What an incredible, whirlwind few weeks I have had. I'm sorry for not posting anything sooner but I have been working 15 hour days for the past couple of weeks so once i'm back in my room, all I an think of doing if collapsing on my bed, certainly not writing a blog.
Our animal intake has increased, we now have 6 black bear cubs, 1 fawn, 11 ducks, 2 geese, 4 foxes, 1 grizzly bear cub and 2 beavers. Between all of that plus all the cleaning and maintenance I have been kept very busy.
The 2 beavers (named Willow and Aspen) are completely adorable. Due to B.C laws they can't be released back into the wild, so while we try to find a suitable zoo or sanctuary we get to tame them. Which really doesn't take much they are pretty friendly as it is, but it does mean that whenever I get some free time I can go and cuddle and play with them.
One of the highlights of the past week was that I got to release the final black bear of last year (Zippy) on Haida Gwaii. Haida Gwaii is an archipelago of islands off the north coast of B.C. It is informally known as The Queen Charlotte islands and has been described as 'The Galapagos of the North' due to the beautiful scenery, and the number of endemic species found on the islands. Zippy herself is a subspecies of black bear found only on these islands that are much larger than the mainland bears.
Haida Gwaii is mostly inhabited by the native Haida people. As I was driving around the islands it became very apparent that the islands are rich in culture. Native totem poles adorned the towns and local art can be found on everything from clothing to shower curtains to gas station signs. There is even a Haida language, Gwaii Haanas is the Haida name for Moresby island, the southern island which was our destination for Zippy's release. This may have been one of the more difficult release sites this year. A 4 hour drive followed by a 7 hour ferry, then another 30 minute ferry, then another 90 minute drive and we finally reached our destination on a mountainside, surrounded by coastal rainforest.
The ferry to the islands doesn't run on Sundays and as the only boat we could get out was Saturday morning we stayed on the island all weekend. Originally we had planned to sight see for most of Sunday however one of the guys who came on the release with us gave us an offer we couldn't really refuse. It turns out he flies a tiny 6 person float plane every week along with a government representative to do a fishing boat survey. It just so happened that this weeks flight fell on the Sunday we were there and he invited us to come along for the ride! I thought the 50 seat plane to Smithers was small but this plane looked like a toy. I almost didn't believe it would even fly, but soon enough we were flying all around the coast of the islands and up into the mountains. It was breathtaking! It looked like something from a fantasy movie and I even got to see some wild island bears from the window.
I arrived back at just after midnight Tuesday morning and got just a few hours sleep before I had to be up nice and early to prepare for the shelter's annual open house. Normally the shelter is closed to visitors, but one day each year (Canada Day) we open the doors and allow people to take a look around and see the animals. This year was the biggest yet, 1200 people showed up and we raised over $6000. I spent 8 hours with Brock the baby deer, answering questions and showing him off to everyone. It was a lot of fun and i'm glad that we had such a fantastic event.
I'm sorry that there are no photos in this post. I have lots I want to share but my internet connection seems to have taken a nosedive. I suspect it may have something to do with all the thunderstorms we've been having recently. If I manage to upload them at some point i'll make a comment in my next post saying so.
Friday, 4 July 2014
Monday, 16 June 2014
Mixed emotions
The past couple of days at the shelter have been extremely stressful and emotional. Last week one of the horses here, Cass, gave birth to her foal, Rocky. However it became apparent soon after he was born that something wasn't right. His front legs were bent strangely and he couldn't stand at all. He was rushed to the vets where his legs were bandaged and he was given medication and shots to combat the problem. As he couldn't stand to drink we had to milk Cass and bottle feed Rocky. However it was extremely difficult and he wasn't getting enough milk to sustain himself. He passed away today (Monday June 16th).
To make things even worse, one of the bears, Fisher, has become gravely ill. We brought him back down to the hospital to monitor him and took him to the vets to have tests done. We are still waiting for the results, but he is eating so there is still hope, even if he very weak right now, he hasn't given up yet.
In my last post I told you about the moose we got from Prince George that had a large hernia. We decided to give surgery a go, seeing as her chances of survival without it were zero, she would have died and we wanted to do everything we could to prevent that. Miraculously she woke up from the surgery and recovered from the sedation very well. However not long after she started refusing milk and it all went downhill. Sadly she also passed away at around 10am this morning. During the last few hours we spent with her, we decided to name her Trooper after her fighting spirit.
Honestly, I have spent most of the past day crying. I was bottle feeding Trooper every three hours. Even during the night, waking up and midnight, 3am and again at 6am to ensure she never went hungry. Sometimes it was a struggle and sometimes she happily drank. I spent a lot of time just sitting with her, playing with her and trying to help with that feeling of loneliness that many orphaned animals have to deal with. For the five days I cared for Trooper I became very attached and it has been extremely hard to let her go.
There is a quote, from a show called Code Geass, which articulates that if happiness were to resemble a physical object it would be that of glass as it is often all around you, yet invisible, you merely have to change your perspective a little to see it. I often find myself thinking about this quote and the truth behind it. I also find myself thinking similarly in terms of other emotions and given my current situation I propose that if happiness resembles glass then sadness must resemble the bricks surrounding that glass in a window. Without those bricks the glass could not stay supported - It is the sadness in life that brings meaning to the happy times and never have I seen this more in losing an animal that I was caring for.With the terrible sadness I felt upon learning that Trooper didn't survive I am able to value the fact that the other animals did. We have already released nine bears, two foxes, two owls and a hawk back into the wild. We have more bears, a deer, a hare, a goose and a whole bunch of ducks that have a great chance of being released within the next year and continue their lives where they should be - In the wild.
I apologise for getting sentimental and for writing such a depressing post, but it's not really in my capacity to write about much else at the moment. I hope that normal service will resume next time, but for now all that's left to say is rest in peace, Trooper and Rocky.
To make things even worse, one of the bears, Fisher, has become gravely ill. We brought him back down to the hospital to monitor him and took him to the vets to have tests done. We are still waiting for the results, but he is eating so there is still hope, even if he very weak right now, he hasn't given up yet.
In my last post I told you about the moose we got from Prince George that had a large hernia. We decided to give surgery a go, seeing as her chances of survival without it were zero, she would have died and we wanted to do everything we could to prevent that. Miraculously she woke up from the surgery and recovered from the sedation very well. However not long after she started refusing milk and it all went downhill. Sadly she also passed away at around 10am this morning. During the last few hours we spent with her, we decided to name her Trooper after her fighting spirit.
Honestly, I have spent most of the past day crying. I was bottle feeding Trooper every three hours. Even during the night, waking up and midnight, 3am and again at 6am to ensure she never went hungry. Sometimes it was a struggle and sometimes she happily drank. I spent a lot of time just sitting with her, playing with her and trying to help with that feeling of loneliness that many orphaned animals have to deal with. For the five days I cared for Trooper I became very attached and it has been extremely hard to let her go.
There is a quote, from a show called Code Geass, which articulates that if happiness were to resemble a physical object it would be that of glass as it is often all around you, yet invisible, you merely have to change your perspective a little to see it. I often find myself thinking about this quote and the truth behind it. I also find myself thinking similarly in terms of other emotions and given my current situation I propose that if happiness resembles glass then sadness must resemble the bricks surrounding that glass in a window. Without those bricks the glass could not stay supported - It is the sadness in life that brings meaning to the happy times and never have I seen this more in losing an animal that I was caring for.With the terrible sadness I felt upon learning that Trooper didn't survive I am able to value the fact that the other animals did. We have already released nine bears, two foxes, two owls and a hawk back into the wild. We have more bears, a deer, a hare, a goose and a whole bunch of ducks that have a great chance of being released within the next year and continue their lives where they should be - In the wild.
I apologise for getting sentimental and for writing such a depressing post, but it's not really in my capacity to write about much else at the moment. I hope that normal service will resume next time, but for now all that's left to say is rest in peace, Trooper and Rocky.
Thursday, 12 June 2014
Animals everywhere
When they said that spring time at a wildlife shelter can get pretty busy, they really weren't kidding.
Our bear cub count is now up to six. Norman, Jo and Fisher have been joined by Artio, a black and brown cub from just down the road, who was found wandering around on a neighbour's driveway all alone. Maya, an extremely small and very quiet cub from Vanderhoof and a still unnamed male cub from Prince George. Feeding time is more than a bit chaotic right now as they are all on milk and will often try to steal milk from another bears bowl leading to a few scuffles each night.
We also got the first moose of the season in a few days ago from Prince George. She is very small, and at most only two or three days old. Conservation officers found her drowning in a ditch and we picked her up. She is drinking milk well and seems quite alert. However we discovered a large lump on her right side during our initial check up. Upon further inspection by a vet, we learnt that she has a very large abdominal hernia. It doesn't seem to be causing her any discomfort and the hole is quite large so the vet doesn't think she is at risk of any pinching of the guts. Surgery is an option, however there are risks. Moose are already extremely sensitive to sedation and with this moose being so young surgery isn't a guarantee of survival. The vet suggested that we could try to push the lump back in and wrap a tight bandage around her middle to hold it and hope that it heals by itself. In the meantime i'm having a great time bottle feeding, she needs to be fed every three hours, so we share the job between the three volunteers to ensure we at least get some sleep.
Just yesterday we picked up our first deer as well. A concerned neighbour had been watching it all afternoon and when no mum came back to it we were called to investigate. The deer is around 2 days old, very weak and has an infection in the right eye. He has been put on the same feeding schedule as the moose and we administered eye drops to try and clear the infection.
We also packed up five more bears to be released and as I write this the shelter owners are continuing their drive right to the BC/America border to release one of them. All the bears we rehab are released into the same region from where they came. There hasn't been much study into the genetics of black bears and we don't want to mix gene pools to be on the safe side. This does mean however that we have to drive thousands of miles each spring to take them back. In just a few weeks time I will be going to the Queen Charlotte islands to release our last bear from last year, Zippy. That is a five hour drive, followed by a seven hour ferry and another hour drive to reach.
Our bear cub count is now up to six. Norman, Jo and Fisher have been joined by Artio, a black and brown cub from just down the road, who was found wandering around on a neighbour's driveway all alone. Maya, an extremely small and very quiet cub from Vanderhoof and a still unnamed male cub from Prince George. Feeding time is more than a bit chaotic right now as they are all on milk and will often try to steal milk from another bears bowl leading to a few scuffles each night.
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| Artio |
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| Maya |
We also got the first moose of the season in a few days ago from Prince George. She is very small, and at most only two or three days old. Conservation officers found her drowning in a ditch and we picked her up. She is drinking milk well and seems quite alert. However we discovered a large lump on her right side during our initial check up. Upon further inspection by a vet, we learnt that she has a very large abdominal hernia. It doesn't seem to be causing her any discomfort and the hole is quite large so the vet doesn't think she is at risk of any pinching of the guts. Surgery is an option, however there are risks. Moose are already extremely sensitive to sedation and with this moose being so young surgery isn't a guarantee of survival. The vet suggested that we could try to push the lump back in and wrap a tight bandage around her middle to hold it and hope that it heals by itself. In the meantime i'm having a great time bottle feeding, she needs to be fed every three hours, so we share the job between the three volunteers to ensure we at least get some sleep.
Just yesterday we picked up our first deer as well. A concerned neighbour had been watching it all afternoon and when no mum came back to it we were called to investigate. The deer is around 2 days old, very weak and has an infection in the right eye. He has been put on the same feeding schedule as the moose and we administered eye drops to try and clear the infection.
We also packed up five more bears to be released and as I write this the shelter owners are continuing their drive right to the BC/America border to release one of them. All the bears we rehab are released into the same region from where they came. There hasn't been much study into the genetics of black bears and we don't want to mix gene pools to be on the safe side. This does mean however that we have to drive thousands of miles each spring to take them back. In just a few weeks time I will be going to the Queen Charlotte islands to release our last bear from last year, Zippy. That is a five hour drive, followed by a seven hour ferry and another hour drive to reach.
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| What a truck, loaded with 5 bears, looks like |
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