If you give a squirrel a cookie…Each day we receive a variety of calls and we never know where they might lead. While many make us smile or laugh, some are emotional. These calls remind us that behind every rescue is a person who stopped what they were doing to help an animal in need. That gives us hope.
California Wildlife Center recently treated an almost 8-pound bobcat who was rescued from a burn area in Sierra Madre after the Eaton Fire. On January 29, the bobcat was admitted to Pasadena Humane emaciated, with burns on her paws and singed fur on her backside.
In December, we were contacted by an Agoura Hills animal control officer, letting us know their team was going out to rescue a Gray Fox sitting in daylight atop a high chain-link fence, refusing to jump down. This is highly abnormal for a fox.
As fall has finally arrived, most of our young patients are ready to return to their wild homes. Each year, California Wildlife Center (CWC) rehabilitates injured, orphaned or abandoned young Mule Deer. This year, we cared for four fawns.
California Wildlife Center staff and volunteers recently had the unique opportunity to go on a behind-the-scenes tour of the avian and mammal collections department of the Los Angeles Natural History Museum (NHM).
Encountering a young animal in the wild can be an exhilarating experience. Although it is natural to have the initial instinct to intervene in an attempt to protect the animal, stepping in without proper knowledge can do more harm than good.
By Anna Noble, Administrative Assistant
Young Virginia Opossum
Photo by Kim Barker
California Wildlife Center admits an average of 250 opossums yearly. Of this number, 40-50 are adults, while the remainder are orphans. Most adult opossums who are admitted have experienced bodily injury due to trapping, predation, gun shots, or encounters with vehicles on roadways. Joeys (the word for baby opossums) that are seven inches or longer should be left if found alone unless they show obvious sign of injury. Smaller joeys should come to CWC for treatment.
While the opossum is sometimes perceived as a “nuisance” animal, they serve a pivotal role in the ecosystem. Opossums act as nature’s double-duty pest control and sanitation. They eat mice, rats, snakes, worms, slugs and insects, rotting fruits and vegetables, and even garbage. As they have an unusually high need for calcium, they often eat the skeletons of rodents and road kill for a boost.
Opossums are incorrectly perceived as unclean and disease-ridden animals. In fact, they bathe and groom themselves nearly as often as house cats. They also have very powerful immune systems which fend off many diseases. Opossums almost never have rabies, as their low body temperature makes it difficult for the virus to survive. They are even immune to the venoms of snakes, scorpions and bees, as well as to ricin and botulinum toxin! Despite having some similar physical traits, opossums are not related to rodents and are actually the only marsupial found in North America.
Despite their tendency to appear vicious when showing their fifty teeth, opossums are rarely looking for trouble. They are very docile animals, and when threatened their first instinct is to simply run away. If danger persists, they will show their teeth and make a hissing sound. And when neither of these options prevail, they fall into a comatose state in which their bodies temporarily freeze, causing them to appear lifeless. This defense mechanism is known as “playing possum.”