Oct 15, 2015

Hawk rescued from inside a Home Depot


On October 10th we were notified of a hawk inside the Home Depot off 41st in Capitola. Apparently, the hawk was going after a small bird when it flew into the store through one of the large roll-up doors, then made its way into the main retail area where it stayed high, flying through and between a matrix of metal beams and framework. 

Unfortunately, the Cooper's hawk injured itself in a collision with one of the many obstacles at, quite possible one of the fans.

When we arrived, the bird was able to fly, but its right leg was badly damaged. The bird would not put any weight on it - the leg just dangled at its side.



The injury complicated matters. Normally, a healthy accipiter would be quick to land on a bal-chatri - a trap that uses live prey to lure predatory birds, but this hawk was in severe pain and did not show much interest in the trap we placed.

That night, after the store closed at 8:00 pm, the store manager, Doug, helped us darken areas of the building so we could use spotlights to help conceal our approach with nets, but the bird was too flighty.

The next day, rescuers from Native Animal Rescue also tried luring the bird, but, again, the hawk showed little interest.

Finally, on Wednesday, the bird landed on the bal-chatri. We waited, watching from afar for a sign that it was caught, but it took off back to its perch above the indoor plant section where there was a source of water at ground level.




Then, on Thursday afternoon, we placed a mouse and a finch in the bal-chatri and set the trap in the same spot as the day before. With the shopping isles, again, blocked off and the garden door closed, we waited. 

Within minutes the hawk was on the trap!

Again, we waited for the sign it was caught. Finally - there it was, the bird tried to lift off but couldn't  - we could only hope it wasn't doing more damage to its leg.

We rushed the trap, got control of the bird, and removed the nooses from its legs. It was then quickly boxed and transported minutes away to Native Animal Rescue.

The Button Quail, Mouse, and Finch were certainly stressed but returned home, unharmed.

THANK YOU HOME DEPOT MANAGERS FOR OUTSTANDING 
ASSISTANCE IN HELPING US RESCUE THE INJURED HAWK!

THANK YOU MARY DALTON AND 
THE NATIVE ANIMAL RESCUE TEAM!

UPDATE: On 10-15-15 the hawk was seen by an avian veterinarian who believes the leg can be mended.

Stay tuned!!!





Oct 3, 2015

Another dead bobcat - SGAR poisoning suspected

By Rebecca Dmytryk

On September 29th, I received a call about a bobcat in a yard on River Road in Felton. The caller was concerned because the cat had been seen in the vicinity for a couple of weeks and she was worried for her dog and other animals. She was also concerned because the cat did not seem to scare off easily.

I went through my typical questions, trying to tease out all the facts, and I asked her to send any pictures or videos she had because I needed to see the condition of the animal. My guess was, without even seeing the cat, it was sick, possibly suffering from rodenticide poisoning.

I assured her, the bobcat posed no threat to her family, that is was probably attracted to the chickens and the rodents that come with raising livestock but if her animals are contained in predator-proof enclosures there should be nothing to worry about.

She sent me these images from September 26th:







Right away, I knew the bobcat was sick - it was suffering from a severe infestation of ear mites, or otodectic mange. 

Normally ear mites are found deep in the ear canal, but can infest the skin on the outer ear. In severe cases like this, where, likely, the animal's immune system has been compromised, the mites take over the face and can spread over the rest of the body.

A trained eye will notice the sharp outline of the cat's profile, where it is missing fur on its face, and its nearly bald tail, and the poor animal's expression.

This cat was very, very ill and needed to be caught, which meant setting a large cage trap during the day and monitoring - we do not set traps that cannot be watched.

Unfortunately, we did not have any specially trained volunteers available who could devote the day to this mission, to set and watch over a trap. This would have to wait until the weekend. 

I asked the resident if she'd keep watch and keep me posted on sightings, and not to squirt the cat with water or chase it off - we needed it to feel safe in their yard. If the animal started showing up regularly, we'd attempt a capture sooner. 

The cat was never seen again...

On October 2nd, the resident emailed me that a neighbor had found the bobcat's body the day before, down by the river. 

It was found by the water, another indication the animal might have died from exposure to a second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (SGAR), as hemorrhaging causes thirst.

The problem with these poisons and how they impact our wildlife is thoroughly explained in this excellent post by Laurel Klein Serieys, HERE - please read it. Another article, HERE.

Anger and contempt for the makers of these horrible products and the whole, bloody kill-kill-kill response to rat and mouse problems, tempered by sadness, frustration and regret, fueled a new mission, to get that cat's liver and get it tested.

By the time I could collect a specimen, the cat would have been dead for at least 72 hours... I contacted the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Investigations Lab in Rancho Cordova to make sure old liver is good liver. Yes.

I was sent a map detailing where I could find the deceased bobcat. 


Late Saturday afternoon, Duane dropped me off at the trailhead to the Zayante Trail inside Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Cooper, my dog, was at my side - he's got a nose that can find pretty much anything. In hand, gloves, mask, blade and resealable plastic bags.

It was a beautiful walk on a sandy trail. Dappled sunlight through redwood, cottonwood, sycamore. Just lovely. 

I used my iPhone to navigate. As we closed in on the location, we found a trail that seemed to lead to the creek.

Indeed, the singletrack led us to a wide sand and stone bank, the confluence, where Zayante Creek meets the San Lorenzo River. A moment to take in the beauty and then I turned to look for the cat. 

There it was, just steps from the trail, just a few feet from the water's edge. Poor cat. Poor, poor cat.

I gloved-up, put on a respirator mask and began documenting.

I used Theodolite to record the location of the carcass. I took pictures of the animal's teeth to help determine its age, and documented its skin condition. 







Then it was time to cut.

Using a utility blade, I gently worked through the fur, just below the sternum, lightly scratching through the thin outer layer of skin and ever-so-delicately through the peritoneum to reveal the insides. Here, we are all pretty much the same... and there it was... what I had come for... the large, carmine-colored organ.

I gently slipped my fingers behind the liver and cut it free, placed it in a plastic bag, degloved down to my first layer and double-bagged the specimen. Deed done.

It was a somber walk back to road but I felt good. I felt I had honored that poor cat in the best way I could - to find out why it died... and maybe these words will help educate others about the real cost of using rodenticides... and then maybe, if the results confirm it was use of rodenticide that killed it, perhaps this story will add weight to any move to get rid of these horrible poisons once and for all.

Stay tuned!

WES has a fund set up for testing specimens for anticoagulants. They are costly - about $120.00. If you'd like to sponsor a Rodenticide Screening, click HERE

Thank you!


A huge THANK YOU! to the residents of River Road for 
reporting this bobcat and helping with recovery of its body.