Saturday, June 6, 2015

Wild Baby Rescue, week 1

The internship That I am taking part in this summer is an internship at the Wild Baby Rescue Center in Blairstown, NJ. This facility is a wildlife rehabilitation center that specializes in caring for sick, injured, and orphaned mammals. My duties at this facility will involve feeding baby mammals, cleaning their enclosures and cages, administering first aid, charting animals as they are admitted, preparing animals for re-release into the wild, and releasing them in an appropriate manner.

In my first week at the Wild Baby Rescue Center, I learned many aspects of what I will be doing while I'm working at the facility. The very first duty that I was assigned to perform was to hand feed baby Gray Squirrels. These squirrels were only a few weeks old and had not opened their eyes yet, so they needed my help, along with the other interns at the facility, to be fed. These squirrels were fed with specialized formula designed for baby squirrels. There were 11 baby squirrels in all that needed to be fed 5 times a day. Other babies that I was in charge of feeding included groundhogs, bats, and foxes.

During the night shift, which was on Thursday, June 4th, I helped with flighting the bat, which involved putting him into a tent and seeing if he was able to stretch his wings out. He was still very young, so he was only able to get in a few crash landings, but he will soon be able to fly with his full strength.

One of the most exciting events that occurred this week was the release of 3 rehabilitated Eastern Cottontail rabbits. These rabbits all had broken legs, and had all recovered nicely. They were released in an area that had good cover and was accessible to the rabbits.

Another exciting event that occurred was the relocation of two rehabilitated Red Foxes from their enclosures inside the rehab center to outdoor enclosures. These enclosures were complete with cover, fresh water, and shelter. The foxes seemed content in their new home, and we are continuing to feed them and care for them as they recover. We plan to educate them on how to properly hunt for food, and how to eat omnivorously. This will make them fit for survival and reproduction in the wild, and they should be successfully rehabilitated soon

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