Meet the Staff of the Wildlife Clinic
by Rick Schubert

At least half of what we do in wildlife rehab is education...in the end, it's how we make the most difference. Every time someone calls us about what to do with a bird that's been hurt by a cat, every time someone stops to pick up an animal that's been run over by a car, every time a kid comes face-to-face with a great-horned owl at our programs, they're interacting in the larger balance of nature that we're all a part of. Since we won't conserve what we don't understand and love, we feel that education is vital to preserving a future for our native wildlife species, and we're commited to promoting the idea that coexistence is beneficial to us all.

With that I mind, I would like to introduce some of my Staff at the Wildlife Rehab Clinic. I could not ask for a better team of co-workers...they work for food and housing, never complain about time off, and dedicate themselves 110% to their jobs as ambassadors for the wild creatures that we need to share our world with.

FREYA

Freya is a Red-tailed Hawk. She was brought to us in November of 2005, when she was still a juvenile, after she was shot with a bullet.  The bullet entered under her left wing and is lodged near her spine.  A veterinarian's x-ray verified that it was too close to the spinal cord to be removed surgically, so we tried to rehabilitate Freya without surgery. After months of antibiotics, wound management, and physical therapy, it turned out that there was just too much damage to that wing, and although Freya could fly, she would start to lose altitude after about 50 feet and would never be able to fly well enough to hunt and survive on her own. It broke our hearts that her freedom was taken from her by such a wantonly destructive act, but Freya was given a second life as a teacher, and is now our oldest and most experienced staff member, thrilling children and adults every time she perches on my fist with her wings spread defiantly.

SNEAKERS

Sneakers is a Virginia Opossum.  He has metabolic bone disease, a condition similar to Rickets in human beings, and is the result of an improper diet. He was taken by someone as a baby and kept as a pet (which is illegal of course), and was fed a low-calcium diet until his bones got soft. Since this happened while he was still a baby, his growth is stunted and he'll never be releasable. However, he makes a wonderful ambassador for his kind, teaching people that North America's only native marsupial is a harmless nomadic omnivore, beneficial to the environment as part of nature's "clean-up crew".

JACKSON

Jackson is a Great-horned Owl, and is a real Southern gentleman. He was badly injured back in his home town of Jackson, North Carolina, when he was hit by a car. A nature center down there took him to a veterinarian, who had to amputate part of his badly mangled wing. He will never fly again, and the good people down South transferred him to us at The Schuylkill Center where he can get a lifetime of care.  Not only is he a beautiful hunk of prime owlness, he also holds down two jobs! His day job is that of a teacher, like Freya, coming with me to school programs. But we also found out he makes a great surrogate dad! When we admit baby owls into our care, orphaned through habitat loss, one of the great challenges is to make sure they don't become "imprinted" on human beings. Being fed, being talked to, and seeing humans all day is a sure way to make this mistake. Then, when we release them, they'll fly up and land on people and beg for treats! If you can imagine great-horned owls landing on people's heads as they jog down Kelly Drive, you can see why "imprinting" is the cardinal sin of a wildlife rehabber. So we started putting the baby owls in Jackson's cage, hoping that at least he would be a visual role model, even if he did nothing else. However, he quickly took to his new job with devotion! Not only did he mentor these young owls, but when we slipped food into the cage, he would pick the food up and put it in the babies' mouths! He would also clack his beak agressively, hiss, and put himself between us and the babies whenever we entered the cage. Talk about Father of the Year!

BLADE

Blade is an Eastern Box Turtle.  His name comes from the fact that he was hit by a lawnmower blade.  It did severe damage to his shell. While many box turtles are releasable despite massive injuries and long recovery periods, Blade sustained spinal damage in his injury, and the use of his back legs is greatly impaired. A turtle's shell is living tissue, it feels pain and sustains injury just like our skin.  Have you ever seen a box turtle walking around in the snow? Of course not! They dig down into the soil and hibernate in the winter. Blade can't do that because of his handicap, and thus can't be released. He lives in a large tank year-round, with heat bulbs, a water bath, and plenty of mulch to root around in.

These and other wildlife ambassadors are available to come to your school, community group, scout group, birthday party, etc, for an educational and fun program that you will not soon forget!  If you’d like to book a program, you can contact us at the Clinic at 215-482-8217.