Lucky Number Seven

Don't miss the great video at the end!

On Friday, May 24th, WES was called about a group, or surfeit, of striped skunks. Baby skunks, about 7 weeks old. 

Four or five kits were being seen out during the day, rummaging among plants and grasses near their den - an excavated hollow underneath a cement walkway leading to the entrance of a two-story business complex in Soquel, CA.

It's normal to see young skunks exploring and playing outside while their mother sleeps during the day, but, according to one of the tenants, the mother was found struck and killed by a car Thursday morning.

The youngsters were alert, and kept darting back under the sidewalk when approached.

That evening, though, WES responders were able to lure two of kits out into the open, and safely capture them. A handful of moist food was left for the remaining orphans, so they would at least have nourishment.

Over the holiday weekend, volunteers checked the den site repeatedly, hoping to see the little ones out and about, but no luck. Another handful of nutritious food was left on Sunday morning.

That was the last time we left food. We needed the babies to be hungry enough to venture away from the den so we'd have a chance at capturing them all.

By Wednesday afternoon, the kits were out and roaming about.

Lead responder, Duane Titus, captured - not three, but, four baby skunks, bringing the total to six. They were immediately transported to Native Animal Rescue's skunk specialist, Monique where they joined their siblings.

The story doesn't end there... Much to our surprise, on Thursday morning we were called about another kit - baby skunk Number Seven!

Duane was on scene in minutes, but when he arrived, the skunk was no where to be found.

Later in the day, we got some help from Michelle, who works at  The Family Network (located in the complex). When she saw the baby skunk away from the den, she quickly blocked off the entrances with newspaper. The baby took refuge behind a wall.

Duane and Rebecca Dmytryk responded and were able to coax the little skunk out into the open where it was safely contained. It was delivered to Monique that evening.

If you'd like to offset the costs of feeding these orphans, please go HERE. Donate as little as $10.00 to help make a difference! Thanks!

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SB 132 passes the Senate Floor

Senate Bill 132 (Hill), which would require the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to utilize non-lethal options when responding to mountain lion encounters, where there is no immediate threat to human life, passed the California Senate Floor last night - unanimously! 

According to Rebecca Dmytryk, founder of Wildlife Emergency Services (WES), 

"This is definitely a step in the right direction." 

"It's about doing the right thing. It doesn't take away the Department's authority to kill a mountain lion that's a threat to human life, but it gives them more options."

The proposed legislation would also give the Department authority to partner with qualified individuals, educational institutions, and NGO's to implement non-lethal procedures. 

It's already proven successful. 

On March 9th, Dmytryk and her husband, both wildlife capture experts, were called on to assist with a mountain lion cub that had wandered into a backyard near Almaden. See the full story, HERE.

More recently, WES was called upon by Santa Cruz Police to help with an adult mountain lion that was found wandering the city street. More, HERE.

"We feel honored to have worked with the Department on these two mountain lion incidents, and I think we all proved how successful such collaboration can be. Both situations went really smoothly. I like to say, it went by the soon-to-be-written book."

After the mountain lion cub shooting in Half Moon Bay on December 1st, Dmytryk launched a petition, HERE, calling for the Department to consider alternatives to lethal take of mountain lions.

"The public outcry was intense and a bit misdirected. I wanted to give the people a voice and a direction." 

In addition, Dmytryk has pulled together a group of experts from around the country to work on guidelines for First Response and rehabilitation of cougars. These will be presented to the Department for its consideration.

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Barn Owl Relocation

A pair of barn owls took up residency inside a small building that was under construction. The owls entered through an open doorway and accessed the attic through an open hatch. There, they tended to their two chicks.

By mid-May, the guest house was nearing completion. Windows and doors were ready to be installed, which would prevent the owls from entering.

Like most wild birds, the barn owls and their nest were protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and could not be disturbed without authorization from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Due to the unusual circumstances, we were given permission to resituate the owlets to a nest box on site.

On Wednesday, Duane built a custom barn owl box and installed it in a nearby oak tree.

Next, the two owlets were removed from the attic and placed inside their new home, about 20 yards away.

That night, Sammarye volunteered to monitor the box, hoping to confirm a reunion.

She saw an adult owl fly near the box, but could not confirm a food drop. We had left a few dead mice inside the box in case they got hungry.

Sammarye monitored again the next night. Here's her account:

The adults showed up around 9:30 - pretty much the time that I heard the screech the first night. I saw a flash of wings over the vineyard, twice, but did not see them enter the box. 

Later, one of the parents flew to the box and sat at the corner for awhile. I could not see if it was carrying anything. It flew into the opening and came out rather quickly. 

The second time, the owl sat on the box for only a minute or so, and flew in. It stayed much longer. It came to the opening and peered out for a couple of minutes before leaving.

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A First

Last week's mountain lion rescue wasn't our first...

On March 9th, at about 6:30 PM, WES received a call from a Wildlife Officer with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife about a young mountain lion, estimated to be about 15-20 pounds. 

The cub had made its way into a residential backyard in Almaden, at the base of the Los Capitancillos hills. Frightened, it sought shelter up inside a densely foliated shrub where it felt hidden and protected.

WES' lead capture specialists, Duane and Rebecca, responded immediately. Together, along with officers from the San Jose Police Department, San Jose Animal Care and Services Department and four Wildlife Officers, they assisted in safely capturing the cub. 

The mountain lion cub was severely underweight.

It was transported to the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley where it was sedated and examined by Wildlife Rehabilitation Supervisor, Ashley Kinney.

The male cub, estimated to be about 5 months old, weighted only 15 pounds - it was severely underweight, dehydrated and infested with fleas and ticks. After administering fluids, the young mountain lion was allowed to rest overnight.

Ashley Kinney administers fluid to the emaciated cub.

The next day, the cub was transported to CDFW’s Wildlife Investigations Laboratory (WIL) in Rancho Cordova. There, it received additional treatments, and various diagnostic tests, all of which came back negative for disease.

WIL veterinarians and staff closely monitored the emaciated cat's progress as it was slowly introduced to appropriate foods. Once healthy and fit, the cat could be placed at a sanctuary or educational institution.

The successful rehabilitation and release of Florida panthers by White Oak Conservation Center suggests a cub this age is a good candidate for rehabilitation, unfortunately, however, the rehabilitation and re-wilding of mountain lions in California is not permitted at this time, but, there is legislation pending, SB 132 (Hill), that might allow for it in the future.

It wasn't long before the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum expressed interest in providing a permanent home for the cub. After approvals for his placement were granted by both state wildlife agencies, on April 15, the cub was transferred to their compound in Tucson, Arizona. Although this cat will spend the rest of its life in captivity, it will be housed in a very large enclosure that resembles a natural environment. Check out a 360 view of it, HERE.

We want to thank the leadership of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for proposed changes to the Department's mountain lion policies and procedures to include non-lethal action when possible, and assistance from approved NGOs when appropriate. See the March 1, 2013 draft HERE.

We are extremely honored to have assisted in two situations where such collaboration among multiple responding agencies and outside specialists proved successful in containing and removing mountain lions from urban areas, safely and without harm.

If you'd like to send a letter of appreciation to the Department for taking these measures, please write to the CDFW Director Charlton Bonham, 1416 Ninth St., 12th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814 or email him at director@wildlife.ca.gov.

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Then there was four...

After a successful reunion of three fallen Western screech owls (story HERE), we considered adding a fourth - a foster.

During the same week the Los Altos owlets were found and delivered to PHS Wildlife Center, another baby owl was found in San Carlos. It, too, had fallen from its nest in a palm tree and was taken to PHS for care.

We decided not to attempt a reunion due to complications with the nest site, and apprehensive about adding it to the Los Altos nest box, as we didn't want to overburden the parents. 

A week later, we revisited the idea of fostering the little owl into the Los Altos box.

With a security camera giving us an inside view of the nest, we felt we could keep an eye on how things were going - if all the babies were getting enough to eat. We could also supplement their food by placing mice in the box, from time to time if need be. Bottom line, it was this little owl's best chance of growing up wild.

On the evening of May 16th, the little orphan owl was introduced into the Los Altos box. Check out the video.

The parents didn't seem to have any problem accepting the new addition.

On May 19th, we checked on the owlets and made some modifications to the nest box, raising the entrance a few inches and making the hole a tad smaller, attaching branches for them to drop onto when they fledged, and installing a better surveillance system that would stream, live, to the Internet through Ustream. 

Before leaving, we placed a few dead mice in the box to supplement what the parents were providing, just in case.


With our live-streaming "nest cam", we were able to keep an eye on the owlets and watch them grow. With every passing day they seemed to get more active, flapping their wings and taking turns perching at the entrance.

Last night, all the owlets fledged. This evening, they were heard in the canopy of the oak, adjacent to the nest. Success!

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Net Return

A raccoon twisted up in a golf hitting net. It had struggled for hours until help arrived.

This morning at 3:30 AM, WES received a call from Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1.

A resident in Ben Lomond was reporting a large raccoon entangled in netting in his backyard. Rebecca Dmytryk, founder of Wildlife Emergency Services (WES), responded immediately. 

Check out the video below of the raccoon being untwisted and freed from the golf hitting net.

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Local Wildlife Heroes

There were a few wildlife incidents this week that, had it not been for the individuals involved, could have ended quite differently.

We'd like to recognize these local heroes for their compassion, their smarts, their courage, and most of all - their will to help an animal in trouble.

Our first shout-out goes to Ron Hopping (22), for helping out some baby skunks.

It started about a week ago, when his father found a dead skunk in the side yard of the family's home in Soquel, CA. On Monday, Ron noticed 3 baby skunks hiding in some bushes in the back yard.

After bringing the family pets inside, Ron started calling around to find help.

Meanwhile, the four-week old kits made their way to the front yard and were headed for the front door. 

Ron had gotten some handling tips from a local wildlife rehabilitator, so he carefully covered the little ones with a large towel and then gently placed them into a box lined with a blanket. He added a sock of heated dry rice to keep them warm.

Later, the three female striped skunks, Meeny, Miny and Mo, were transported to Native Animal Rescue in Santa Cruz for foster care.

When asked about the rescue, Ron said he isn't afraid of skunks, in fact, he misses the smell of skunk - it reminds him of his late canine companion, Bubba, a Newfoundland that used to get sprayed from time to time. 

We've invited Ron to join our Skunk Team!

Caring for orphaned carnivores can be costly. If you would like to help cover some of the costs of fostering these three little ones, we're raising funds to purchase 8,000 mealworms and 130 frozen mice for the rehabilitator. Go HERE to chip in.

Saved by Sgt. Ridgway from a perilous predicament. 

Our next shout-out goes to Lieutenant Brian Ridgway of the Watsonville Police Department who courageously helped a snake out of harm's way... a big snake. A very, very big snake.

It was early evening when WES received a call from Watsonville Police Dispatch requesting assistance with a large constrictor-like snake. Someone had reportedly tossed the snake from their vehicle in the parking lot of the Watsonville Taco Bell.

On scene, Sgt. Ridgway found the large serpent slithering along the gutter. With cat-like reflexes he apprehended the near five-foot-long gopher snake, grabbing it behind the head. He placed the snake in an evidence bag until WES responders arrived.

The snake was released into a nearby field.

Check out the video of the gopher snake coiled, hissing and vibrating its tail in a defensive posture.

Our next shout-out goes to Nicole Lambert who helped reunite a mother raccoon with her babies.

Nicole works at a Lowe's. On Wednesday morning, as Lowe's employees were preparing to move one of the pallets in the garden section, they discovered a mother raccoon and her young sleeping in between the warm sacks of mulch. 

After being disturbed, the mother raccoon ran off, carrying her 3-week old baby gently in her mouth, and the pallet was moved.

Hours later, the mother raccoon appeared by the cash registers where the pallet had been. Nicole instinctively knew there must still be at least one baby left.

She was right. There were two left behind.

The cubs were placed inside a cardboard box and taken indoors.

Reunited with mom thanks to Nicole Lambert!

A little while later, Nicole was working in the flowers section when she said the mother raccoon approached her, touched her pant leg, made eye contact with her, then walked off. 

Nicole knew she just had to help this mom get her babies back.

After convincing management to bring the box back outside, she situated the cubs in a quiet spot at the back of the garden section. When the mother returned again, Nicole herded her in that direction. The mom was a bit confused until Nicole tilted the box to show her the cubs. The mom immediately gathered one cub and came back for the last one a few hours later.

A huge Thank You! to Ron Hopping, Lt. Brian "Tarzan" Ridgway, and Nicole Lambert for going out of your way to help an animal in need.

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