25th

Update: The Canada goose in Richmond, rescued a few weeks ago, was released Thursday after being brought back to health by WildCare. Many thanks to everyone who helped in its recovery!

A special thanks to our volunteer rescuer Winnie, also with WildCare, who responded to the same location and retrieved a goose in even worse condition.

It is through such caring and dedicated volunteers, we're able to help animals that might otherwise go unattended. Sadly, though, we're not always successful in providing this public service. Our program relies on the availability of our volunteers, which, in these tough economic times, is waning.

Animals in distress and the people who find them should not have to wait days for help to arrive. For example, this week in Rio Vista, CA - over an hour from San Francisco - a Canada goose with fractured legs floated in a golf course pond for three days before it was retrieved - there was no one with the time and skills to recover it any sooner.

This is not acceptable.

To remedy this, we're working on a plan to bring a wildlife medic and animal ambulance service to the Bay Area in March 2012. 

Imagine a dedicated wildlife ambulance to serve San Francisco and surrounding communities. Our goal is to raise $35,000.00 which will cover the cost of a used, fuel-efficient vehicle, equipment and supplies, insurance, and salary. Be part of the answer - own a piece of this dream by contributing NOW.

Funds raised at our gala event on December 3rd at the Fort Mason Conference Center (San Francisco) will go towards achieving this. We hope you'll make plans to attend. Click HERE for details.

18th

Update on the darted duck: According to his caretakers at Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley he is doing very well and has been moved to an outdoor enclosure. We'll let you know when he is released. Read the full story HERE if you missed it.

Did you hear about the coyotes in Glendale, CA? It was all over the news - how a pack of coyotes had taken up residency in a burned out home. Here's one of the articles. We conducted our own investigation into the matter, speaking with the City of Glendale and other agencies involved. Read our coverage and see video of the young coyote pups, HERE. 

We'd like to share news from our friends and colleagues in Asheville, NC and their efforts to help save hundreds of orphaned gray squirrels rescued after Hurricane Irene pommeled the East Coast. Check out the great news coverage HERE - very heartwarming! Everything they do is paid for out of their own pockets. If you'd like to send them a donation, click HERE, and we'll see that it gets to them. 

11th

We have a wonderful story for you - the reunion of a white-tailed kite with its family. This took place near Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. Check out the story and pictures HERE.

Also - good news - the darted duck is doing better and should be off antibiotics and in an outdoor enclosure soon. 

4th

For over a week we'd been trying to pull together a rescue crew to help an injured Canada goose in Richmond. With Summer vacations and people's work schedules, it was tough. Finally, one of our dedicated volunteer responders took her Birthday Morning to aid the ailing bird. She did a fantastic job! You can read about it on our blog, HERE.

Ongoing: Since Wednesday of last week, WildRescue has been heading up rescue efforts to help ducks in Santa Clara that were shot with illegal blowgun darts. Read the whole story HERE. See the latest news coverage, HERE.

28th

Our latest Crafting For Wildlife event was a tremendous success, producing 6 barn owl nest boxes! See images and read more about upcoming Crafting events HERE.

Check out this video of our colleagues, The Marine Mammal Center in action, HERE.

Calling all artists! We are looking for donations of wildlife/nature-themed original works for our silent auction fundraiser, December 3rd, in San Francisco. Please contact Rebeccato find out more!

When you have time, you might enjoy this video of a short presentation by Dyan deNapoli, a penguin expert, on the value of wildlife rehabilitation. It's really good - check it out HERE. 

21st

Just yesterday evening we rescued a skunk from a storm drain catch basin. Read the story and see the exciting video HERE.

Also this week - fantastic news! Do you remember the story we reported back in May - about the stomping of the house finches? (CLICK TO READ) We've received an update - read more HERE.

NEW! We've added WindowAlert to our line of merchandise - these decals help stop window strikes - a leading cause of death in wild birds. Check them out HERE.

Another inadvertently trapped skunk was released from a 'humane' trap last week in Carmel Valley, CA. Read the brief story HERE.

This concludes your Wild Byte for Sunday, August 21st, 2011.

14th

This week, a mother opossum was rescued from.............. vines. Read the complete story of her entanglement, HERE.

Also this week, the number of brown pelicans found hooked with fishing tackle in the Monterey Bay area has risen drastically. Read all about it HERE. For exclusive video of our capture team in action, click HERE.

Don't forget - next weekend WildRescue's San Francisco Bay Area Team will be hosting Crafting For Wildlife at 5lowershop in San Francisco. They will be guiding volunteers in construction of barn owl nest-boxes for placement in and around the Bay Area. For more information contact Max.

This concludes your Wild Byte for Sunday August 14th, 2011.

7th

IN THE NEWS: Our recent offer to help Los Angeles City Animal Services was mentioned in an article this week. Read more about our proposal and what it could mean for wildlife in the Los Angeles area, HERE.

Duane Titus, Co-Director of WildRescue, is still working along the Yellowstone River in Montana, as part of International Bird Rescue's response to last month's Exxon pipeline rupture. Of the 59 animals he's helped rescue, 47 of them have been Woodhouse's toads. Yes, toads. How do you wash an oiled toad, you ask? See Bird Rescue's blog, HERE, to find out!

Also, check it out - we've updated our Calendar (CLICK HERE) with a number of upcoming events and classes, including a big year-end gala fundraiser in San Francisco on December 3rd, at the Fort Mason Center. Save the date!

From time to time, wildlife rehabilitation hospitals need safe places to release animals back to the wild. If you live in a rural area and own acreage, perhaps you would like to offer your property as a release site. To add your name to our list of potential locations, email us, HERE. 

This concludes your Wild Byte for Sunday, August 7th, 2011.

31st

Update on the golden eagle (CLICK HERE to read the whole story and watch the rescue video): The bird suffered a compound fracture of its wing. We believe the injury was caused by the bird hitting transmission lines. The good news is that the eagle (in care at Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley) is eating well - charging at its caretakers less, and gaining weight. He is going in for a risky surgery on Monday - a surgery that will cost the wildlife center close to $2,000.00. We have set up a fund to help our colleagues cover this expense. Contribute HERE, or visit their web site, HERE.

Yesterday, WildRescue's San Francisco Bay Area Team Leaders, Max and Patrick, hosted our first Crafting For Wildlife, in Oakland. It was a tremendous success. Read all about it, HERE.

See our new listing of jobs and positions available on our blog, HERE.

Also this week, the City of Laguna Woods voted to allow coyotes to be shot - CLICK HERE to read our Director's response.

If you're new to our Sunday Wild Bytes, you can catch up on all the past ramblings, HERE, and if you like what you read, please consider supporting our organization with a $12. Annual Gift.

This concludes your Wild Byte for July 31st, 2011

7th

Greetings - lots of good stories:

This week, San Francisco Bay Area Team responded to a gull that had been found with a hook in its bill - read more about it, HERE.

A pelican, too, hooked by fishing gear - rescued at Elkhorn Slough. Bravo! to responder, Ron Eby, for going all-out to catch the bird. See the story and video, HERE.

Also this week, WildRescue has been involved in helping a community deal with their bat issues. Read the details on our blog, HERE. If you haven't visited Bat World Sanctuary's web site before, it's quite a treat - check it out!

Just yesterday, an amazing rescue of a golden eagle in Gilroy. See pictures and video, HERE.

This concludes your Wild Byte for July 24th, 2011.

17th

WildRescue's Duane Titus is still in Montana as part of International Bird Rescue's Emergency Response Team. Keep up with the story on IBR's blog, HERE.


Photo from IBR Blog

Also this week, Patrick and Max, leaders of WildRescue's San Francisco Bay Area Team, re-nested a red-tailed hawk at Crystal Springs Golf in Burlingame with help from two arborists who volunteered their time and expertise to attach the artificial nest, and replace the young bird. Read all about it and see pictures, HERE.

10th

One week ago, our co-director, Duane Titus, was activated for oil spill response through International Bird Rescue. Within 4 hours he was aboard a plane in San Francisco - headed for Billings, Montana. Read more about the ongoing efforts, HERE.

In other oil spill related news: brown pelican, BRPE C-97, also known by a few of his caretakers as Micro, was observed alive and well in Louisiana.  This good-news report (with not-to-be-missed-video), HERE, from WildRescue's, Patrick Hogan.

3rd

Not to bore you, but we had another really great barn owl experience this past week. Read all about it HERE!



Also this week, we were SUPER busy with our exclusion services (Humane Wildlife Management), helping people solve their conflicts with wildlife, like raccoons in attics, skunks under porches etc. - all humanely, without trapping, killing, or relocating (which is illegal in CA). Proceeds from the fees we receive go back into WildRescue!

BAY AREA: Max and Patrick have come up with a creative way to give back to wildlife - Crafting for Wildlife. It's a way for local artists and crafters to have a hand in helping wildlife - like helping to pre-build barn owl boxes, make 'booties' and 'doughnuts' for aquatic birds, or piece together surrogate parent puppets for hand raising baby animals. The creations will be shared with licensed wildlife rehabilitators in and around the Bay Area. 

The Crafting for Wildlife series is set to kick off July 30th - the Theme: Enrichment (things that can enhance the life of a captive animal while it is in rehabilitation). Patrick will give a short talk about enrichment - there will vegan organic treats to sample! Stay tuned for exact location.

If you know of a good place to hold one of these events or would like to host one yourself, please contact Max or Patrick.

26th

The week began with a call about an injured pelican in Point Arena, CA - a few hours north of San Francisco. After a good bit of time and many, many, many phone calls we ended up on the line with someone from the area's Pelican Rescue Team (Who knew?). We also made an excellent contact with a local marine mammal rescuer.

The Pelican was safely captured and transported 130-some miles to aquatic bird specialists at International Bird Rescue where it is being treated for a fishing hook injury.

Also this week:

Yet another pair of barn owls re-nested - this time in Palo Alto. Read all about it HERE.

A little bird was saved from a two-story drain pipe. Read about its rescue HERE.

We reunited 4 baby raccoons with their mom. See the photos and read all about it on our Facebook page, HERE. 

And, Patrick once again engineered a fantastic raptor re-nesting in Foster City with the help of the local Fire Department. Read the story HERE.

One last thing: please consider supporting this online petition asking the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to end the use of seal bombs. These are hand-sized explosive devices intended to scare off seals but are often stuffed inside baitfish, by fishermen, and directly fed to seals. We may not be able to stop barbaric human behavior, but we CAN make these devices illegal. Please help.

19th

This week we were kept busy with calls about raccoons. Check out our blog for more on our methods of dealing with pesky wild neighbors, HERE.

Also on our blog, HERE, we address fatally flawed barn owl nest-boxes, and the reasoning behind certain design requirements.

And, exclusively for our Wild Byte subscribers: photos from colleagues in Brazil washing oil from a brown-throated sloth that was found hanging from a truck after the vehicle ran off the road and collided with a tree. The animal had either been disturbed by the incident or was on the ground defecating when the accident occurred. Sloths only descend to the ground from their tree-top homes to defecate every 8-10 days or so. The animal was cleaned and released back where he was originally found. Here's a link to their website.

12th

Here is a story about a very lucky opossum that beat the odds. Check it out HERE.

In researching opossums we came across this great piece, The Opossum, Its Amazing Story. Truly amazing and worth a look.

Also, a reminder about free-roaming cats. We're in the peak of baby season for wildlife. This is the time when young  animals are just starting to explore their world. For songbirds, this means a few days on the ground as they learn to fly. During this time they are most vulnerable to predation - especially by domestic cats - an introduced animal that songbirds have no defenses against. We will be doing an entire piece on this in the coming weeks, but for now we want to suggest keeping cats indoors during the day or under a watchful eye. Here's a link to some creative ways to give cats the taste of the outdoors, without placing the outdoors on the dinner menu. 

Lastly, a reminder that your weekly Wild Byte is our gift to you for your Annual Gift of $12. (or more). Some of you are receiving this on a trial basis. Please, if you have not already done so, make that very important contribution today, by clicking HERE. 

This concludes your Wild Byte for 6-12-11.

5th

Sadly, the adult female pelican rescued in open water off Santa Cruz did not recover. If you recall, this poor bird was snared by a fishing hook, tangled in line, and snagged to the sea floor. The fishermen responsible were seen fleeing after hooking her.

With no boat of our own and no agency to help perform a water rescue, the pelican struggled for hours, fighting to get free, driving the hook deeper and deeper into bone. Finally, we found two heroic surfers who agreed to help. See video of the dramatic rescue HERE.



When she was brought to shore she was limp. She couldn't even hold her head up. I remember her eyes, too. They were reddened and fixed open - unresponsive.



Amazingly, she survived the night. This taught us something really important. She showed us that animals in this bad of condition - so weak and near death, still have a fighting chance and should be given an opportunity to recover. 
A couple of days later the pelican was driven 100 miles to aquatic bird specialists, International Bird Rescue. Unfortunately, after weeks of expert medical treatment and rehabilitative care, the infection from the fishing hook took over.
Such a loss - an otherwise healthy pelican that had proven her ability to survive, living at least three years into adulthood, gone.

In the wake of this loss, however, a number of recently fledged young pelicans are being given a second chance.

A die-off of the weakest is normal this time of year - it's nature's way of culling the least fit so that only the strongest survive. As essential as this process is, witnessing nature at work is not always pleasant. Young pelicans are being found up and down the coast, weak and starving. The lucky ones wind up at International Bird Rescue where they are quickly fattened up and released.

Professional wildlife rehabilitators are careful to respect the laws of nature, but sometimes it makes sense to try and offset the imbalances Man is responsible for causing. Having lost the female pelican, for example, a bird that would have probably contributed to succeeding generations, it seems right that a handful of juvenile pelicans are given an opportunity to try and replace her.

International Bird Rescue, which manages two aquatic bird facilities in California, isn't going out of their way to look for ailing juvenile pelicans, but they are willing to treat the ones that are found and brought in. If you'd like to help our colleagues offset the cost of giving these youngsters a second chance, click here to adopt a pelican.

29th

Baby California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus), have recently turned up starving and in weak condition along the California coast. Distinguished from adults and older juveniles by their white bellies, yellowish beaks, and creamy yellow color on their legs, these "hatch year" youngsters hail from nesting colonies offshore. Since their population dropped in the mid-twentieth century from the effects of DDT, California's brown pelican nesting colonies are only found in the Channel Islands off of Los Angeles. As a result, these babies have traveled a long way by the time we see them.

Note the pale yellow color of this young pelican's legs and feet.
Keep an eye out for weak baby pelicans and call our hotline for the nearest rescue center: 1-866-WILD-911

Yesterday, WildRescue responded to a call by a fisherman about one of these "hatch years". When we arrived at the scene, this baby pelican was being harassed by a group of picture-taking beach-goers who had no idea there was anything wrong with the animal. As empathetic animals, our instinct is usually to help when we encounter other beings in trouble, yet only the fisherman was able to "hear" that help was what the baby needed. Was he more familiar with the beach, the birds and their normal behavior, or was it that he was the only one listening?

Contributing writer, Max Salamander

This newly fledged pelican is headed to International Bird Rescue in Fairfield for care. Nearly a 300 mile roundtrip from the Monterey Bay area. Volunteer transporters are always needed to do all or part of these frequent hauls.

UPDATE:

The  pelican rescued off of Santa Cruz on May 9th is still receiving rehabilitative care at International Bird Rescue in Fairfield. We will keep you posted on her progress.

22nd

Just a quick recap of the week in rescues:

Rescue 90210: A mother duck and ducklings were successfully relocated from an enclosed yard to the wilds of the Los Angeles river. Read the story and see our LA Team in action, HERE.

Successful WILD-FOSTERING of an owlet: One week after falling from an unsuitable 'owl box' in Half Moon Bay, a nestling barn owl was paired with another, slightly younger owlet that had escaped the clutches of a raven. Read the incredible story, HERE.

Stinky Business: One of our newest rescue volunteers, Diane, was introduced to the sometime-stinky business of wildlife rescue when she freed a poor skunk that had been trapped inadvertently. Great pictures. Read the short piece on our blog, HERE.

Super Heroic Deed: Patrick - wildlife rehabber at Peninsula Humane Society by day - super-human WildRescue volunteer on his off-hours, went to great lengths (and height) to re-nest a pair of barn owls. Read the full story, HERE.
Hope you enjoy these stories. Thanks again for supporting WildRescue!

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15th

Some good news - the pelican that was rescued from the waters off Santa Cruz is doing really well, especially considering she could not even hold her head up when she was brought to shore. This is an example of a bird that would have probably been euthanized at a shelter due to its unresponsiveness. Read the full story and see video of the heroic rescue by clicking HERE.

Also, the story of the little girl who saved the finch finally made the papers - the Daily News. Read all about it HERE. We will be honoring Jessica with a very special award at our annual event - The Year In Rescues (November/December).

The many calls we received this week once again highlighted the dire need for community transport teams - transporters who can help get injured wild animals to various care facilities throughout Los Angeles and the Bay Area... It's a really serious problem, one that costs animals their lives. If you're not already signed up to be on-call to help transport, and you'd like to be, please email us.

8th

On this Mother's Day we'd like to remind everyone about babies - wild babies and their moms, and their struggle to survive in 'our' world.

It's nearing the peak of 'baby season'. This is a treacherous time for wild animals raising young in close proximity to humans for this is also the time of year when people choose to trim trees and shrubs, plow fields, and mow tall grasses - destroying nests and hiding places.

Spring and summer is also the time for increased complaints about wildlife - a mother raccoon, skunk, or fox, denning under a home; a female opossum caught crossing a lawn at daybreak - her marsupial pocket stretched to its extreme; a mallard hen with her thirteen fuzzy ducklings enjoying a private swimming pool; a red-shouldered hawk protecting her downy chicks, dive-bombing at passersby. We receive hundreds of calls from people seeking relief from these wild mothers - from what is perceived as either a tremendous threat or a great annoyance. We do our best to resolve a person's immediate concerns, but what is most needed, especially this time of year, is greater tolerance and understanding for mothers or all species.

Not all calls are from people complaining about wildlife (thankfully) - we receive numerous requests for help, from people who have found a baby wild animal.

This time of year, wildlife hospitals are inundated with baby animals - many that are perfectly healthy, inadvertently orphaned by those thinking they are doing the right thing by picking them up. It's certainly right to pick up a helpless baby that's in a precarious situation - on a sidewalk or alongside a busy roadway. Often, though, all they need is to be re-situated a few yards away, under bush or on a low branch. Mom is probably close by.

When finders deliver healthy babies to shelters or rehabilitation facilities, the chance to reunite them with their parents may be lost. Too often, the finder's contact information goes undocumented or is lost during transfer, and unless a rehabilitation program has the resources to send out a team to attempt a reunion, they may be left to raise them in a captive setting, without wild parents to teach them necessary skills.

Wild animals stand the greatest chance of surviving as adults if they are raised by wild parents. From wild parents they learn where to forage, how to hunt, what to eat, birds learn their song, they learn social etiquette, they are shown what to fear, where to hide and seek shelter. These are all things essential to their survival. Things that even the greatest rehabilitator in the world cannot teach them.

To do right by wild babies, every effort must be made to keep them in the wild. Thankfully, there is a growing trend to reunite, re-nest, and wild-foster whenever possible.

Please see our latest blog entry for a recent story about re-nesting a clutch of robins - a collaborative effort between two wildlife rescue programs.

If you happen across a wild baby that you think might be orphaned - please give us a call and we will help you in determining what to do for it.

1st

The past week was filled with the same mix of calls regarding wildlife - calls from people who wanted to help the animal they'd encountered, and calls from people who could not have cared less if the animal in their yard was killed... they just wanted it gone, out of their life, as if it were rubbish. This next story, though, was the clincher.

As it goes, it was Wednesday morning at Patrick Henry Middle School in Granada Hills, CA. A little girl, maybe 11 years old, watched as a gang of boys, a couple years older than she, pulled down a nest of house finches and began stomping on them, crushing and killing them, swatting at the parents who were desperately trying to save their babies. One of the nestlings managed to hop to the side where this brave little girl was able to race in and rescue it. She ran to the school's office for help. The baby bird was transferred to one of our colleagues, Valley Wildlife Care (an exceptional rehabilitation program in the West Valley). The nestling finch is in stable condition though it suffered substantial injuries in the attack.

Reading about this on their Facebook page, I contacted Brenda, Founder and Executive Director of VWC to see what, if anything, could be done about this latest incident of animal cruelty by minors. With her blessing, WildRescue issued a press release and contacted authorities.

It turns out that the Federal agency, US Fish & Wildlife Service, that normally investigates crimes involving native wild bird is unable to do so because minors are involved (Who knew?). That's okay - because apparently animal cruelty penalties are much more severe.

At this point in time, the Los Angeles Animal Services Animal Cruelty Task Force is taking the lead on investigating the heinous crime. We are supporting ACTF in any way we can, hoping the boys are swiftly and severely punished and that their parents are, too, held accountable.

We are also planning to honor the little girl for her valiant efforts and to counter the inhumanity she experienced. She witnessed murder - and, she took action. She put herself on the line to save a tiny life - something few adults would do. This must but embraced. We, along with Valley Wildlife Care, will be presenting her with an award in recognition of her compassion and bravery. If you have any thoughts, ideas, or want to be involved, let me know.

So, all of this has lead me to, once again, question, why. Why are we seeing an increase in the frequency and intensity of acts of animal cruelty by minors? Why does it seem like more and more people view wildlife and nature as something of an annoyance that should simply be disposed of? Perhaps it is something called Nature Deficit. I'll end this solemn and sobering Wild Byte with a recommendation for a book, Last Child in the Woods, which explores the phenomenon. I just ordered myself a copy.

Thank you, once again, for supporting WildRescue!

24th

Our Worldwide Fishing Line Cleanup Day (for Earth Day) was quite a success, especially since it was only 3 weeks in the making. Next year we'll start planning well in advance. Please be sure to check out the gallery and map at Picasa to see what was picked up and from where. More pics are being added as they come in.

It's been a very busy couple of weeks and the season is just getting underway. What is clearly evident is there are not enough helping hands to see to all the sick, injured, and orphaned wild animals that are reported... read the full story on our blog, HERE.

17th

In three days, on Wednesday night, April 20th - the anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, a very special film will air on HBO, Saving Pelican 895. 

This award winning documentary by filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky, chronicles the journey of one young pelican - from when he was first rescued, covered in oil, through his rehabilitation, to his subsequent return to the wild. You'll get a first-hand look at the intense process of caring for oiled wildlife and how many people are involved - and you just might recognize one or two of them! Read more and get sneak peek on our blog.

Our Earth Day event, Worldwide Fishing Line Cleanup, is shaping up nicely! We've received pledges from people in the United Kingdom and Australia!!! Should be fun. If you have not picked a spot to canvas, please do, It can be anywhere and any time on the 23rd. Just emailearthday@wildrescue.org. Here's a great news article about the event.

Lastly, we received an email this week from our friend, the Turkey Whisperer. He wanted to share a recent photo of Pinky with us. Handsome! If you don't know the story of Pinky, it's pretty incredible. Please check out the story on our blog.

Okay, that's a wrap.

13th

Spring is upon us... and with the warming days come wild babies. This is just a reminder of what to look out for and what you should do:

- A baby bird on the ground that is feathered - alert - wants to get away from you - can hop and perch - both wings look the same:

1) Should NOT be removed unless parents are confirmed dead.
2) Should NOT be placed back in nest - it will only risk falling again - it wants to be and needs to be out of the nest!
3) Can be placed on LOW branches within a few yards from where it was first observed.
4) Give the baby time and space to grow up - turn off automatic sprinklers, put off yard cleanup, keep cats and dogs away from the area for a few days at least.

Baby birds that appear lethargic, 'sad looking', sunken eyes, cold to the touch, fluffed up - require immediate attention!

1) With clean dry hands a baby bird can be placed into clean box or plastic tub lined with a non-frayed towel (not terry cloth). Container should not be too large - the sides should not be more than a few inches from the bird's body, if possible. The towel can be shaped into a cup to help support the bird, like a nest.

2) Supply a heat source. Here are some ways to warm the baby:

a) Heating pad on Low or Medium set UNDER or AROUND only a PORTION of the container - must get the ambient heat surrounding the bird to about 80 - 85 degrees. MUST MONITOR FOR OVERHEATING! 

b) Vessel of hot/warm water WRAPPED in a DISH TOWEL. Must NOT come into direct contact with bird but set to the side of the towel 'cup' or underneath 'cup'. Warmth will last about 20 - 30 minutes. As the water cools it must be removed as it will also cool down the baby.

c) Dry rice (or other dry grains/legumes) - microwaved (NO WATER) for about 1 minute - tossed and turned and microwaved for another minute or so until it is quite warm to the touch - almost hot. Place in cotton sock or pillowcase, tied close. Place near or under towel 'cup'.

2) Call for help - 1-866-WILD-911 or local (Bay Area, Monterey, Los Angeles) page 831-429-2323.

10th

Today, Sunday, we will be installing two of our barn owl boxes on two residences - one in Gilroy, the other in Morgan Hill. Very cool!

Highlights from this week include an opossum found sleeping in a whicker basket, and the freeing of yet another inadvertently trapped skunk. Read about these stories and more on our BLOG.

Now for the big news:

Inspired by one of our volunteers, WildRescue is coordinating an Earth Day event for April 23rd.

Worldwide Fishing Line Cleanup

You, too, can take part - anytime and anywhere on the 23rd - just pick a spot.

Seriously. Just pick a location near you - the shore of any ocean, lake, river or stream. Then, let us know (email) so we can add your efforts to the Map (check it out).

Even in a big city you'll find manmade ponds or reservoirs where people fish. Where people fish, there will be loose, abandoned line. Abandoned line kills! Pictured here is a raven's foot, tangled in line. He was snagged on a branch, high up in a cypress tree. 

Please help make a difference, won't you?

3rd

You know those skinny-necked Yoplait yogurt containers? Well, what happens - way too often, is that wild animals, like skunks, get their little heads stuck in them. It may sound a bit funny, but it must be terrifying for the animal and surely kills many that go unnoticed. 

Thanks to the fellow in Aptos, CA, who called us on Friday about a skunk stuck in his garbage container, and many Thanks to Deanna, a member of our Wildlife Search & Rescue Team, for responding to the call and taking the time to see that it was not simply a skunk stuck in a trash can, but in a yogurt cup, as well. The poor creature had been in this predicament for over 8 hours before WildRescue was contacted.

Deanna smartly and carefully tipped the can and covered the animal with a large heavy blanket to remove the cup from its face. Once its head was free she stepped back quickly, standing very still. There was a moment of direct eye contact, a sigh of relief from both sides, i am sure, and the skunk romped off into the woods. See pics and read more onWildRescue's blog.

Just like those awful plastic six-pack thingamajigs, try to avoid purchasing such containers or slice them up before tossing them in the RECYCLING bin. Above all - see that no wild animals have access to your garbage.

Stay tuned for news on upcoming beach cleanups where you'll be invited to meet up with other WildRescue volunteers and supporters for a day at the beach, picking up trash. 

27th

We've had quite a few wildlife rescue calls in the last month where skunks and opossums have been inadvertently trapped by people using 'humane' traps to catch stray cats. We instructed the callers on how to let the poor animals free, or responded to the call and carefully removed the terrified animal.

Here's a tip for cat 'trappers':

Humane traps intended to catch domestic cats should be set during daylight hours only. From sunrise to sunset. This will cut down on the number of wild animals caught and killed.

Speaking of trapping - did you know that it is illegal in California for anyone to set a trap for a wild animal within 150 yards of another's residence without that resident's written permission?