It's all about the patients. Here is some general information about our patients from our hospital records since 1999 and patients/rescuees featured here since March of 2008.
Patients
Since 1998, CWC has experienced a steady increase in animal patients, caring for over 17,000 wild animals, many whose injuries were caused by the impacts of their urbanized environments.
California Wildlife Center is currently the only licensed facility providing marine mammal response as well as full term rehabilitative care for native wildlife including coyotes, deer, raptors, pelagic birds, songbirds, squirrels, opossums, bobcats, etc., in Los Angeles and Orange counties and southern Ventura County. CWC offers direct services at no charge to the public in cooperation with California State Parks, the California Department of Fish and Game, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, the City of Malibu, local county and city animal control agencies, and the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.
Below are some notes about specific recent patients of interest.
January 2010 Pelican Admissions
The recent storms and treacherous surf have wreaked havoc on the seabird population. Just in the month of January, CWC has admitted 29 California Brown Pelicans and is expecting more in the coming days. Most of the birds are suffering from hypothermia. Their feathers normally form a natural barrier to the water and act as insulation from the cold, but instead are matted by oil, grease and other substances from the massive runoff, much of it coming from roads and freeways. We had already received many pelicans prior to the storms that were emaciated from not finding food. The El Nino condition is causing the surface water temperatures to rise, sending fish out to deeper, colder water. The storms dealt them a second blow. Our staff and volunteers are working very hard to stabilize them which requires warming them up and hydrating them. Once stabilized, they are transported to IBRRC (International Bird Rescue Research Center) in San Pedro for rehabilitation. They have received 107 pelicans and counting. It takes 5 to 7 days per bird before they can be released back into the wild.
Rescue 2010-01-26 Elephant Seal Pup
CWC just rescued our first EVER black-coat elephant seal pup! This approximately 3 week old pup should still be on the beach with her mother on one of the Channel Islands. However, last weeks storms and incredibly rough surf likely washed her out to sea where she was carried by the currents (she doesn't swim well yet) to our shores. She crash landed on the rocks at Leo Carillo State Beach and has numerous cuts, bruises and bumps. The "black-coat" refers to the curly black coat that all elephant seals are born with and that is shed shortly after weaning to reveal their normal brownish-silver pelage. She was transported to the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro this morning. Her prognosis is guarded because she is so young, but we'll all be keeping our fingers crossed!
Rescue 2009-11-15 Yearling Sea Lion
This female yearling sea lion was observed stranded on some rocks at Pt. Dume for two consecutive days. She had made no attempt to go into the water to hunt for food and appeared to have just given up. She was extremely underweight, had a severly bloated belly and was very lethargic. She desperately needed help, so the decision was made to attempt a rescue. She was in a very difficult area to get in and out of, but with much persistence, the rescue was made. She was transported to the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro for care. She had a rough first week, but is now eating on her own and well on her way to recovery and release!
UPDATE: 1-26-10 We are very happy to say this little sea lion was released two weeks ago back into the wild! Good luck Whitney!
Rescued 2009-11-12 Gray Fox
Patient #2548, an approximatedly one year old Gray Fox, was rescued from a drainage ditch in Culver City, after we had a call from a lady who had seen it for 4 days, and said that it had hardly moved. We were able to rescue it quite easily, although it did growl at us, which we took as a good sign! Dr Tom, our Vetinerian, assessed it after x-rays, as having no broken bones. It had moderate to generalized weakness, and was anemic. It took 5 mins. for the Fox's blood to clot. which led him to suspect rodenticide poisoning, which stops the blood from clotting. This means he would have eaten some rodent that had been poisoned. Vitamin K is used to counteract this problem.
This just goes to show, how poisoning rodents, just doesn't stop there, and goes down the food chain. If the fox had not been rescued and died, then other animals or birds could also have been poisoned. Humane traps are a much better way to get rid of rodents.
As you can see from the picture, he is doing much better and eating well. So he will be able to be released, when he has gained sufficient weight.
Admitted 2009-10-09 Red Tailed Hawk
This beautiful male hawk was brought to CWC by L.A. County Animal Control, unable to fly. Radiographs revealed that the bird had been shot with a pellet gun, resulting in multiple breaks to the ulna, or “forearm” of the wing. After removing the pellet and pinning the broken bone, the CWC team began a regimen of physical therapy to limit the ulna from fusing to the radius, which would limit maneuverability during flight. The hawk refused to eat while in the hospital, but luckily the break healed quite rapidly and he was moved to our new 100’ flight pen to enable him to exercise the wing and further limit the fusing of the two bones. Once outside, he immediately regained his appetite (wonderful what fresh air will do!) and began to regain his strength. This hawk was also vaccinated for West Nile Virus to help prevent any potential infection once released to the wild, which he was, five weeks after arriving at CWC.
To help give more animals like this one a second chance at life, please visit our Help-Us page.
Admitted 2009-09 Soft Release of Fox Squirrels.
He was known as “Reject,” a fox squirrel brought to CWC after someone had kept him for three weeks. But like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, no other healthy squirrels at CWC would join in his squirrelly games. That is, until he was put together with “Neuro,” “Arm” and “Dog Bite,” a rag-tag band of misfits themselves, who readily accepted Reject as one of their own. Neuro arrived at CWC circling and tremoring with head trauma. Arm came in with a broken right forearm. And Dog Bite, well, you can guess his story! Luckily, with expert care from CWC’s hospital team, all four of these cast-outs did quite well, and were released back to the wild to once again fight crime…or whatever squirrels fight. They were "soft released", meaning their box "home" that they had lived in while recuperating, went with them. It is put up into a tree, so they have some place to go back to, until they feel more at home in the wild. We can then take it back to use on next years squirrels.
To help give more animals like this one a second chance at life, please visit our Help-Us page.
Admitted 2009-09-19 Western Gray Squirrel
This little guy was brought to us from the Pt. Dume area of Malibu. He was very dehydrated and weak. He receives feedings every 4 hours and is doing well with them. We'll keep you posted on his progress!
This graceful tree-dweller grows up to a length of 24 inches, including the long bushy tail. Tree squirrels do not have cheek pouches like ground squirrels, but have the same squirrel toe pattern - four toes on the front feet and five larger toes on the hind feet. The coat is overall gray above and white on the underside. The tail has white tips to the hairs.
The gray squirrel eats mostly acorns, but feeds on other nuts and seeds and in the spring, new leaf buds. The squirrels live in tree cavities or in a nest of twigs, bark and leaves built far out on the branch of a large tree. They can be seen looking for food in trees or burying nuts in the ground during the day. They do not hibernate in the winter as do some ground squirrels. Most of the squirrels we see here are fox squirrels. They originated on the East coast and were imported here. Gray squirrels are native to our area, but have been driven out for the most part by the more aggressive fox squirrels.
Rescue 2009-07-31 Baby Striped Dolphin
This baby striped dolphin stranded in front of some homes just north of County Line beach. It is very rare to get live dolphin calls. Time is of the utmost importance because unlike other marine mammals, dolphins don't do well out of the water for very long and are easily stressed. Once our rescue team arrived, he was whisked away in our Executive Directors SUV with a "lights and siren" police escort down Pacific Coast Highway. He was transfered to the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro and assessed by their vet, Dr. Lauren Palmer. He was having difficulty breathing and could not remain upright by himself. She made the decision to transport him to Sea World for futher medical attention. It was later determined that he had a very bad case of pneumonia and sadly, even with their best effort, Sea World could not save him.
Rescue 2009-07-26 Mother with Baby Opossums
To say this female opossum had a bad day is an understatement. Hit by car and then attacked by a dog in Northridge, she came in with a broken right leg, jaw fractures, a skull fracture and a broken rib. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she had pneumonia and (just as an added annoyance) an intestinal hookworm infection. But saving her was a priority, because she was also a mom with three babies still in her pouch! CWC’s Veterinary team pinned her fractured leg, but because fractures in mammals take longer to fully heal than in birds, she stayed at CWC for over two months (her babies were even released before she was). But with excellent nursing care, soft foods, antibiotics and pain medications, she not only recovered, but served as a surrogate mom for several other young orphaned opossums before being released herself, on Sept 9th.
To help give more animals like this one a second chance at life, please visit our Help-Us page.
Rescue 2009-07-22 Sea Lion Attacked by Great White
This 445 lb. adult male sea lion stranded at Westward Beach after escaping the jaws of a great white shark. He had numerous gashes on his face and neck, as well as an embedded fish hook with fishing line in and around his neck. A rescue like this is very dangerous because of the size and strength of the animal. He was also in a lot of pain from his injuries and just wanted to be left alone. It took four nets and five rescuers to finally get him securely in a transport cage. He was transported to the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro for the medical treatment he needed. There, he received four bags of IV fluids and antibiotics to treat his wounds. Happily, after only a week and a half in rehab, his wounds were healing very nicely and he had regained so much strength that he was unintentionally knocking over staff members. His hunting skills were tested with live fish and he passed with flying colors. He is once again free!
The Marine Mammal Rescue Team would like to thank Peter Wallerstein from Marine Animal Rescue for his assistance as well. We could not have done it without you!
Admitted 2009-06-18 Juvenile Night-Crowned Heron
A beautiful juvenile Black-Crowned Night Heron came to us from Camarillo on June 18th with a compound fracture of the left tibiotarsus. That means that the bird had an exposed bone in his leg with dead tissue all around it. Our vet Dr Tom, had to cut away the bad tissue and put in a metal pin to stabilize the bone on June 19th. Unfortunately because the infection was so bad he had to go back in on the 20th at which time he removed the pin, cut away more dead tissue and bone, and did extensive wound care. As of today (July 23rd) he is progressing well and getting plenty of exercise around the hospital. He will soon be sent to IBBRC in San Pedro where they specialize in marine birds and have the appropriate environment for him.
It's a typical busy baby season here: we're inundated with baby birds of all kinds from sparrows and finches to mockingbirds and robins. In the hospital, we have plenty of raptors including Red-Shouldered Hawks, Cooper's Hawks, Barn Owls, and a Screech Owl.
Admitted 2009-05-21 Black-Crowned Night Heron.
This sharp-billed fish hunter came to CWC unable to stand and put weight on his left leg. Upon examination, a fracture was found on his left femur, but because the wound was over a week old, the muscles around the leg were pulling the ends of the broken bone away from each other. To realign the bone and relieve the muscles from contracting, which was putting tension on the bone, Dr. Duane Tom, CWC’s veterinarian, determined that the leg had to be surgically shortened by about 1cm. Within a week, this heron was using its leg well enough to be moved outside into CWC’s waterfowl pen, until having its pins removed four weeks later. It was then transferred to International Bird Research & Rehabilitation Center in San Pedro on June 30th for final flight conditioning before release.
To help give more animals like this one a second chance at life, please visit our Help-Us page.
Rescued 2009-05-03 Nestling Barn Owl
This is a nestling Barn Owl, that either fell out, or was kicked out of its nest. Strangely from a palm tree, which is a most unusual nesting site for a Barn Owl, as they prefer barns, and hay stacks. It came to us from La Puente. It was very dehydrated when it came to us, so we hydrated it, as we do all intakes. It will eat now if you first force the first piece of mouse into its mouth, at which point it decides it is good to eat, and will then continue to eat tiny pieces at a time.
It will be going to Ohai Raptor Center in a few days, as they do far better if they are with another barn owl approximately their same size. They specialise in Raptors, and have excellent cages for them to learn to fly, and then to catch live prey, so that they can be released. We wish we had another one to keep it company, so that we could rehabilitate it!
Rescued 2009-04-01 Mule Deer during Surgery
“Eve” was brought to CWC with a broken left hind tibia and fibula. X-rays showed repairable fractures, but once Dr. Duane Tom, CWC’s veterinarian, began surgery, he found that the break had begun healing in an abnormal position. And because she was so young, there were limitations in how the fracture could be fixed without interfering with normal bone growth. During a long surgery, an external fixator (support) was attached to the bone to prevent it from moving during the healing process.
Eve was understandably unhappy with the process, and very frightened of her human caretakers. Due to her young age she had to be bottle-fed, but whenever the door to her pen was opened, she went crazy and banged herself against the walls, damaging the external fixator. A decision had to be made between giving her proper nutrition and preserving her surgically repaired leg. Of course, a deer without full use of the leg is non-releasable. Fortunately, she did well. Whenever she needed to be checked, she was darted. But her natural fear of humans helped her behave like a normal deer, and taught her five herd-mates to be fearful of humans as well (a crucial trait of deer self-preservation).
When Eve’s leg was suitably healed, she was “soft-released” (meaning her enclosure gate was opened and she was allowed to leave when ready) on Sept 9th. We like to think that she went off with a handsome young buck that had been seen visiting her through the fence of her enclosure!
To help give more animals like this one a second chance at life, please visit our Help-Us page.
Admitted 2009-03-20 Bobcat
A young Bobcat, 1-2 years of age, was hit by a car, and brought to us by Animal Control, from Malibu. It was very hypothermic, and non responsive. It had sustained severe head trauma, and had to have fluid removed from his brain. It is getting IV fluids. After it had warmed up, and had fluids, it became more responsive. However with head trauma, it is a day to day struggle to survive.
Rescued 2009-03-16 Peregrine Falcon
A rare patient for CWC, this Peregrinene Falcon was picked up from a fire station east of downtown LA on Monday afternoon, by one of our volunteers. Our Vet, Dr Tom anesthetized the bird, took x-rays, cleaned the wound area and wrapped the wing. Diagnosis: compound luxated carpus. The bird was banded on both legs, and the tags have been reported to the Federally Banded Bird hotline. This showed that the Falcon had been banded for research at some previous time.They can tell us where the Falcon came from originally. As of today, the bird is eating well,as seen in the picture, but none too happy about being in the hospital, but the prognosis is, that all being well we will be able to rehabilitate it, and then release it in a suitable area near to where it was the Falcon was found.
Admitted 2009-03-10 First Baby Hummers
These are the first orphaned hummingbirds of the year, brought to us from a home in Calabasas. They are being fed specialized hummingbird formula every 30 minutes by our dedicated volunteers! They are so young we cannot even tell whether they are Anna's or Allen's Hummingbirds. They go through three stages of development: nestlings (which they are now), fledglings, and adults. They are fledglings when they become fully feathered and leave their nest. In the wild, fledglings are on the ground learning to fly and the parents are feeding them. When they can fly well and are eating on their own, they are adults. We feed them a different formula for each stage of their development. We house them in increasing sizes of enclosures, ending up in a large enclosure, which can be set outside. The best part is when we can release them back into the wild, where there are plenty of flowers and small insects.
Rescued 2009-03-03: Elephant Seal Pup
Jeff Hall, with volunteers Debby Valdez and Angela Herschel rescued this elephant seal pup yesterday from Broad Beach. It was amazing that he was seen, as he blended well with the sacks of sand around him that were there for the defense of homes along the beach against the sea. This is the second elephant seal of the season that our Marine Mammal team have rescued. This little guy is about 6-8 weeks old and weighed 69 pounds - he should have weighed 120 pounds. He was transferred down to the Marine Mammal Care Center, where he will get the best of care. When he has gained sufficient weight, and can catch fish, then he will be released.
Admitted 2009-02-04: Baby Bunny
This cute baby desert cottontail rabbit, was brought to us, along with his sister. The sister was fine, so was sent back home, which was off of Chesebro Road, Agoura. The baby rabbit was approximately 1 month old, according to his weight, which was 96g. Unfortunately he had a broken leg (tibia and fibular.) He had a temporary splint put on his leg, held on with the green bandage, until the vet can operate on his leg on the 6th. This will not be easy as his leg is so small.
He was still able to hop round, and was eating well, from the baby rabbit pellets, a few pieces of fruit and vegetables, along with timothy hay and water. We are hoping that the surgery will be sucessful, so that he will later be able to be released to the same area from where he and his sister were found.
Admitted 2008-12-08: Baby Opossums.
Baby Virginia Opossums born in December? Yes it is true, Agoura Animal Shelter brought us 7 baby opossums on 12-8-08. They were only 30g each, and didn't even have their eyes open, and were very cold. Much too small to be out of mother opossums nice warm pouch! They were immediately put in an incubator, heated rice bags were put on the bottom, along with soft fluffies on top to keep them warm.
This cute picture shows 2 of the 3 that survived, the other one was too lively to be photographed! Unfortunately the other ones had intestinal issues, probably not having enough of the antibodies, that the mother would have given them. However these 3 are doing well, and are very lively. Having special formula 2 times a day now, and are having a "mush bowl" consisting of baby rice cereal, mixed with their formula, and sweetened with a little baby fruit. They are now over 100g, and will soon go onto a juvenile opossum diet.
Normally we see baby opossums in the spring, with maybe a few in late summer, but December is a record for us! Global warming??
Admitted 2008-10-01: Gray Fox
This gray fox was brought in to the California Wildlife Center by a concerned citizen. It was examined by Dr Duane Tom, the director of the center’s animal care. Dr Tom noted that there were no broken bones or wounds, but the fox was depressed, lethargic, and unable to stand. It was given fluids with an IV catheter. After four days, it chewed the catheter off and was given free range in the isolation room. Because it still had slight head tremors, it was being treated with vitamin K in case the tremors were caused by the ingestion of rodenticide. This is one of a few foxes that the center has taken in during the past 10 years.
Admitted 2008-09-18: Western Gray Squirrels
Western Gray Squirrels are rare patients of the Wildlife Center. Unfortunately these cute babies were orphaned because of tree trimmers, who destroyed their drey, (nest) and their mother never came back for them. This is the reason we ask people not to trim their trees at this time of year, when the squirrels are rearing their second batch of babies.
Fortunately for them, they were found, and after waiting to see if their mother would come back for them, and realizing that she wasn't, they were brought to us. They seemed unhurt and just mildly dehydrated. They weighed in at 160g.
They were warmed up in an incubator, and given pedialyte to rehydrate them. After this they were set up in a "mini condo" with a cosy hammock, and plenty of room to run around in. They get fed 3 times a day with a special milk formula, and have plenty of squirrel mix, consisting of different nuts and seeds, as well as a "fruit plate" and fresh water.
Western Gray Squirrels are native to California, whereas the abundant Fox Squirrels are not. The more aggressive Fox Squirrels, which were introduced into urban areas, have pushed the Gray Squirrels back into more mountainous areas. Urbanization as well as a form of mange have further reduced their numbers.
After they have been weaned, and gained sufficient weight (about 250g), they will go to an outside enclosure, to acclimatize them to outdoor conditions. After this they will be released back to the same area from where they were found.
Admitted 2008-07-01: Mule Deer Fawns
Mule Deer fawns began arriving at CWC on July 1st in anticipation of the completion of our new fawn enclosure. Their long wait should be over by July 24th when four fawns are scheduled to move in.
Our first fawn, Earl, an orphan, came to us from Santa Barbara on July 1st. Our second fawn, Victor, an orphan whose sibling and mother were killed, came to us from Tehachapi on July 2nd. Earl and Victor are shown here together.
Our third fawn, Girlie, who was likely hit by a car, came to us on July 4th from Camarillo. She was kept in isolation in the ICU while she was stabilized, monitored, and provided IV fluids. After about a week she was deemed well enough to join Earl and Victor.
Our fourth fawn, Reef, was rescued from the ocean on July 20th, after apparently being chased down a hill, crossing Pacific Coast Highway, a rocky beach and then running into the water. The lifeguards got him out of the water and our volunteer Erik picked him up and brought him up to the Center where he was put in isolation in the ICU. Needless to say he was stressed but after a few days was able to join the group in their temporary enclosure.
All four of these fawns were under three months old when they arrived at CWC and will probably be with us through early October. In the new fawn enclosure we will be able to keep an eye on them via video cameras located throughout.
We are all grateful to Marjorie Dye for sponsoring the enclosure, to Roadside Lumber and Timberwolf Composite Fencing for their generous donations of materials and to Gregg Harris Feingold, Erik Ricci, Keith Knight and Robert Georgianni for making it a reality!
We are also expecting Gregg and Margie, two Los Angeles area fawns that have been taken care of by Project Wildlife in San Diego while we awaited our new enclosure. They should be arriving around July the 26th, and will be kept separate from our first four until they transition over to the same formula.
Rescued 2008-05-12: Guadalupe Fur Seal
This Guadalupe Fur Seal pup was rescued by our Marine Mammal Rescue Team. It had become entangled in the ribbon attached to a baloon. The balloon ribbon entanglement was carefully removed. There are less than 8,000 Guadalupe Fur Seals left in the wild, so a loss of this nature would have been particularily deplorable. Fortunately the damage wasn't too extensive and she will be able to be released back into the wild.
Jeff Hall, Marine Mammal Coordinator, commented that any release of a balloon has the potential to kill birds, mammals and marine life. Releasing a balloon takes it on a journey, sometimes hundreds of miles, and possibly into the ocean where it can become entangled around the necks of seals or sea lions, leading to a slow and painful death.
Rescued 2008-03-28: Injured Sea Lion Pup
Our Marine Mammal Rescue Team recently rescued an injured sea lion pup from Westward Beach in Malibu. Responding to a flood of calls from life guards and others, Jonsie Ross and team found a 9-month old sea lion pup with gill net wrapped tightly around its throat and mouth. This prevented the pup from eating and had produced a 2-inch ring of raw flesh where the fur had been completely rubbed off. The pup was transported to the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro for medical treatment, since the CWC hospital does not have facilities for marine mammal care.
Jonsie commented Her prognosis for recovery is good, but she still has some rough road ahead of her. Each year, thousands of seals, porpoises, dolphins, whales, turtles, and seabirds die due to entanglement in gill nets and fishing line. We ask the public´s help in cleaning up after you go fishing. Please take any loose line, weights, and hooks with you when you leave. It's better for the environment and the animals, birds and people that live in it.
Admitted 2008-03-27: Baby Opossum
This baby female opossum arrived as an orphan at CWC on March 27, weighing 60 grams. At first she was fed 4 times a day with special formula and has graduated to a schedule of two feeding per day of special formula along with juvenile opossum diet. Juvenile opossum diet consists of dry cat food in the morning, and in the evening, soaked cat food, finely chopped fruits and vegetables, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, and meal worms. After 11 days she weighed 106 grams.
Admitted 2008-03-01: Baby Hummingbird
An orphaned nestling hummingbird arrived at the end of February. It was so small that it had no feathers. We still don't know what kind it is — probably an Anna's Hummingbird or an Allen's Hummingbird. It will be kept in an incubator until it grows more feathers. It is hand-fed with a syringe every 30 minutes during the day.
