Megan Mosby
Executive Director
It is my hope that everyone is taking the current COVID 19 episode in our lives very seriously. Perhaps if we do it now, the practice of sheltering in place or maintaining safe social distance will bring the virus to its hateful knees. Like everyone else with any sense, the limitations placed on us are for a good reason and have impacted us all negatively. At Liberty Wildlife, although our hospital and intake window remain open….wildlife still needs help, our Educational efforts have publically been quieted.
However, our creative and hard-working staff has no intention of letting old C-19 get the best of their good intentions and have come up with a number of ways to continue our important educational messages by using the power of the internet.
Laura Hackett and Nathan Thrash will fill you in on the efforts of some great folks to help homebound families not lose touch with the stunning animals in our education cadre and will impart ways to stay in touch with nature and science…all during our cocooning at home.
Laura Hackett –
This past Sunday we live-streamed some of our educational ambassadors on Facebook. Our next live-stream is today at 12:30 PM, and we will continue to live stream regularly. You can check our Facebook page for more information, and to watch past live-streams.
Liberty is also putting a recorded reading of the Wishtree by Katherine Applegate on our YouTube channel. The Wishtree is a book about a tree and a raven helping their neighbors embrace their differences. Along with the recording, we will be posting activities you can do after each section! Perfect for any family looking for something educational to do during quarantine.
Nathan Thrash –
Liberty Wildlife has a photo giveaway right now as part of our newly developed membership program. Although we can’t have members on-site due to COVID-19, we are giving away photos of Great Horned Owls, American Kestrels, and hummingbirds. The first 5 people to sign up at the Owl membership level will receive a canvas photo of a Great Horned Owl or American Kestrel. The first 5 people to sign up at the Eagle membership level will receive a lovely photo of a hummingbird. You can sign up here.
You know…you can’t keep a good team down. Stay tuned to all of our continued efforts to weather the viral storm.
This Week @ Liberty – March 24, 2020
I’m sure you’re all sick of hearing about coronavirus so I won’t add fuel to the fire. Unfortunately several of our volunteers find themselves in the “high risk” segment of the population and we have lost their services until things change. This means those of us who remain at our stations have to work that much harder to keep up with the incoming animals as we approach the busiest time of our year. C’est la vie…
The intakes are ramping up slightly as we hit our critical months (we broke 1,000 today), with more baby birds and animals finding their way to our facility. Orphaned owls, baby bunnies, and the assortment of waterfowl that usually befalls us even in slow months are showing up more frequently. Not having open hours means we only reach the public through the internet and through the intake window. Thank goodness people still donate as they drop off their precious charges for care. It has been an interesting couple of weeks, so let’s see what happened…
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The bald eagle we have been treating got his last lead poisoning treatment last week and is now in an outside enclosure. This is the guy that had lost a territorial dispute with another bald eagle up north and then was discovered to have elevated lead levels. He seems to have responded well so now, he needs to readjust to ambient temps and get some flying time in to build his strength. The next step is release!
(Look for three pictures)
Lots of baby birds are coming in and Orphan Care is officially open for business, despite the cancellation of our Baby Bird Shower event. We have an especially large crop of baby hummingbirds this year and they appear to be perpetually hungry!
(Look for 5 pictures)
The orphan bunnies seem never to stop, but then, they ARE bunnies! We also took in two baby opossums that apparently climbed aboard a shipping container from back east and were not discovered until they arrived in Arizona. Both siblings are doing well and are certainly stars in their own right.
We also seem to be getting in more than the usual number of bats this spring. Possibly the wet March has produced a bumper crop of insects and this is driving the bat population to surge. In any case, they are arriving in numbers we don’t usually see.
(Look for 5 pictures)
Another Tuesday, another Vet Night… The usual suspects are brought in (red tails, GHO’s, kestrels, ravens, etc.) and all are professionally examined by our expert staff of wildlife veterinarians. Whether its a bunny that was a injured in a collision with a car, or a bald eagle that was shot, every animal gets outstanding medical intervention that would be totally unavailable to them were it not for our dedicated group of vets and volunteers. These animals had no chance at all until some caring individual made the choice to bring it to Liberty. Now they have a second chance to be what they were designed to be, wild under the Arizona sun!
(Look for 5 pictures)
Recently we took in a Russian tortoise that had a damaged face. Among other injuries was a badly broken jaw. Upon evaluating the animal, Dr. Alyssa Scagnelli, one of our awesome volunteer veterinarians, decided she could help the little guy. Last week, with the assistance of Jan and Alex, Dr. Scagnelli spent one whole morning drilling, wiring, and gluing the tortoise’s mouth back together. It took a long time and a lot of effort, improvising tools and using special techniques but so far, it appears it was a success (although I understand he’s not a happy camper!)
(Look for 9 pictures)
Posted by Terry Stevens
Operations Director