Dec 2009

Being Human(e)

We have all been guilty of it... getting caught up the daily grind of our busy lives so much that we forget about those that need our help.

While, here at the Muskoka Wildlife Centre, we obviously understand the beauty of every individual wild animal, we have to admit that the human being is possibly the most remarkably beautiful creature of all. This is because we are the only living creature that extends itself financially, emotionally and even often physically to assist other species in need, that we share this earth with. It should not come as a surprise that the word humane was used to describe the being we are, before it got shortened to the word human.

Humane:
1)"marked or motivated by concern with the alleviation of suffering"
2)"showing evidence of moral or intellectual advancement"

Every one of the staff at the Muskoka Wildlife Centre; Keith Becki, Katrina, Laura, Krystal, Sarah, Justin, Lynn, Brady, Dale and Jody have chosen to be overworked and underpaid, in an effort to spend their days doing something truly humane. The number of creature lives that have been saved and enriched through our efforts here at the centre is really something to be proud of. The over 70 permanent wild residents that we care for daily are just the tip of the iceberg. We are involved in the confiscation of as many as 200 animals per year, from facilities or individuals who have them illegally or inhumanely housed. Those individual creatures are housed off-display, are assessed, and if possible, are placed at credible, licensed facilities throughout North America, by our caring and skilled staff. We cannot do this important work without help. We provide 24 hour a day, high quality care for our animal friends, but that does not come without extreme financial costs. While we are successful at generating most of our income through our admission fees, documentary film work and educational outreach?.we still fall short of our immense expenses and find our selves falling deep into a hole of debt throughout our slow season. We are forced to lay off many of our amazing staff and rely on volunteers, co-op students and community service individuals to keep our daily maintenance under control.

We do need your help. If you could just take a second out of your busy December schedule and consider contributing to our efforts, either through a cash gift or by sponsoring one of our many beautiful creatures, we would be most grateful. It can be done easily through our website at www.muskokawildlifecentre.com using paypal or by sending a cheque via snail mail. Thank you for your continued support.

News At the Centre

We have lost some friends this year that will be missed more than words can say...

• Izumi, our youngest eagle, died suddenly of a head injury and broken neck. We suspect a large branch broke off of a tree and struck him in the night. We were not emotionally prepared for this tragedy and we are still trying to understand the immense loss of this sweet little guy.
• Emy, the ancient Blanding’s turtle, has passed away of old age. She was hit by a car in the wild and lived here with us because she was blinded by severe injuries caused in the collision.
• Aroma, the skunk died of organ failure due to a genetic problem she struggled with since we received her as a baby. We miss her incredible energy.

Some great news...

• Rufus, the bobcat, who has fought cancer and had an eye removed, is still going strong and shows no signs of illness. Yahoooooo!!!!!
• We have mixed together 3 raccoons (Juniper, Dawn and Latte) and 2 foxes (Renard and Fenn) in a communal enclosure with great success and they have all become good friends. Come and watch their silly antics.
• We came across a wild fox on our property that was suffering from mange. We were successful in catching him and he has been taken down to the Toronto Wildlife Centre for treatment. We will release him back on our property when he has fully recovered and grown back his beautiful orange fur.
  
  
• We have been able to assist a badger research team with efforts to collect nail growth rates of badgers. Dozer and Sandy, our resident badgers were anesthetized a few times and had their nails measured and marked for growth. This important info will be used to help gather information about the movement and range of the rare and endangered badgers in southwestern Ontario. Thank you Dozer and Sandy!

New animal residents...

• A map turtle named Atlas, was brought to us after being taken from the wild to be kept as a pet. The improper diet he was fed caused him to have a severely deformed lower jaw and as a result, he can not survive in the wild. Let’s leave wild animals in the wild!
• A bobwhite quail named Bob, came to us from the Toronto Wildlife Centre after he was found disoriented and ill in a ditch. It was determined that Bob is blind and he will have to live out his days in captivity. His amazing call can be heard daily in a our main building where he lives with our flying squirrels, Pixie and Peanut.
  
  
• A young silver-phase red fox named Fenn, who was part of our education outreach this past season, will be staying here for good.
• An albino raccoon named Latte, who was confiscated from an unlicensed individual, is here to stay too. Come and see this breathtaking little gal!
  

Creature Heroes

A Huge Heartfelt Thank You Goes Out To...

• George of Heritage Custom Meats & Tim the Butcher - your donations of large amounts of fresh deer and moose meat have saved us on our winter grocery bill and are being enjoyed immensely by our carnivores and omnivores. They would thank you personally but they have their mouths full.
• Cameron, Ella, Patrick & Madison and Darragh & Colm (and their birthday party guests) - asking to sponsor some of our creatures instead of getting birthday presents makes you real heroes.
• Nik Meechan - for being our fearless, tireless co-op student all day, 5 days a week. Despite the not so glamorous tasks you are asked to do, you always have a smile on your face!
• Friends and relatives of the late John Lynde III - for donating in his name. You have honored John and have allowed him one last act of kindness. We are so very sorry for your loss.
• Cathy, Peter, Michael and Graham Clark - for your extremely generous sponsorship of Chocolate the moose, our most expensive creature to care for here at the centre. This winter will be a little brighter thanks to your thoughtfulness.
• All Our Sponsors (too many to mention in our tiny newsletter) - you all hold a special place in our hearts.

Creature Feature

You may think you know enough about black bears and that you don’t need to read this part of our newsletter. I encourage you to read on as there is so much misinformation our there about black bears. You’ll be surprised as to how much you don’t know?

Common Myth	Truth
1. They are black.	They can also be chocolate brown, cinnamon and white.
2. They eat a lot of meat.	Most of their diet is made up of berries, nuts and other vegetation.
3. If you see one you should play dead.	You should back away slowly, making yourself as large as possible.
4. They hibernate.	They go into a torpor and sleep for extended periods of time.
5. They will attack people.	They are actually very shy and will very rarely approach humans.
6. Cubs are born in the spring.	They are usually born in January in the winter den.
7. They don’t travel far.	They will travel as much as 100 km in search of food.
8. They sleep a lot & are lazy.	They may actively feed for 20 hours a day.
9. The cancellation of the spring bear hunt has increased bear populations.	There are roughly the same number of bears killed during the fall hunt as were killed previously in the fall and spring hunts combined.
10. Adults bears can’t climb trees well.	Oh yes they can.
11. They are slow.	They can run faster than a horse at top speed (over 48km/hour).
12. Their best sense in their hearing.	It is their sense of smell. They can smell food 1.6 km away.

Most conflicts between humans and bears occur because of improperly stored food items such as garbage, recyclables, compost (with meat, cooking oil, fat or sweet food), bird feeders, barbeques, pet food, fallen tree fruit, etc. If you have anything that smells edible in your yard and you live in bear country than you will eventually have a bear. Bears who eat human supplied food will not return to their natural bear foraging methods, as they get much more food for the amount of energy expended, hanging around us humans. They will also teach their young this new more efficient method of foraging and we will end up with bears that are a little too close for comfort. Bears are brilliant creatures who learn very quickly where to get the good stuff to eat and that people are not so scary. A dangerous bear is a bear that has lost it’s natural fear of humans. Generally speaking, a fed bear is a dead bear, so please do a survey of your property and help our big burly friends stay wild.

At the Muskoka Wildlife Centre we have a magnificent bear named Kootenay. He was raised by a family in a home, and as a result became too accustomed to humans. We received Kootenay when he was several months old from British Columbia, when efforts to rehabilitate him failed. He is a entertaining member of our family and lives with his best friend Kokanee, the mountain lion. This pair is a must see. Kootenay has entered his winter torpor and will be dozing until spring, which will help reduce our grocery expenses enormously.

We have some great holiday gift ideas...

Seasons Passes: Individual $38 or Family $110 Family Day Passes: $45

Or gift someone the sponsorship of one of our resident animals.

Sponsorship costs vary according to actual yearly costs for upkeep of each individual animal. A sponsor will receive a package with a photo, thank you letter and certificate. Their name will also be posted on our website, our friends and sponsors wall and by their wild child here at the centre.Contact us for more information or visit our website to sponsor an animal online using paypal.

Happy Holidays from the Staff and Animals of the Muskoka Wildlife Centre!