Other Feature Stories

River Otters

Oprah and Mittens, two orphaned river otters admitted for care this spring, were released back into the wild in June. Oprah was brought to us after she was found alone at Orlando Lakes Resort, and the rescuers said at that time that they would like to have her released back on their property when she finished her rehab. Another female otter, rescued by volunteer Stacy Russo joined her in care, and they were successfully raised together. High school Senior, Daniel Piefer, of Oviedo, volunteered to catch all of the fresh fish for the two otters, and he kept them well supplied.

Raccoons

"Little Boss", whose story was in the April News was found in an outdoor trash can and weighed only 68 grams-but he had a strong will to survive. In June, we received another baby, a little girl, called "Missy", screaming for her bottle. She, too, pretty much rules our lives as she demands 6 feedings, round the clock.

Gray Squirrels

The spring brought quite a few baby grays in for care, and as of July, most have been released. We still have a black phase male, "Dark Knight", and two gray juveniles in care; but the autumn babies have begun to
arrive. A newborn arrived in June, and Leslie Johnson admitted 5 babies early in July. August 1st begins baby squirrel season, and we just hope that we can avoid any big storms this year. We just purchased a large
generator which will enable us
to keep our babies warm in their incubators, heat the formulas, and maintain refrigeration if power is lost this year. Since we have a deep well and pump, without power, we cannot even provide water to the animals in care, so the generator will solve that dilemma as well.

Piebald White Tail Deer

At the end of June, volunteer, Lindy Williams was called upon to rescue an abandoned fawn at the local Stanton Energy Plant. We usually receive two or three fawns per year from that area. The baby had been observed lying in the same location for two days with a dead sibling nearby. When Lindy arrived at -ouf center with the little 5 pound baby~ we observed it to be a piebald anomaly, wliich is a genetic defect rarely occurring in white tail deer. The babies usually have severe and life
threatening deformities and do not survive to adulthood except in very rare cases. They can have a multitude of abnormal characteristics, such as malformed mouth, patterns of white fur, short legs, leg or hoof deformities, and, in fact, some have been born totally without legs. This little guy has deformed feet, and we do not yet know if he will survive. The previous two piebald fawns admitted to our facility did not. Ron has decided to call this little guy "Flash", and we are hoping for the best.

Cottontail and Marsh Rabbits

Throughout the spring and summer months, we have received a number of orphaned bunnies needing care. Volunteer, Helen Schmid, continues to assist us with these special babies. Raising baby wild rabbits can be very difficult, and we are truly thankful that Helen is so good with them. We weigh baby animals regularly in order
to feed them the proper amounts of formula and to make sure that they are gaining weight normally.