Wickedly Wildlife

12/12/2024

🦝♥️

Healthy raccoons can be active in the daytime during any time of the year. But as night temperatures fall, you’re more likely to see a raccoon coming out during daylight hours. Raccoons enter a hibernation-like state during winter known as torpor. During this time, they sleep much more often, but will come out on warm days to look for food, while spending nights cuddled up in warm dens with their families. An otherwise healthy-looking raccoon is extremely unlikely to have rabies, even if you see it coming out during the day.

10/12/2024

It’s about perspective, are your sure yours is right?

The animals perspective makes much more sense to me

06/12/2024

Interesting video about raccoon intelligence ♥️

06/12/2024

♥️Please don’t use poison.☠️

“Today I died...
Because I ate the wrong mouse...
I didn’t know he had been poisoned...
I didn’t know it would take my life too...
All I knew was my belly was hungry...
So I ate the mouse...
Then it became so painful as the poison got ahold of me...
Lovely people found me and tried to save me...
They brought me towels to get warm ....
And called a rehabber for me...
They raced to me...
But it was to late...
Today I died...
I was poisoned...
I don’t want to be forgotten...
Or have my life be in vain...
I want you to think of me and not put out poison...
today it was me...
But it could have just as easily have been any other animal...
Why did my belly have to be so hungry when I found that mouse....
I didn’t have to die today“
-Persevering for Wildlife

Please stop using poison, I beg you! And I beg you to help spread the word and educate others.

04/12/2024

Be careful what you use to melt or keep ice from forming as the weather gets colder.

03/12/2024

Opossums ♥️

OPOSSUM FUN FACTS

Opossums have the most difficult winters of all. They rarely share a nest with other opossums. They will spend the winter in dens like abandoned woodchuck burrows, hollow trees and brush piles. Opossums may not be considered the smartest animal, but they are smart enough to line their dens with dry grass and leaves. They gather the material and transport it, either holding it in their mouths or grasping a bundle with their prehensile tails. But poor Opie has a tendency to switch nests several times a week.

Their hairless ears and tails often get frost bitten and it is unusual to see an opossum with the tip on its tail. They, like the others, rest in their dens during bad weather and forage for food to stay alive. During the winter, the area under bird feeders is the local diner for a number of animals, including opossums. An opossum’s life span is less than two years. Considering that it has remained virtually unchanged since prehistoric times coupled with a short lifespan, this is incredible.

03/12/2024

I need to give credit to Roo's Corner for this well written article on first response to finding babies. Unfortunately Erin nor Roo are rehabititating any more, their legacy continues,

Ok, so you've found a baby mammal and have already determined that he needs help. You've put a call in to your local rehabilitator and are anxiously awaiting a call back, what do you do in the mean time?

How a baby is cared for in those minutes or hours with the finder can many times make all the difference in the eventual outcome of the situation. Here are some pointers for short term care during the time you are in possession of baby wildlife and are awaiting further instruction from a rehabber.

1. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FEED ANYTHING! This is important and we cannot say it enough. No matter how much the baby cries or begs with those pleading little faces...do not give in. In inexperienced hands aspiration can happen even in the most careful of attempts and the introduction to foods or formula is a step by step process that requires knowledge of the animals current state and unique nutritional requirements.

2. Containment. The baby should be placed into a secure container with adequate ventilation. Cardboard boxes or Rubbermaid containers with plenty of air holes work well for most small mammal babies. Cat sized pet crates can be used for larger infants.

3. Warmth. It is imperative that a baby be kept warm until help arrives. Hypothermia is one of the most common complications of orphaned wild babies but fortunately one of the easiest to remedy or prevent if addressed quickly. Very young infants cannot regulate their body temperature without an external heat source. This means that without mom in the picture they will need artificial warmth. Blankets or towels alone are not enough. You may use a heating pad on it's lowest setting placed under ONE SIDE of the baby container. Make sure that the heating pad does not have the auto shut off feature or if it does be prepared to reset the power controls as often as needed to avoid cooling. If a heating pad is not available you can make a "rice bag" by filling a sock with rice(beans work too) and warming it in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Wrap the rice bag in a tea towel before placing it inside the container to one side. Babies CAN overheat so it is important to ensure one side of the container stays cool in case babies need to move away from the heat source.

4. And lastly.... privacy. Once babies are safely confined and warm leave them somewhere dark and quiet away from the stressors of household activity. A bathroom with the light off and door shut is perfect. Do not hold or handle infants or let children play with them.

Hopefully by this point you have received a return call from the rehabilitator and you can begin making arrangements to get baby into care quickly. Following the above steps in the interim will give orphans the best start towards the process of rehabilitation and your local rehabber will thank you!

29/11/2024

Have some empathy ♥️

Where has our empathy gone?

So many people lack empathy towards wild animals who are simply trying to survive. We all know what it's like when we miss a meal: our bellies rumble and we might even get light headed. Many of us are lucky enough to be able to reach into the fridge and quickly satisfy that hunger. Imagine being a wild animal who can only feed itself and its young by foraging, scavenging or hunting with its mouth or claws—no guns, no crossbows, no traps, no full belly to fuel your hunt.

Let's pretend we're a coyote for just a minute ...
▪️You want to hunt for mice or groundhogs in a field, but farmers shoot you.
▪️You may want to scavenge on a deer carcass, but you'll be accused by hunters of killing the deer.
▪️You'll even settle for fallen apples on the ground, but a landowner will accuse you of being rabid because you were seen during the day.
▪️Pet food left outside is super yummy and when you show up in someone's backyard at night, you'll be accused of stalking people's dogs.
▪️Hunting in the woods for squirrels and chipmunks is great, but if a hunter sees you, he'll kill you just for the fun of it and under the flawed assumption that he's "managing" the coyote population.

And, yes, coyotes do kill deer, but not nearly as many as they're accused of. And each time they hunt deer, they are putting their lives at risk. A coyote can easily suffer from a broken back or legs from just one strong kick by a deer. Life is not easy.

Coyotes don't seek to be cruel, however man certainly does.

Photo | https://squamish.ca/our-services/wildlife/coyote-awareness/

Did you know that coyotes can hear a mouse under 8 inches of snow!

28/11/2024

A Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving to everyone!♥️

28/11/2024

May Thanksgiving day be a grateful and blessed one ♥️
(Please consider donating to my amazing friends at Urban Wildlife Rehabilitation Inc!)

27/11/2024

Please consider the impact you have on your Wild neighbors! ♥️

24/11/2024

Please be kind 🦝♥️