Wildlife Medical Clinic at Illinois

11/16/2024

🦅🦉 🐢🐍

Check out this great article written by one of our Wildlife Ambassador Care Coordinators, Roxanne! Learn about training and enrichment and how it benefits our ambassador animals.

Learn about how we enhance the lives of our resident ambassador animals by giving enrichment. There are many ways to enrich an animal, keep reading to find out how we provide this and to learn about some of our ambassador's favorite enrichment!

11/15/2024

🦝🐍Today is the last day to order apparel from our fall clothing sale. If interested, make sure to get your order in before the end of the day. Thanks again for your support of the Wildlife Medical Clinic! 🦊🐢

11/14/2024

This is Ruby, our female red-tailed hawk and she spotted a wild red-tailed hawk flying over the ambassador building. This is a call that red-tailed hawks will give to defend and declare their territory and is also used as a warning call. Here Ruby is telling the wild hawk that this is her territory, and it needs to fly elsewhere.

Fun fact: Red-tailed hawk vocalizations are often used as Bald Eagle vocalizations in movies because film makers decided the red tailed hawks call is more intimidating and dramatic than a Bald Eagles call.

11/13/2024

🛎DING, DING, DING!🛎

For , if you guessed American Kestrel, you are correct!

Did you know that American Kestrels and some other falcons have these black stripes below their eye, called a malar stripe? These stripes help to absorb the sunlight, which makes it easier for these birds to see while they are hunting prey. People have also learned this trick, especially for football. You often see an athlete with black paint under their eyes and this helps to absorb the sun or stadium light and allows them to see the ball clearer during the game.

Pictured below is Clover, our female American Kestrel ambassador.

11/13/2024

❓ ❓

Can you guess which animal this is?

Come back at 5pm to see if you guessed correctly!

11/11/2024

Just a reminder, our WMC fall clothing sale is open now until this Friday, November 15! Shop for some cute wildlife medical clinic themed apparel and help support the animals we care for! 🦉🐢🦊🐇
Shipping available to all but pick up is available to CVM students, faculty, and staff only. Thanks for your support of the Wildlife Medical Clinic!

11/07/2024

✨ ✨

Juvenile red-tailed hawk 24-2042 arrived on September 14th with an ulnar (wing) fracture and ocular (eye) trauma. We provided pain relief medications, topical eye drops, and managed the ulnar fracture with a figure-8 bandage. This patient healed very well and we are beginning the flight reconditioning process with a technique called creancing.

Creancing is a falconry training technique that allows a bird to be tethered while flying in a large open space. We first attach leather anklets, which look like small bracelets that go around each leg, just above the foot. A small piece of rope or leather called a jess is then put through the anklet, the jesses are then connected with an extender, and the extender is attached to the creance line before allowing the bird to fly. Creance lines can vary in length, where you can start off at a shorter distance and then eventually allow the bird to fly the full length of the creance line, which is usually 150 to 200 feet.

We do not have access to a large flight cage, so instead we can use creancing to help this patient with active range of motion exercises and regaining cardiovascular fitness. We will continue with creancing three times per week until she is at an appropriate condition for release.

11/06/2024

🛎DING, DING, DING!🛎

For , if you guessed Eastern Gray Squirrel, you are correct!

Did you know that these small rodents have an excellent sense of smell? They use their nose to find food they have cached or hidden away in addition to finding fresh food. They also have great eyesight and hearing which helps them detect danger, such as predators, and quickly respond to avoid being harmed.

11/06/2024

❓ ❓

Can you guess which animal this is?

Come back at 5pm to see if guessed correctly!

11/02/2024

Our WMC fall clothing sale is open now until November 15! Shop for some cute wildlife medical clinic themed apparel and help support the animals we care for! 🦉🐢🦊🐇

Shipping available to all but pick up is available to CVM students, faculty, and staff only. Thanks for your support of the Wildlife Medical Clinic!

11/01/2024

(s)

Part 2-
Great horned owl 24-1185 arrived on June 16th after being hit by a car and entangled in netting. She had a tarsometatarsal (lower leg) fracture that was surgically repaired by Dr. Bender, UIUC Zoo Med Specialty Intern and previous WMC student manager, under supervision by Dr. Lewis, WMC Director. After her leg healed, she was sent to DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center in Glen Ellyn, IL for reconditioning in their large flight cage. WMC volunteer Angela Bella then picked up this bird from Glen Ellyn to release back near the location she was found!
(see video below)

Lastly, Great horned owl 24-1847 arrived to the WMC on August 24th with severe ocular trauma and a large wound on the top of the head with the skull exposed. Fourth year veterinary student Bob Lynch repaired the owl's head wound under Dr. Lewis' supervision. One eye was confirmed to be blind and unable to be saved. That eye was surgically removed under Dr. Lewis' guidance by WMC team leader Roxanne Lisowsky. The other eye was treated successfully for inflammation. Many rehabilitation centers will release one-eyed owls as they rely primarily on their hearing to hunt. All of this patient's procedures healed beautifully, and she was reconditioned at Illinois Raptor Center and released by WMC team leader, Sofia Descamp back in her home territory.

Again, we could not complete our amazing work without the help of friends and colleagues! Our sincerest gratitude goes out to Illinois Raptor Center and DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center for their assistance with these special patients!

11/01/2024

(s)

Last week we released FOUR long-term adult great horned owl patients! We are going to divide their stories into two posts, so stayed tuned for part two later today!

Part 1-
Great horned owl 24-1824 arrived to WMC on August 23rd thin and with multiple parasitic infections. With extensive medical therapy and supportive care, they made a full recovery. This patient also was sent to DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center in Glen Ellyn, IL for flight reconditioning and released by WMC volunteer Angela Bella, where it was originally found (see video below).

Great horned owl 24-1640 arrived to WMC on August 4th with a left humeral fracture. Her fracture was surgically repaired by DVM intern Dr. Erica Bender and healed perfectly! This patient reconditioned with our partners at Illinois Raptor Center, and was released by Dr. Bender back in her home territory!

We could not complete our amazing work without the help of friends and colleagues! Our sincerest gratitude goes out to Illinois Raptor Center and DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center for their assistance with these special patients!

10/31/2024

🎃Happy Halloween!🎃

Below are a few images of some of our resident ambassador animals enjoying their Halloween enrichment...Pumpkins!

10/30/2024

🛎DING, DING, DING!🛎

For , if you guessed Coyote, you are correct.

Our sixth Halloween animal is a coyote. While wolves are more commonly associated with Halloween and said to shape shift into werewolves, we would like to highlight this local and lesser known canid.

Coyotes were once thought of as an ominous sign. Native American Navajo people believed you should turn back if one crossed your path. They also admired the coyote as well for its intelligence and and aptly named it the trickster since they can be funny or fearsome. These animals are also thought to be dangerous to humans, which is not true and if seen out in the day, people often think these animals are rabid, which usually is also not true.

While these animals are very intelligent and curious, they are quite shy and fearful of humans. They are top predators and help control the populations of smaller mammals and rodents such as rabbits, skunk, raccoons, fox, and sometimes deer. This helps with maintaining a healthy ecosystem and species diversity in the environment. Surprisingly, coyotes are omnivores and will eat fruit and vegetables too, especially when meat is scarce. These animals are most commonly crepuscular, which means they are active at dawn and dusk. However, they are opportunistic, so based on food availability, they may be out during the day or night. If you see them out during the day, it does not mean they have rabies, they are more than likely just searching for food.

These animals are very important in the environment and help to keep the ecosystem balanced. While it is not common, they can pose a threat to some of our smaller domestic animals, such as cats and dogs, not horses and other large farm animals. To keep coyotes wild and away from your pets, it is best to feed your pets inside, keep your cats indoors, and make sure to supervise your dog when they are outside. While coyotes don't actively seek these animals as prey, they would not turn down the opportunity if the animal was easily available. There is no need to fear a coyote but just be aware and alert if one is near your property and smaller pets.

10/30/2024

❓ ❓

Can you guess what our sixth Halloween animal is?

Come back at 5pm to see if you guessed correctly and to learn more about these creatures.

10/29/2024

Our fifth Halloween animal is a snake. 🐍

Snakes often get a bad reputation and are thought of as evil, slimy, and dangerous. Throughout history (mythology, religion, and storytelling), snakes have been portrayed as evil. These creatures have scales instead of fur, lack eyelids so they cannot blink, and have no appendages so they slither across the ground flicking their tongue to smell and assess their environment.

These creatures are actually very beneficial to the environment as many eat rodents, which helps to reduce the spread of zoonotic disease. Some smaller snakes like Dekay’s brown snake and Garter snakes’ prey on insects and help to keep your garden free of pests. In addition to being a predator, these animals are also prey for many animals such as larger snakes, birds of prey, and some mammals.

Of the 3,900 species of snakes worldwide, about 600 of them or 15%, are venomous. While these few snakes have the potential to cause bodily harm to a human, most just want to be left alone and will not go out of their way to engage with humans. They don’t want to use their venom unless they have to and ideally that would be for catching prey. Otherwise, most interactions with snakes, venomous or not are when we find them basking in the sun to warm up, moving through the woods or our yards foraging for food, and hiding under an object near our home. Once spotted they do their best to either flee, feign death, or be defensive in hopes of scaring us away. So next time you see these misunderstood creatures, give them some space and let them be on their way as they have an important job to do.

10/28/2024

Our fourth Halloween animal is bats! 🦇

Bats were first connected to Halloween after Dracula was written in which vampires were said to shapeshift into Bats and then drink blood from humans. There are only 3 species of bats (Common vampire bat, white-winged vampire bat, and hairy legged vampire bat) that feed on blood, and they are found in Central and South America. There are also a few species of carnivorous bats that feed on birds, mice, lizards, frogs, and fish. But the vast majority of the close to 1,400 species of bat feed on insects, fruit, and nectar. These animals are very important for pollination and seed dispersal and many of the bat species, especially ones found in our area, are great at pest control, consuming large amounts of insects each night. These animals account for just over 20% of all the mammal species in the world, which means 1 in 5 mammals are a bat!

**Unfortunately, the Wildlife Medical Clinic is unable to accept bats, as it is illegal to rehabilitate this species in the state of Illinois due to the risk of rabies exposure. If you encounter a sick or injured bat, or find a bat in your home, please do not handle it and contact your local animal control agency as well as your physician.

10/27/2024

Our third Halloween species is a toad.

Toads have been said to give you warts if you touch them but this is not true. In fact, the bumps on their back actually secrete a mild toxin to ward off predators. Because of this, they were often associated with witches and said to be used by them to craft poisons.
I can see where this would sound scary but in all reality, toads are very beneficial to the environment. These animals are great at consuming insects, especially in your garden or around crops. They also are great indicators of ecosystem health as their skin is permeable and it makes them vulnerable to toxic substances and drought, which means a decline in numbers can show environmental problems. Even though they can secrete a mild poison, some animals are immune to it or have figured out the safe areas to eat, so toads serve as an important source of food for these other animals (Ex. Crows, Red shouldered hawks, snakes, and even Virginia Opossum).