. How are the weakest ones even hanging on to life? Two are not doing well at all.

Update on the “Squirrel Ball”

A rehab mentor described to me how orphan squirrel babies will form a “squirrel ball” when they’re cold. She said the babies sleeping on the outside of the ball get more chilly than the rest and can develop pneumonia more easily. This mentor has also never rehabbed any squirrel babies this small and says to keep on as I am doing, rehydrating and feeding them, but not to be surprised if some of them don’t make it. (Note to self: At seven feedings a day times seven tiny babies, plus a night feeding, somebody had better survive—or more than one somebody—or I’m going to be a little put out with the squirrel world!)

[And later] Only a few of the almost pinkies made it all the way to release, but that isn’t a bad outcome, considering that they all were nearly dead on intake. It was not an easy process for the surviving orphans or for me, but they’ve grown up into glorious-looking red squirrels that are doing very well post-release. I see them all the time when they come down to the open release cage for food. Although they are all but wild, they know me enough to come say hi from afar and grab a quick bite to eat. Lovely outcome! I’m delighted with them.

Repenting of a “Pet” Opossum

Intake: the cutest juvenile opossum ever, which the rescuer made a temporary pet. In the rescuer’s possession for a whole month, it was bottle-fed and then weaned. The rescuer learned what to do from online articles and took the little critter along everywhere, even to work. But now the realization has hit that in captivity this opossum will never enjoy the life it should, plus it’s illegal to keep one without a permit. Getting a permit is complex (as is long-term adult opossum care), so the rescuer has determined that surrendering the opossum to rehab would be best for everyone.

Fuzzy little opossum at intake

Oh, the pain! The rescuer cried and cried on dropping off this opossum baby that had become such a close pal. I did my best to emphasize the excellent care it would get in rehab, but I felt sorry for the finder. How could I not? I know what it feels like to be closely involved with a wild animal baby and then have to let it go.

[And later] This young opossum was an absolute hoot—one of the cutest creatures I have ever rehabbed.5 Still sympathizing with its rescuer, I would have loved to keep it around myself, but instead I transferred it to a rehab facility a few counties over that specializes in opossums. They have other juveniles in residence that they will overwinter for a spring release. Their current residents will make great pals for this one, which will do very well with its adopted siblings.

Dog-Pulled Squirrel Tail

Intake: a juvenile red squirrel with a really sore tail end! Someone sent me a Facebook message about this squirrel, which a dog had caught by the tail. Its tail had been pulled so hard that the poor little thing couldn’t even walk after the rescuer retrieved it from the dog.

There are no obvious injuries to the squirrel, but it is very reluctant to move or walk much. I’ll keep it under observation for a couple of nights and see what transpires. Now we wait to see if its tail end is just sore or if there’s a more significant injury.

[And later] The little tail-pulled squirrel is back to full movement after a couple of days of rest. So glad he will be fine! To my delight, another juvenile red squirrel is coming into the Lion’s Den, a healthy one that can keep Sore Tail company as neither should be released alone. I’ll give them a few days to make friends, and once they figure out that the release cage is “home” if they want it to be, I’ll open the door and let them set their world on fire, as red squirrels certainly are prone to do.

[And later still] That’s it; they’re free! I released the two red squirrel youngsters out back today. You should have seen their excitement as they zipped up and around and down the trees right next to their cage. Their zest for life is unparalleled. I’ll supplement feed them periodically. You have to love seeing pine squirrels, another name for reds, living far back in the piney woods where they belong, as opposed to getting into trouble by tearing up people’s attics or building nests in car filters. Just hearing their high-pitched chatter when I walk in the woods makes me smile.

1To watch a “Ringtail Gang on release” back by the feeding station video, visit my website at www.trishann.com and click on the “Raccoon Gangs Book” tab at the top. You’ll find this gang in the book videos.

2To watch a “Chicken stealer eats watermelon for dessert” video, visit my website at www.trishann.com and click on the “Raccoon Gangs Book” tab at the top. You’ll find the chicken stealer in the book videos. Now that I’m watching the video again, I’m not sure it’s watermelon that the fox is helping itself to, but at least the chicken stealer is enjoying something else I provided—other than chickens!

3To watch the “What Is It?” video and decide for yourself whether it’s a small wolf or a large coyote, visit my website at www.trishann.com and click on that “Raccoon Gangs Book” tab at the top, and then scroll down to the book videos.

4To watch a video of “Fledgling George,” visit my website at www.trishann.com and click on the “Raccoon Gangs Book” tab at the top. You’ll find little George in the book videos, and you can also watch a video of “George at bath time” as he takes a cool shower on a hot day under the backyard pump.

5To watch a video of this temporary guest, “Mini opossum enjoying grapes,” visit my website at www.trishann.com and click on the “Raccoon Gangs Book” tab at the top. You know where to find the mini opossum… under the book videos arrow.

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