Photo by Ralph Arwood

A bobcat waits to be transported by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic team to a release site in eastern Collier County.

Photo by Ralph Arwood

After a few minutes at the release site near the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, the bobcat bolted from the transport cage.

Photo by Joanna Fitzgerald Vaught

Florida red-bellied turtle receives her daily feeding at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. The turtle was severely damaged after being hit by a car. Her shell is in the process of healing.

Photo by Joanna Fitzgerald Vaught

An immature yellow-crowned night heron is rehabilitating remarkably well at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida Wildlife Rehabiliation Clinic. After several days, it has begun to feed itself.

NAPLES — The big news of the week was the successful release of the orphaned bobcat that was this year's first admission to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida Wildlife Clinic.

She was mean when she arrived and snarled and snapped when we were trying to get her to come out of her pet carrier. The bobcat weighed about 3 pounds on its arrival.

When the Conservancy clinic team released the bobcat back to the wild near the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, she was estimated to weigh about 20 pounds. Since we had very little direct contact with her, we didn’t even know if the bobcat was male or female until we reviewed one of the release photos.

Besides the big release, we admitted 48 animals to the Conservancy Wildlife Clinic. Some of the bird admissions include a yellow-crowned night-heron, a great-crested flycatcher, three red-bellied woodpeckers, two Eastern bluebirds, a sandwich tern, seven Northern mockingbirds and a Wilson’s storm-petrel, which are rarely seen in Southwest Florida.

Reptile and mammal admissions include a musk turtle, a Florida red-bellied turtle, a gopher tortoise, a gray squirrel, four opossums and a raccoon.

A Valuable Lesson: The Down Side of Sticky Pest Tape and Glue Boards

One of the red-bellied woodpeckers was brought to the Conservancy Wildlife Clinic after being stuck to a sticky fly trap tape. The rescuers managed to peel the bird off the tape, but it still had glue stuck to its wing, face and body. It also lost several wing feathers when it was extracted from the fly trap.

The woodpecker will need a series of baths to try and remove the glue. Unfortunately it got glue in its right eye which may cause permanent vision loss. The cleaning baths are very stressful for the bird; we can only work on it for short periods of time.

The sibling to the woodpecker was brought in two days after the first one. It was found in a yard not flying and unable to use its legs properly.

Since both babies were having trouble we can assume something happened to the parents and these birds were not ready to fend for themselves.

Over the years, many animals have been brought to the Conservancy Wildlife Clinic after getting stuck to fly traps or to rodent glue board traps that are used to catch and kill rodents.

Pest species are not the only victims of these traps. They can cause severe damage to anything that comes in contact with the glue. We have had hummingbirds, blue jays, bats, mourning doves, Northern cardinals, lizards and squirrels come in stuck to these glue boards and fly tapes.

Once caught, some of the animals have actually struggled so hard in the glue that they have broken their own wings and legs trying to get free. One animal was still alive but had torn its leg off struggling in the glue. It is a gruesome and cruel way for any animal to die.

If someone must use sticky fly traps, we recommend putting quarter-inch wire mesh around the fly traps so only insects come in contact with the trap.

We never recommend the glue board traps be used for any type of pest removal. Nothing deserves to die slowly and cruelly while trapped in glue.

An Unusual Patient

The Wilson’s storm-petrel is rarely seen in our area. This is the first record of one being admitted to the Conservancy Wildlife Clinic.

Although storm-petrels are true seabirds, this one was found struggling in the ocean. It took rescuers a half an hour to retrieve it from the water.

Wilson’s storm-petrels are small, delicate looking birds. When foraging for food they hover with their feet touching the water, almost as if they are pattering across the surface.

They are active around their nesting colonies at night and many species feed at night as well. Unlike most birds, they apparently can locate food by smell.

Our Wilson’s storm-petrel was weak when admitted but had no apparent injuries. Sadly, it died within an hour of being admitted.

Leave Wildlife Care to the Experts

The yellow-crowned night heron was admitted after a woman had been caring for it for two days. She was feeding it bread although yellow-crowned night herons mainly eat crustaceans. The bird was young, probably just learning to forage for itself.

The heron was underweight and dehydrated when admitted but had no injuries. Now that it is eating a proper diet it is very alert and defensive. It tries to stab at its caretakers whenever it is being fed, a very good sign for successful recovery.

It is very common for people who have found an injured or orphaned animal to try and feed it bread and milk. This combination does not serve any animal well.

Bread, particularly white bread, has no nutritional value. Most birds do not consume any type of milk product in their natural diet so it usually leads to intestinal upset if a baby bird has been fed milk.

Mammal babies have very specific formula requirements and cow’s milk normally leads to stomach upset for them as well. Please don’t attempt to care for wildlife on your own. Call the clinic for assistance. The sooner we can begin treating an animal, the better its chance for survival.

More Terrific Wildlife Releases

A blue jay and a boat-tailed grackle brought in as orphans had grown enough to care for themselves. They were released in areas where the homeowners could continue to supply food while the birds hone their foraging skills.

The Conservancy Wildlife Clinic team released an opossum that had been admitted after being hit by a car. Unfortunately, the homeowner where the opossum came from was not pleased to have it returned to her yard. She was sure it was getting in her garbage and said it had been in her garbage the night before.

Since the opossum had been at the Conservancy Wildlife Clinic the night before, we assured the woman the opossum wasn’t the culprit. Any animal is going to take an easy handout, so everyone should take steps to secure garbage cans to keep wild animals out.

Clinic permits require wildlife be released in the area they were found when at all possible. Animals have a home territory they occupy and it is in their best interest to return them to the area they are familiar with. They know where to find food, shelter and water in their home territory.

Several Northern mockingbirds and mourning doves that had been attacked by cats were also healed and able to be released.

Cost of Doing Business

At the end of the week, I was involved in the budgeting process for next year and have estimated it is costing us about $175 – $200 per day in just basic food and medication for our patients.

This doesn’t include basic business expenses such as utilities and other patient requirements, the supplies and specialty care we need to provide to care for these orphaned, sick or injured animals.

We are supported by private donations and receive no government funding for the services we provide in the region. We are thankful for the support of our volunteers and the local vets that donate their time, expertise and facilities on a regular basis.

If you find an animal in distress or have a question regarding native wildlife, please call the Conservancy Wildlife Clinic at 239-262-2273.

Joining the Conservancy of Southwest Florida as a member is great way to support our mission to care for injured and orphaned native wildlife. For more information or to join as a member, please visit our website at www.conservancy.org.

Naples Daily News
Naples Sun Times
The Banner

Collier Citizen
Vista Semanal
PrepZone

Coastalbeat
Set Anchor
SWFLMoms