Scotter feeding a Red-tailed Hawk

One of the "perks" of volunteering at a wildlife centre is the close up - hands on experience you get with many animals. However, you must never forget that most of these animals want nothing to do with you; do not want to be handled by you; and given the opportunity would scratch, claw or bite your eyes out. Here I am feeding a very reluctant Red-tailed Hawk. As you notice I have gloves on and have the hawk wrapped up in a towel. Although you can't see it in the picture, I'm using forceps to feed it. I am feeding it nice juicy bits of cut up mice. Yes -- you get to learn gourmet food preparation for animals. Mice is not something I would prefer to dine on, but it's a blue plate special for a hawk. Sometimes the patient you are trying to feed does not want to eat. It becomes a battle of wills to see if the animal gets fed or not. And much like feeding a human child, you will end up wearing half the meal yourself. You won't be wearing your Sunday best to go to a wildlife rehab centre.

Tube feeding a young Great Horned Owl

Sometimes animals are reluctant to eat - they just won't do it in captivity. Sometimes its not a matter of reluctance but the animal is too weak to feed itself. When this happens the animal needs to be tube fed or "gavaged". In the case of birds this means inserting a long tube down the bird's esophagus right into the crop or stomach. Just because the food reaches the stomach, does not mean it's going to say there. Regurgitation is a commonly recurring incident in the business.

Scotter cleans up mess left by Bald Eagles

Working or volunteering in a wildlife rehab centre is certainly very rewarding, but it's not the cleanest job in the world. There are often what's refered to as "The 3 P's" to deal with: Poop, Puke, and Parasites. Here I am cleaning up the first "P" left behind by a couple of Bald Eagles. Does it take a bit of courage to get into a cage with two large raptors? Most definitely yes, but also confidence. Animals can sense fear from humans - or from other animals for that matter. If you show any signs of fear they will take advantage of you. Of course it is dangerous to be too confident in one's ability as I have found out on more than one occasion as wild animals will attack given the chance. The eagle in the forground of the picture did not take her eyes off me the entire time I was cleaning the cage. Nor did she move from the spot where she was perched -- which meant she had to be moved against her will. The cages are lined with newspaper to make clean-up somewhat easier, but you have to get the old paper out and the new paper in, all the while working around what ever animal happens to be in the cage.

Necropsy on a Great Grey Owl shows internal brusing after being hit by a car

One thing you have to learn very quickly working at a wildlife rehabilitation is how to deal with death. As much as you want every animal to have a healthy release, it just ain't gonna happen. Some animals come in with injuries so bad they die within hours of being admitted. There are animals that have injuries so severe that there's no hope for any type of recovery and it would be cruel to keep the animal suffering. This, saddly, means euthanasia. It's one of the toughtest parts of the job. When an animal succumbs to injuries, necropsies are often done. This is the remains of a Great Grey Owl that was hit by a car. As you can see, most of its internal organs are severely bruised and battered. The owl came into the centre in very rough shape, yet despite the best efforts of technicians to keep it alive, it died.

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