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Saturday, 30 March 2013
Thursday, 28 March 2013
Wildlife cameras had recorded images of the lion weeks earlier. Those pictures were the first known images documenting lion activity in the Santa Monica eco-region east of Cahuenga Pass.
The healthy male lion was estimated to be 3 years old and weighed 120 pounds. He was given the name P22 (Puma 22).
Since the patch of wilderness near downtown Los Angeles is too small to support a resident mountain lion population, scientists knew the big cat must have come from an adjacent wilderness area - but which one?
Results from DNA testing confirmed P22 was from the Santa Monica Mountains. That meant he had to cross two major freeways to reach Griffith Park.
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| P22 had to cross 2 major freeways to reach Griffith Park. |
For more on mountain lions, and extensive information on the lions of the Santa Monicas, visit Urban Carnivores site, HERE.
For more on the forensics involved in the mountain lion studies, click HERE.
Want more on mountain lions?
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
By Deanna Barth
I usually do my weekly "rounds" in Monterey, where I find enough injured birds to keep me occupied, but in the last couple of weeks I've been checking out the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf.
Last Friday, I saw a number of gulls there, suffering from old injuries. There were a couple missing one foot, and one that had barely a stump.
Another, had suffered a leg injury that left its leg frozen and pointing backwards. In flight, the leg sticks straight up.
In spite of their handicaps, the gulls seemed to be getting along just fine, so there was no reason to capture them and take them in for rehabilitation, especially since state and federal guidelines for rehabilitators require them to euthanize most animals with missing appendages.
When I returned to the Santa Cruz Pier on Monday, to my horror, the bird with the stiff leg had a fishhook in its mouth with long line dangling down.
It spent most of its time resting on a dumpster either wiping its face on the lid or pawing at it with its foot. It was in obvious discomfort.
I tried for several hours to lure it close, but to no avail. It showed little interest in feeding, and remained at a safe distance on the roof of a car!
I was determined to help this bird. In preparation for its capture, I contacted my rescue supervisors to discuss the possibility of removing the hook and releasing the gull on site rather than putting it through the stress of transport to a wildlife hospital.
They said, so long as the wound is minor, I could remove the hook and release.
I returned to the pier on Wednesday. Shortly after I arrived, I found the gull - easy to spot from a distance with that leg pointing out. It was perched on “its” dumpster again, and it had drawn the attention of a small crowd of concerned people.
The bird appeared skittish. Someone had probably tried to capture it.
I propped up my long-handled net against the dumpster and tried baiting the bird close. An hour passed. I had lured in about 20 gulls, but not the one I wanted.
I decided to try another tactic. I laid my net down flat in the parking lot, made a pile of crumbles on either side of it and walked away. I sat at the back of my vehicle for another hour, waiting for all the other birds to get their fill and move on. Once they did, the injured gull approached alone.
I casually walked over to the end of my net, and as as the bird was eating, I sat down quietly. It watched me intently for a few minutes, and then went back to eating.
These are the most intense seconds of a rescue - waiting for that split-second opportunity. As soon as the gull put its head back down, I flipped the net and "bagged" my bird. I was thrilled!
After carefully removing him from the net, I carried the frightened bird to the back of my vehicle where I could better evaluate its hook injury.
It appeared fairly minor - the hook was embedded on the outer part of the bill. I used small clippers to cut the barb and tried to gently push the hook through, but the end of the hook was tiny and barely visible. I needed an even smaller tool, and could have used an extra hand.
Out of the crowd of concerned bystanders, a man approached - his name was Tim. He quickly got a smaller pair of pliers from his vehicle and was able to remove the remainder of the hook as I held the bird. Tim's help was invaluable.
The wound bled a little after the hook was removed. Having worked in a veterinary hospital for many years, I felt comfortable in my ability to clean the area and apply pressure with sterile gauze to stop the bleeding.
After a couple of minutes and with no other injuries found, I released the gull on the spot.
This rescue was a unique circumstance for which I am so grateful. To have the authorization to administer first-aid in the field was such a rewarding experience.
I usually do my weekly "rounds" in Monterey, where I find enough injured birds to keep me occupied, but in the last couple of weeks I've been checking out the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf.
Last Friday, I saw a number of gulls there, suffering from old injuries. There were a couple missing one foot, and one that had barely a stump.
Another, had suffered a leg injury that left its leg frozen and pointing backwards. In flight, the leg sticks straight up.
When I returned to the Santa Cruz Pier on Monday, to my horror, the bird with the stiff leg had a fishhook in its mouth with long line dangling down.
It spent most of its time resting on a dumpster either wiping its face on the lid or pawing at it with its foot. It was in obvious discomfort.
I tried for several hours to lure it close, but to no avail. It showed little interest in feeding, and remained at a safe distance on the roof of a car!
I was determined to help this bird. In preparation for its capture, I contacted my rescue supervisors to discuss the possibility of removing the hook and releasing the gull on site rather than putting it through the stress of transport to a wildlife hospital.
They said, so long as the wound is minor, I could remove the hook and release.
I returned to the pier on Wednesday. Shortly after I arrived, I found the gull - easy to spot from a distance with that leg pointing out. It was perched on “its” dumpster again, and it had drawn the attention of a small crowd of concerned people.
The bird appeared skittish. Someone had probably tried to capture it.
I propped up my long-handled net against the dumpster and tried baiting the bird close. An hour passed. I had lured in about 20 gulls, but not the one I wanted.
I decided to try another tactic. I laid my net down flat in the parking lot, made a pile of crumbles on either side of it and walked away. I sat at the back of my vehicle for another hour, waiting for all the other birds to get their fill and move on. Once they did, the injured gull approached alone.
I casually walked over to the end of my net, and as as the bird was eating, I sat down quietly. It watched me intently for a few minutes, and then went back to eating.
These are the most intense seconds of a rescue - waiting for that split-second opportunity. As soon as the gull put its head back down, I flipped the net and "bagged" my bird. I was thrilled!
After carefully removing him from the net, I carried the frightened bird to the back of my vehicle where I could better evaluate its hook injury.
It appeared fairly minor - the hook was embedded on the outer part of the bill. I used small clippers to cut the barb and tried to gently push the hook through, but the end of the hook was tiny and barely visible. I needed an even smaller tool, and could have used an extra hand.
Out of the crowd of concerned bystanders, a man approached - his name was Tim. He quickly got a smaller pair of pliers from his vehicle and was able to remove the remainder of the hook as I held the bird. Tim's help was invaluable.
The wound bled a little after the hook was removed. Having worked in a veterinary hospital for many years, I felt comfortable in my ability to clean the area and apply pressure with sterile gauze to stop the bleeding.
After a couple of minutes and with no other injuries found, I released the gull on the spot.
This rescue was a unique circumstance for which I am so grateful. To have the authorization to administer first-aid in the field was such a rewarding experience.
Friday, 22 March 2013
More than a month ago, during a visit to the Monterey Municipal Wharf, she encountered a gull with line hanging from under one wing. We covered it in a blog post, HERE.
On her many visits to the wharf, Deanna tried all the tricks in the book to get the bird to come close enough where she could net it, but the bird was much too wary.
Today, however, Deanna was triumphant!
Here's her story:
As soon as I neared the end of the pier, I spotted the bird. It was standing in front of a bench where a man and his wife were eating fish and chips. It looked as if the gull was hoping they would share.Several people were standing nearby, pointing at the line dangling from the bird's left wing.
I slowly approached the seated couple, introduced myself and and my intentions, and asked if they wouldn't mind helping.
As I instructed, the woman began tossing pieces of her lunch onto the ground, while I quietly slid my net against the bench. It wasn't but a minute before the bird went for the bait - and I caught it.
There was a round of applause from the crowd, and the gentleman on the bench said, "Well, I guess that bird will never trust an English tourist again!"
The gull was taken to the SPCA of Monterey County Wildlife Center where the hook was removed. The gull was freed the following day.
Way to go Deanna - your perseverance paid off!
Wednesday, 20 March 2013
Fearing the hawk would suffer severe injuries from the barbs, Fleet Manager Jim Griffin, braved the razor-wire, and freed the bird before we arrived. It flew off with its tethers still attached.
On March 18th, one week later, WES received a call reporting a hawk caught on a utility pole, about a mile from the distribution center. The reporting party, Rosendo, described it being caught by a blue chord that was tangled on an antenna about 30' up the pole.
WES' Rebecca Dmytryk alerted PG&E of the emergency before responding on scene.
It wasn't long before Electrical Troubleman with PG&E, Bill Kelly, arrived with a bucket truck, and helped Dmytryk reach the bird. Check out the video below.
Many, many thanks to Rosendo for alerting WES of the bird in distress and for filming the rescue (Great job!), and to Bill Kelly with PG&E who made it possible to rescue the bird!
WES is a 100% volunteer-run charity, dependent on donations to run its 24/7 emergency response operations. Go HERE to make a contribution, or HERE to sponsor the team for a day, a week, or longer! Thank you!
Friday, 15 March 2013
Today, WES was called out to rescue and opossum from a backyard in Watsonville, CA. According to the family reporting the animal, their dogs had been barking during the night and into the morning hours. Once it was light out, they saw they had an opossum in the yard.
At first, the opossum appeared to be alright, but on closer inspection, responders found blood on its fur - it had been attacked by the family's dogs. Check out the rescue video:
The mother opossum, her pouch full of babies, was taken to a nearby wildlife hospital for treatment.
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Yesterday, WES was contacted about a mother opossum that was found inside a plastic shopping bag on a resident's patio at a senior-living community in Hollister, CA.According to the resident, the opossum had been coming around frequently - probably attracted by the bowl of cat food on the patio.
It seems as though the opossum decided to curl up and sleep the day inside the pouch-like bag.
Check out the video, below.
The opossum is the only marsupial found in the United States. These primitive creatures have a tendency to wander, using den sites for a few days to several weeks, depending on the abundancy of food nearby.
Being transients, an adult opossums can cover hundreds of miles during its short lifetime of about 2 to 3 years.
For more on this incredible animal, check out The Opossum: It's Amazing Story, HERE.
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