Our Hometown
|
|
In my 11 years of experience in this line, I've noticed that many rehabbers have some degree or another of medical training. Some are LPNs; others are RNs and there are even some doctors who do this. Kris and I walk from her log cabin home toward several outbuildings where her rehabilitation work takes place. She is carrying three plastic bottles containing a milk type formula to feed her three orphaned fawns. She looks into the woods behind her home and in a deer-like voice calls, M-e-h-h, m-e-h-h. 'They'll be out in a minute,' she says softly and repeats the animal call. M-e-h-h, m-e-h-h. Kris became interested in working with wildlife through a rehabber-friend, Gabrielle Whitman, who she helped for three years before getting her own state and federal licenses to practice rehabilitation. She is licensed by the New York Department of Environmental Control to treat and rehabilitate migratory birds such as geese and songbirds, game birds including turkeys, pheasants and others, as well as rabies vectors such as bats, skunks and raccoons. We step into a pole barn with wire-covered vents around the top of the wall and at ground level. Inside are five young Red-tail Hawks and a three-year old Turkey Vulture named Vinnie. He greets us and climbs aboard Kriss's outstretched forearm looking at me as if to say, 'Welcome, what can I do for you?' 'He's pretty curious about everything,' said Kris as the large blackish-brown bird jumps onto a nearby bale of straw to examine my notebook. Turkey Vultures/Turkey Buzzards are carrion-eaters and are widespread throughout most of the United States. They grow to about 30 inches in height when mature and have a 65-70 inch wingspan and their keen sense of smell helps them locate carrion through forest canopy. The name Turkey Vulture is derived from the appearance of their red featherless heads that resemble the head of a male wild turkey. Kris says Turkey Vultures can live over 25 years, as can the Red-tails while her resident Great Horned Owl, Sam, might reach the age of 40. One of the curious fawns reaches the compound and sniffs along the bottom of the wall. He knows we are inside and Kris suggests we go outside because the others have probably followed him out of the woods and are expecting to be fed. The three young deer, which Kris said were born in April and have lost their baby spots, hungrily guzzle the prepared formula and then follow along as we visit some of the other buildings. As we continue, the young buck trots ahead and approaches the beginnings of a lean-to shed for fawns, which Marion Boy Scout Chris Compton is building as part of his Eagle Scout project. Kris has about 100 different animals on hand and says that earlier in the summer she had around 200. I was about out of my mind because a lot of them were bottle babies. There were 63 raccoons and 19 skunks among them. 'But I survived,' she said and points out that she also helped an unusually high number of Wood Ducks this year as well as several Screech Owls, pigeons, squirrels, opossum and even a flock of chickens taken in from Cracker Box Palace in Alton. The inevitable question of the most unusual animal or situation arose, and she tells of helping rescue and rehabilitate a beaver that had become trapped in the Erie Canal lock near Lyons during the winter. 'We didn't know how long it had been there, and none of us had any experience with beaver. It took a couple of days to figure out the best and safest way to rescue it and it wound up that a team of Lyons firemen repelled into the lock and caught it with a net. Beaver are quite docile around humans, so they were able to put it in a carrier and after a while, when it was stronger, I released it back to the wild.' She also explains that beaver must be submerged in order to drink and need poplar wood to eat. At this point, I recall reading about someone that supposedly picked up a skunk by the tail to eject it from a house and came away from the experience unscathed. I ask Kris if this could be true and she assures me it is a myth because skunks can and will spray anything except themselves or other skunks. She said in the process of learning that, she had been sprayed many times. Law enforcement officers or animal control officers bring in most of the animals as a result of nuisance reports. Sometimes hunters or homeowners bring them in, or sometimes I go get the animals if the people don't know how to handle them safely. 'I usually ask them to put a crate or recycle box over the animal if possible to secure it until I get there. After the tour of the premises is finished,' Kris explains, 'It costs $8000 to $10,000 annually to keep my program going here. Even though the New York State and federal governments require us to be licensed to become rehabbers, they don't give us any financial support. We have to either pay the cost out of our pockets, do fundraisers or solicit donations.' Kriss's Wildlife Wish List includes the following: Cotton towels and paper towels Pine shavings 40-60w light bulbs 5 or 10-gallon-size aquariums & screen tops Pet carriers Metal cages any size Cage-building materials wire fencing, lumber, hinges, etc. Pet dishes - any size, small meal-worms, grape Kool-Aid, wild bird and sunflower seed, unsalted bulk, in-the-shell peanuts, dry or canned dog and cat food, hay and straw, chew-proof toys She adds that cash donations and volunteers are always needed. 'One thing to remember if you're considering volunteering is that these are wild animals, not pets and they don't have any rules and are not housebroken. We deal with a lot of animal poop around here!' More information is available by calling any of the following people: Kris Steffen at 315.374.4542, Megan Ginther 331.9188 or Judy Short (in Auburn) 315.730.9709. Licensing information is available online at Copyright
©
2007 |
    Ads have a Patent Pending. Click Here for More Information  |
Marion woman saves, works with injured wild animals