Updates---

Our latest updates regarding our attempts to lure Dakota to the feeding station we have set up are as follows:

Thursday Nov 17

The feeding station was checked on Thursday morning, and all of the mice we had offered were still there. Staff did some calling and walking in that area, but heard only crows.  There were no significant signs that any other animals had visited the feeding station.

Friday Nov 18

The fresh mice put out at the feeding station the night before remained untouched this morning.  Some faint hooting was heard, but Dakota was not sighted.  Several dogs could be heard barking in that area, which made it difficult to determine which direction the hooting was coming from.

Staff is continuing to visit the feeding station and the area nearby on a regular basis each day.  Because we believe we have sighted and know we have shared vocalizations with Dakota in that area, we continue to remain hopeful that we will be successful in luring Dakota down from the trees to the feeding station, and that we will be able to see evidence he’s in that area on the trailcam that the homeowners who are assisting us are monitoring.  If we have any significant updates regarding our progress in these areas, we will post an update on the blog and/or our facebook page.


Thank you all again for the tremendous support you have shown and continue to show the center.  Please continue to join us in praying for the best possible outcome for Dakota---that he is back home once again with his family at WINC.  We miss him terribly, more than words can express.  Your positive energy and well-wishes mean the world to us right now.

Additionally, we wanted to let everyone following Dakota’s situation know, we appreciate the concern that has been expressed regarding the security of the grounds and the building at the current WINC location.  As always, our foremost concern is for the safety & well-being of the animals we treat and house at the center, and for the staff and volunteers who spend such a substantial portion of their time caring for those animals.

WINC is looking at increased security measures in light of our recent break in and theft of Dakota.  Because we are on UW-W property, we are working directly with the university system to discuss ways to increase security for the property in general. Our original plans for the building and our compound was to install security cameras & also use the same camera system to put cameras on patients and educational animals. Ultimately, we would like to be able to set up monitors in the public “Gathering” educational room so that visitors can see the animals, without disturbing the animals. These cameras would also help Animal Care staff evaluate and monitor patients by watching them when the animals don’t know they are being observed (with the hope that the animals would behave and move about as they normally would, without the added stress of human interaction). Winter weather this last year caused construction delays and increased costs for the building, so the camera project had to be put off until we can raise sufficient money to complete it.   We remain focused on continuing to secure adequate funding for that camera system, as well as for additional lighting, and also some physical changes to the building itself to increase security now. We have been asked repeatedly by our supporters and the public if there are ways in which they can help, and we are accepting donations from anyone who wishes to help us meet our goals with this project.  Every donation we receive helps us in our greater goal of providing care and comfort to the animals we treat.

For obvious reasons, it wouldn’t be in the center’s best interests to go into specifics on our blog or our facebook page of the exact details of every measure we are taking to add to the center’s security, because we would not want any other intruders to know what they might face if they come here. However…..one suggestion has been to deploy “Daphne”, our Educational Muscovy Duck, to patrol the clinic at night – anyone who knows Daphne knows she would make her presence known to any potential intruders J

(Guest bloggers L.R. & K.P.)

Fall Fowl



Much like our feathered friend, Daphne, water and shore birds who are unable to migrate due to injury - or being domestic! - are going to become more obviously in need as the weather cools and the healthy animals begin to head south.

 Whether you like them or not, Geese and ducks are a big part of the fall landscape in southeastern Wisconsin. Large flocks descend on recently harvested corn fields and area lakes and streams. This is also the time of year when caring people will start to notice those unfortunate souls who get left behind due to injuries they may be suffering from.

Waterfowl poses a number of diffculties that we don't face with other types of animals. The saying goes around WINC, "they don't call them wild goose chases for nothing." Of course each situation is different, but many have the same obstacles to overcome:

• The bird spends most of its time on water where it is difficult or impossible for a human (or any other predator) to catch him.
• The bird can still run even when she does come out of the water making it easier for her to duck, dive and hide in the bushes where she’s safe from predators (us)
• The bird can still fly even though they have a debilitating leg or foot injury. They will often stay in the water which supports their weight, only coming up on land for brief periods.

The reason many of the calls we receive about waterfowl this time of year are difficult is that injuries sustained a few weeks (in some cases even a few months) ago are oftentimes unrepairable. If an injury is severe enough to keep a bird from doing what comes natural to it, namely flying, and it goes unnoticed and untreated for too long, the chance that we will be able to re-set it and coax it to heal properly is small. Due to regulations (and the inability to survive if done so) we cannot generally just amputate the injured area either. Even if we could amputate, the animal's overall health is often not good enough to ensure their survival through the process or follow-up care; and permanent placement is difficult to find if the injury area will require ongoing medical attention or care.

If you see a goose, duck or other type of water or shore bird that you think needs help please gather the following information before contacting your nearest rehabilitator.

• Where has the animal been seen most often and how near is it to water?
• What behaviors (holding out or dragging one wing, noticeably limping, unable to balance) are you witnessing that could help us pinpoint the injury?
• How close has a person walking (not a vehicle) been able to get to the animal before it responds (ie. tries to run away, dives into the water, or perhaps it can’t move at all)

With birds that aren’t yet approachable but are obviously injured the best situation would be for someone frequenting the area to offer up small tidbits of food like cracked corn, rolled oats or bird seed. This lulls the animal into a sense of security and will hopefully give that individual or one of our volunteers a better chance at getting close enough to contain the animal.

With many waterfowl species coming into season for licensed hunting please be careful when attempting to assist a bird in need. When in any area where hunting could potentially occur, always be on alert and be sure to wear bright clothing so that any potential hunters in the vicinity can see you too. If you have any questions about an animal you think needs help always contact your local rehabilitator for advice and guidance.

Please Help! : Oconomowoc Duck

For the past week calls have been flooding into both the Wildlife In Need Center as well as the Oconomowoc Police Department regarding a male Mallard duck with reportedly an arrow or dart bisecting his upper neck and/or head area.

Regrettably, both those who have reported sighting the duck as well as those who have gone to the area in efforts to help the duck have not had luck in getting close enough to contain it to bring it in for care.

If you know anything about the incident or individual who inflicted this upon an innocent animal please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services at 612-713-5360. According to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, it is ruled that all migratory birds and their parts (including their eggs, nests, and feathers) are completely protected. (16 U.S.C. 703, more in detail go to http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/migtrea.html ) Lastly, P.L. 105-312 also revised the law to permit the fine for misdemeanor convictions under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to be up to $15,000, rather than $5,000.

If you encounter the duck; try to stay calm when you move toward it. If you can get close enough the best thing to do is to gently toss a sheet or light towel over as much of him as you can. Birds are more docile when they cannot see. However, it is apparent that with his condition it may not be possible to cover the head completely. Once covered, softly tug on the edges of the sheet to cinch them together and try to nudge him into a box or container as tenderly as possible.

The Wildlife In Need Center’s office is staffed from 9AM to 5PM seven days a week including all of the summer holidays. If you have any information on this duck or are willing and able to assist in his capture please contact us at (262) 968-5075. The Wildlife In Need Center is dedicated to providing wildlife rehabilitation to Wisconsin wildlife with the intent to release back to their native habitat, conduct research designed to further the positive impact of rehabilitation, and provide quality community education programs and services. On Monday, June 27th, the new Wildlife In Need Center will be open for business at its new location at W349 S1480 Suite B South Waterville Rd, Oconomowoc, WI 53066. Thank you for caring!

 

Guest Blogger L.M.B.

Rescues Gone Awry Part III

Did you enjoy the antics and harrowing efforts relayed by Lisa in previous posts? If so, you're in for another treat!

Summer Sun

Anyone who knows me knows that woodchucks have a special place in my heart. I am always stopping to check animals by the road to see if it’s still alive, and if dead, is it a nursing mother in season. If so, I have spent days walking the area and looking for the burrow to try to capture the nursing babies who would otherwise starve. One summer morning stopped at a stop sign on my way to work, I looked across the intersection to see a woodchuck lying flattened in the road. I drove across to see if the woodchuck was still alive and to check to see if it was a nursing female whose babies I should try to find. I parked on the shoulder and walked to the woodchuck who was about two inches thick on the road. As I got within about five feet of it, it looked up at me, glared, and scampered off to the tall grass on the side of the road. It was a cool morning and the woodchuck was lying on the black pavement sunbathing! Woodchucks can get amazingly flat and they do like to sunbath on cool days, soaking up summer heat. This one was absorbing heat from the pavement as well as from the sunlight. But it certainly wasn’t doing so in a safe location so I don’t regret interrupting its morning ablutions.



Frosty feathers

The caller said that a goose was frozen into the new ice on a local lake. We often get calls like this with our first freezes of the year. I have not yet had an actual case of waterfowl being frozen into the lake. The waterfowl will float on the water with their feet tucked up in their warm downy feathers. When the water freezes a few feathers may be caught in the ice, but the ice freezes slowly and the bird is warm so they don’t get actually frozen into the ice to the point where the animal is trapped. The first freezes are so tin that the bird can easily pull loose. Later the ice is thick enough that the birds lay on top of the ice. I cautioned the caller against going onto the ice as it would not be safe for a persons weight, but suggested they try skipping some small stones or sticks towards to bird to see if they could get the bird to move to prove to them it wasn’t stuck. I once used a remote controlled toy truck to drive onto ice to scare some domestic geese into moving on ice to chase them to shore. The person called back later to sheepishly admit that on closer inspection the goose was a decoy. I thanked them anyway for their concern for an animal they felt was in need of help.

A number of waterfowl will choose to brave our Wisconsin winters if they have access to regularly open water and a food source

Is that a Bird?

Sometimes people need help that is more than we can provide. A few years ago someone called to report large black birds that were carrying people away in Waukesha. Our office person asked questions to make sure this was not a prank. She then tried to reassure the caller that in Wisconsin we do not have birds large enough to carry full grown adults away. But the caller insisted that these giant birds were actually picking up adult people and flying away with them. They had seen this happen with their own eyes. No amount of discussion would dissuade the person. In that case we suggested to the caller that this was a situation we were not equipped to handle and asked for their name and contact information. We asked them to call the police to report this situation and gave them the non-emergency number. We also called the non-emergency police number to describe the phone call and ask that the police do a welfare check on this person as there appeared to be a problem with reality. The police didn’t call back to let us know what happened of course. But I did watch the news the next few days and did not hear of the rediscovery of extinct pterodactyls in Waukesha so feel we assessed the situation correctly.

Guest Blogger LR