Humboldt Wildlife Care Center Now Has A Dedicated Rescue Rig!

One day last year our staff went out on a call about a sick deer. The people who called watched as we put the carrier with the deer into a small hatchback and they hatched a plan of their own. This Spring, when they purchased a new vehicle, they called to see if we could use their old car, a 1996 Volvo Wagon! They were very kind and wanted to be sure we could use the vehicle. We sure can!

The region we serve, Northern Menocino to Oregon, the Pacific Ocean to I-5, is over 20,000 square miles! (nearly twice the size of New Jersey, the state I was born in!) We put on a lot of miles and a reliable rig that is also safe is something we’ve wanted to add to our resources for years. And now we have one!

Now if you see a plain tan Volvo on the road, you never know, we just might be transporting a wild neighbor, who knows, a Northern Alligator Lizard or a Bald Eagle!

Or we might just be on our way to the North Coast Co-op, again, for more supplies for our ever increasing Spring and Summer caseload.

So to Fredyne and Gerald, who so generously passed their ride into our service, thank you!

And you know, not every donation is a car… without many small donations, we wouldnt be able to put gas in the car, or food in our patients’ bellies. If you can, please donate here. Thank you!!

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Great Horned Owl Spends the Night Stuck in a Wet Garbage Can, Released After Care.

Not just an indignity! For a warm-blooded body the size of a Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) to spend the night stuck in can with inches of water on the bottom is life-threatening! Fortunately the landowners found the owl in the morning and got the soggy, angry, owl to our facility in Bayside.

Minor abrasions afflicted the undersides of both of their wings and all over, their feathers were soaked and very ruffled. The owl was also fairly dehydrated. Warmth and fluids helped both problems immensely and soon the owl was much less soggy, but no less angry.

After spending some time in our large aviary, making sure that flight and agility were unimpaired, we took the handsome bird back to McKinleyville and the area where no doubt there are eggs or owlets glad to have both parents back on the case!

After leaving the box, the Great Horned Owl wasted no time putting distance between themself and us.

It’s our community’s support that keeps our doors open, our freezer full of rats, and an aviary suitable for a bird as large and magnificent as a Great Horned Owl. Thank you for making our work possible. If you want to help please donate!

video and photos: Laura Corsiglia/bax

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