Wildlife Blog

Just a personal blog about working at a rehab, to post pictures and remember animals. It's also become a place where I reblog general posts about rehab or wildlife!🦆 The views I express here are mine alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.

[wildlifes]

I realise I haven't posted anything in an age, so here are a random selection of recent patients

[belladonnix]

GUESS WHO JUST GOT ACCEPTED TO START TRAINING TO BE A BAT CARER/RESCUER??!

THAT'S RIGHT IT'S ME BITCHES!!1!

🌙🦇☁️

[wildlifes]

Congratulations!! It's such an amazing thing to do! I'm sure you'll rock it, and help many bats 🦇

[ordinaryredtail]

Why don’t some people realize that the best way to care for some creatures is to humanely euthanize??

Case in point:

This just crossed my facebook feed. This poor kestrel was electrocuted and is under the care of a center in Hungary (I believe). Both its feet and one wing had to be amputated. How is this a life? The poor creature can’t perch, can’t hold its own food. It can’t be a bird.

Amputations alone aren’t bad, but trying to keep an animal alive when it can’t preform basic behaviors is cruel. Why can’t people understand this?

[epidote-doe-deactivated20231203]

Just because it can't perform basic functions doesn't mean it can't be happy. Should we be putting down humans with those limits? Should any human who cannot perform basic functions be put down?

[ordinaryredtail]

Do you work with animals? If you did, you’d know we don’t use words like “happy.” Don’t distract from the point by putting anthropomorphizing words in my mouth.

[coyotesmokebreak]

Since I’m fucking tired of people comparing injured animals to disabled people let’s use the basic framework/analysis for an animals care/welfare—the five freedoms

Here’s the five freedoms as written out by the Farm Animal Welfare Counsel:

Freedom from Hunger and Thirst: By ready access to fresh water and diet to maintain health and vigor.

Freedom from Discomfort: By providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area.

Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease: By prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.

Freedom to Express Normal Behavior: By providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal’s own kind.

Freedom from Fear and Distress: By ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.

So what we can do for this bird is feed it and give it water. That’s it.

This animal cannot understand where its limbs have gone, cannot feel comfortable and at ease in any environment missing three crucial limbs, is bound to be in pain and injure itself from trying to act like a normal kestrel, cannot do most basic behaviors, and cannot be saved from its own distress

A bird cannot have explained to them why they don’t have their legs and wing. A bird lives in the here and now and their here and now will always be “I cannot act in all the ways I need. I am scared. I am alone. I am vulnerable.”

So no. We’re not about to compare a fucking animal to disabled people and it speaks volumes of ignorance to animals and their welfare, and to profound dehumanization and disrespect of disabled people that you would even think to do so.

[wildlifes]

This poor bat was stuck to a glue trap. The people who found him managed to peel him off using the oyster card - but he just stuck to that instead, as he was covered in glue. Sadly this guy didn't make it - the stress of being stuck, and all the handling before and after being bought in was just too much for him.

Please don't use glue traps - they are indiscriminate in what they catch, and cause immense stress and pain for the unlucky trapped animals.

[wildlifes]

Hangry baby! Some seals are more vocal than others, and Georgie here LOVES to use her voice!

[wildlifes]

i thought for a second that the first pidgeon was actually a sculpture someone was working on in ur pidgeon post hjkdfkjh

Ahahaha!! I can see exactly what you mean 😂

[wildlifes]

Ms Coulter and Pantalaimon back in the wild 💖

[wildlifes]

Pigeons are my favourite patients, not going to lie. Here are two pigeons from yesterday - a wounded adult just admitted, and a wee baby who's just been seed fed. We get hundreds of pigeons every year, I love them all.

[wildlifes]

Serafina - a week's difference!

Grey seals are born with a thick white pupcoat to keep them warm and dry. It doesn't take long for them to shed most of it. You're always pulling handfuls of what looks like golden retriever fur out the drain!

Serafina is an orphan pup, who came in with open wounds to her flippers and a bad eye. She is making a good recovery, and currently learning to eat by herself. She will be released when she is big enough!

[wildlifes]

One of the chonky boys, Pantalaimon, from the big pool spending a day in an intermediate pool - he misses the space and depth!

Large seals are only moved here when the big pool needs a deep clean for a day, or - in his case - while he waits to be released the next day!

[wildlifes]

Serafina enjoying a salt water flood of her cubicle!

When seals are injured/ill, on medication or not eating for themselves, they are inside in a cubicle. Once they are strong enough they are moved outside to an intermediate pool where they can build muscle, and then onto a big, deep pool with other seals, before being released

[wildlifes]

Salt and Peppery goodness

Grey seals have a huge variation of colours and patterns - I love how two the same age can look so different. These two are now grown and were released!

[vampireapologist-archive-deacti]

Sometimes the newer seals need encouragement getting into their tubs to eat, and we have to direct them in with a towel, which they Do Not like.

[wildlifes]

This is real

[wildlifes]

A sleepy banana

[wildlifes]

Long eared Bat that was in care after being cat caught, was released!

[wildlifes]

Badger cub found in a ditch of water with bite wounds to her back. After she finished her course of antibiotic injections, she was moved to another rehabilitation centre that specialises in orphan badger cubs, with lots of potential release sites.

[wildlifes]

Very cute baby robin. Cat caught and bought into us. The second photo is of two pellets he has produced - the black one on the right from his last meal with his parents - insect shells mostly. The one on the left is from his meals with us - a special mix for growing young passerines. I thought it was very cool to see the diet difference in pellet form!