
05/07/2025
Wildlife, wildlife, and more wildlife!
The rehabbers and game wardens stay outrageously busy this time of year. Since we network with all of them we often get calls for help. Lots of sad stories unfortunately but that is often the case when the world of wild and the world of man collide.
▪️Monday June 30th- The baby starling in the top photo came to us from Wheatland late that evening and is just a few days old. He was found by a good samaritan and they called the squirrel/rabbit rehab in Gillette who referred them to us. They did the right thing by searching everywhere for a nest but were unable to locate one. This babe is doing phenomenally well and eating like a champ. Starlings are one of only 3 species of birds that are legal to keep without a permit. We would love to get him back into a nest with his own kind to live the wild life he deserves so if you have any nests in safe locations on your property please let us know!
▪️Tuesday June 3rd- We were contacted by a young man who was ever so distraught after running over this baby robin with his mower. It was very late in the evening and I was just leaving the vet in Newcastle when I got the call. I picked up this critter close to midnight in Wheatland and was surprised to see him so bright, alert, and wanting to eat. The finder thought he had cut off the bird's wing but upon inspection I found the wing to be intact and just the blood feathers had been cut off which is why it bled so much and made them think the wing had been cut. We made a vet appointment and arrangements to transport this little guy to our state bird rehab since he is a permit species. As instructed, he gobbled down meal worms for us and was bouncing and singing to us for 2 days, then sadly the next morning I found him deceased. Our rehabber thinks the stress is likely the culprit. I will say this is the first baby robin we have gotten and he was the most adorable, joyful little creature I have seen.
▪️Monday June 2nd- A young dove got caught in a bad storm that passed through Guernsey that evening. The wind tossed him around and landed him in a backyard with 2 playful fourteen week old German Shepherd pups who unfortunately thought he was a play thing. He had obvious stress and lots of abrasions and missing feathers. The very next day he saw our vets and after x-rays and exams it was found that there were no broken bones, thank goodness. The bird seemed in good spirits but was not eating. Our rehabber instructed us to feed him bird formula, which we normally keep on hand but unfortunately we were out so I made a quick run to Cheyenne to get some. We tried for several days but could not get this kiddo to eat on his own and eventually he did pass away.
▪️Friday July 4th- Midday we were contacted by a good samaritan in Wheatland who had taken a baby bunny away from their 2 cats. Unfortunately he was injured in multiple places and baby bunnies this age almost always succumb to stress related capture myopathy. This little one passed just a few hours after I picked it up.
▪️Wednesday June 18th- (not pictured) I received a call from a client in Guernsey who had caught a raccoon in a live trap. I was at work and when I got a chance to call them back just one hour later they had already had their son kill it with a blow dart. What a god awful way to die. One hour. They couldn't wait one hour. They claim it was trying to get into their chicken coop and that they have killed others in the past. Friends, we are surrounded by farm and ranch stores that sell products adequate to build or reinforce a coop so that absolutely nothing can get into it. I instructed this individual on precisely what products to buy, where to buy them, and how much they cost and this person told me they weren't willing to spend the money. A little effort would permanently solve their issue but even that went unheeded. I informed them that since raccoons are territorial that new ones will just continue to move in and replace the ones they are killing so they need to reinforce their coop so that all can coexist. I also informed them that raccoons have young this time of year so not only did they kill this raccoon but they left its babies to starve to death. To say that I am furious is an understatement. I sincerely hope this person does some soul searching and decides that perpetual and senseless killing of animals should not be a normal part of life.
So out of 5 cases, we ended up with just one happy ending. Friends, please remember, animals are here with us, not for us. It's their earth too and above all if we educate ourselves and make just a little effort then we can all coexist. 🥹💚