Megan Mosby
Executive Director
Megan is on vacation with family this week. HHH will return in two weeks!
This Week @ Liberty – August 13, 2019
The intake rate has dropped noticeably of late, even with the arrival of the monsoon, which has been more of a “non-soon” this year – so far. We are still getting in lots of birds blown out of nests, and bunnies who have been orphaned by mostly human activity. But the numbers of first year juveniles is increasing and we don’t see many tiny hatchlings right now (except for the abandoned Gamble’s quail which still arrive now and then.) The temps are up and down, (OK, mostly up) but we haven’t seen them much above the 115 mark for which I suppose we can be thankful. Some of our permanent residents are still inside until the night time temps drop below 90F but it seems the worst of the season might be over. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!
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Besides being too hot for both people and animals in August, we are also using this down time to do some maintenance and repairs that would be more difficult with the public in attendance. We have done some work on the water catchment system, some H/VAC work, and patching some of the concrete work that we needed to accomplish. We’ll be in good shape when we reopen to the public in September!
Look for 1 photo
Somebody brought in another glue trap which had an example of the entire food chain inside: all the crickets, grasshoppers, gnats, and their predator, a little long nose snake. The Med Services team, led by Jan, was able to work the snake free with the use of chinchilla dust, the latest tool in our anti-glue trap arsenal. ONE MORE TIME: These devices are not very nice and should only be used as a last resort and ONLY as directed. They are not species specific and almost always produce a variety of unintended by-catch.
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Vet night is usually the scene of a multitude of species and patients, all of whom get the most thorough care imaginable. Whether it’s a roadrunner, a great horned owl, an eagle, or one of the many kestrels we’ve taken in, each animal is provided the best and most comprehensive medical care possible. Our staff of volunteers and veterinarians are totally dedicated to the welfare of the creatures in our custody.
Look for 6 photos
The injured great horned owl from the last TW@L update was checked for post-op progress on Tuesday. It appeared he had removed the center pin from his external bracing – there is no “cone of shame” for owls! In any event, he seems to be healing well and this development was remedied by a new wrap that we hope will maintain the integrity of the surgical pinning.
Look for 4 photos
Another golden eagle was rescued and brought to us recently. He was flown in from up near Colorado City by two Liberty friends who donated the use of their airplane. It is guessed he was involved in an automobile collision due to his presentation and suspected blood loss. He is currently in our ICU and seems to be doing well. As soon as it begins to cool off a bit, he’ll be moved outside to reacclimatize to ambient conditions.
Another baby raccoon was brought in from a local golf course without his mom. We are still setting up our mammal care facility so he was transferred to SWS for further rehabilitation.
Some brave person showed up at our intake window with a diamondback rattler last week. It was apparently unhurt so volunteer Debbie Ordorica took it back to a place near where it came from and released it back to the wild. Way to go Debbie!
Look for 3 photos
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And sadly, we lost one of our favorite wildlife ambassadors last week. Grandpa the desert tortoise died peacefully having lived over 80 years. He was plodding slowly in the desert during Hitler’s rise in the 1930’s, and all through WWII, the Korean War, and the birth of Rock n’Roll. He saw 14 presidents come and go, men walking on the moon, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, and a new Liberty Wildlife facility, all while eagerly chasing after the female tortoises and continually vexing Phoenix, the golden eagle.
Fairfarren, Grandpa. We will miss you…
https://old.libertywildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Fairfarren-Grandpa-Medium.mov
Posted by Terry Stevens
Operations Director