IFAW's Animal Rescue Blog

Update on Penguins

On July 26th the team has received and examined the ten birds that were transferred by PROFAUMA, from Montevideo. These 10 birds include some that had first been at Karumbé, the turtle rehabilitation group in Uruguay.

Half of the new intakes are underweight and are not healthy enough to be washed at this time. After some difficulty with customs, the team has now received the permanent bands to be placed on the birds prior to release. These are IFAW bands and allows for these birds to be identified in the field at a later date.

The birds in care are doing well and two new birds were received at SOCOBIOMA.

Totals are currently as follows:

Total of oiled birds- 53 Magellanic penguins.

In care- 48.

20- are clean and the plan is to wash a few of the new penguins in best condition today.

Tell the NFL to Suspend Michael Vick

Like you, I was shocked at the allegations against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for running a violent dog fighting operation that allegedly resulted in the deaths and maiming of many dogs. 

Reports have emerged that as many as 70 dogs were found on his Virginia property along with paraphernalia used in dog fighting, which has long been illegal because it is one of the cruelest forms of animal abuse. 

The allegations are of great concern especially as Vick is a person who is idolized by millions of people, including children.

The NFL has barred Vick from attending training sessions but has not suspended him outright.  IFAW is calling on the National Football League to immediately suspend Vick and you can help send the message! 

Join me in writing a letter to the NFL urging the NFL Commissioner to hold Michael Vick to the highest possible legal standard. 

  Roger Goodell, Commissioner
  National Football League
  280 Park Ave.
  New York, N.Y.  10017

Please tell others to join us in helping to make sure such a terrible act of animal cruelty such as dog fighting does not go unpunished.

See also: Nike, Reebok Give Vick the Boot, from the Washington Post.

Care for animals in India

Although this has been the 3rd consecutive year without any major flooding in Kaziranga National Park (despite flooding in other areas of India), the IFAW/WTI Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation in Assam (CWRC), India has remained busy with animal rescue.

In these last few weeks the CWRC hLas received an Oriental Pied Hornbill and Swallow, two Asiatic black bear cubs, a displaced leopard and several snakes, including a King Cobra that entered the center on its own, making it’s way to the kitchen before being captured and released in the reserve forest adjacent to the Center. Many of the animals brought into the rehabilitation center are injured due to human encroachment or impact. (Read about displacement of elephant calves).

Kaziranga is widely known, among other things, for its large mammals: elephants and rhinos. In the last 7 months, 10 Rhinos have been killed by poachers:

"Wildlife authorities in Assam have already issued shoot-at-sight orders, and just last week, a 36-hour gun battle between forest guards and three armed poachers resulted in the death of a poacher," reports The Times of India.

The floods that have spared Kaziranga, have not been so kind to other areas of India. Strong river tides of the Jiabhoroli in Nameri National Park swept an elephant calf away. Fortunately, the calf was later rescued and is now cared for by IFAW/WTI staff at the CWRC. This calf will join other rescued and orphaned elephants forming a new elephant family and herd.

The Countdown Is On For "Waterproofing"

Over the weekend the IFAW Team and SOCOBIOMA finished washing the 20 birds that were physiologically ready for the procedure. The others are still too thin to be cleaned and need to gain some weight before meeting wash criteria and move through the rehabilitation process.

The clean birds have controlled access to the pool, as the temperatures have been close to freezing since the team’s arrival and only just started to rise.

A water heater has been installed and the animals can now be sprayed with warm water to keep their feathers clean of their excrements and avoid problems with waterproofing later in the rehabilitation process.

The staff is caring for 36 penguins, between oiled and un-oiled, and has received a total of 37 birds. The Center received 6 new penguins in the last few days and those are undergoing stabilization.

The Team plans to demobilize on Thursday, as the remaining oiled birds at SOCOBIOMA still need to gain weight, and the clean birds still need to gain waterproofing. Dr. Silva is confident that SOCOBIOMA will keep working on the clean bird's waterproofing and stabilizing the new intakes.

Dr. Silva will keep daily contact with SOCOBIOMA to solve issues that come up and will come back to Uruguay after a week to teach them the pre-release evaluation and release criteria, band the birds with IFAW flipper bands and release them in Maldonado.

Rehabilitated Penguins To Go Home in 3-4 Weeks!

IFAW responder Dr. Rodolfo Silva is currently in Maldonado, Uruguay assisting the SOCOBIOMA (Society for the Conservation of Biodiversity in Maldonado) with the rehabilitation of 34 oiled Magellanic Penguins.

After arriving on July 13, long time team member for oil spills, Dr. Rodolfo Silva immediately put all available hands into action. His first task to complete: the intake exam of all the oiled birds. This initial evaluation involves a careful and thorough analysis of each penguin’s physical condition. Drawing blood, weighing, tagging, taking feather samples, monitoring respiratory problems, are just a few of the many steps that are taken to stabilize the penguins.

Aside from the meticulous examination of these animals, Rodolfo has a few other vital assignments in his pressing agenda. One is fish. These penguins have washed ashore in an emaciated state and Rodolfo needs to get his hands on 150 kg (330 lbs) of fish for them, not your everyday trip to the supermarket. His other concern, building the entire rehab structure that can both house and allow for the birds to pass from the feeding stations to the pools to the heating lamps, so on and so forth.

With time pressing, Rodolfo is able to purchase the large amounts of fish thanks to a long-time friend of his who has a friend with a vendor in Maldonado. Following his good fortune, the team is able to complete the structural needs in no time and starts training local staff and volunteers in the intricate ‘art’ of penguin rehab. `Sometimes the most trivial of things can make a difference, like the appropriate gear to wear. It is cold and rainy out here, on top of that if a volunteer goes home with all his clothes soiled and smelly after force-feeding the penguins, he may not come back the next day, so it’s very important to provide them with the right impermeable wear’.

In less than a week, the IFAW/SOCOBIOMA team is now already washing the birds and the operation is running smoothly. The rehabilitated penguins should be able to head back home in 3 or 4 weeks.

Orphaned Grizzly Bear Cub Gets a Second Chance

A six-month old orphaned grizzly bear cub, who arrived at the NLWS (Northern Lights Wildlife Society) in Smithers, BC on 2 July, will be cared for night and day until it can be released back into the wild.

The BC Government, IFAW and NLWS have formed a unique alliance—supporting a grizzly bear rehabilitation pilot project to ensure that bear cubs like this one get a second chance.

NLWS has rehabilitated and released 107 black bear cubs but this is the first cub in the new pilot grizzly bear project, which will monitor and evaluate cubs post-release.

Kim Elmslie, an IFAW staffer, who is working with NLWS in the rehabilitation effort said..."This cub will be benefiting from the best care available and has an excellent chance of survival."

IFAW has been involved with bear rehabilitation for many years and recently sponsored an international workshop on the rehabilitation and release of orphaned bear cubs. The workshop brought together experts from around the world, including Angelika Langen from NLWS, to discuss methods currently being used to raise and release orphaned cubs.

"With grizzly bears facing increased threats ranging from habitat loss to conflict with humans, we are just so pleased to be able to give this little bear another chance." said Angelika.

IFAW and the NLWS are pleased that the BC Government is showing real leadership in finding positive solutions for orphaned grizzly bears that will see them returned to the wild where they belong.

Updates on cub’s rehabilitation can be found on the IFAW website at www.ifaw.org or on Northern Lights website at www.wildlifeshelter.com.

Photo of the Week: Lake Tahoe Wildlife

Photo of Week is a feature that highlights the work IFAW does around the world everyday to rescue orphaned, injured, or mistreated animals.

Fires burnt more than 3,100 acres across prime black bear habitat and displaced wildlife across the Lake Tahoe region. Dazed and confused animals emerged suffering from burns, mostly to their feet. In addition to bear cubs, affected species include bobcats, coyotes, porcupines, and squirrels. Click here to read more.

IFAW is partnering with the Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care to assist in the animal rescue and rehabilitation of orphaned and injured wildlife.

Into the black...

Today the IFAW team and an LTWC staff member walked into the “black,” the scorched area left by the Angora fire. Before the fire, you could not walk through these woods without hearing the rustling of squirrels or the songs of birds but today the forest greeted us with an eerie silence. We walked for miles but found no injured wildlife, in fact, we found almost no animals at all. It appears that those who survived the fire have relocated in search of food and shelter and will likely be considered nuisance animals if they encroach to close to people’s property.

Those who were caught in the blaze must have faired better than the porcupine we found. Porcupines are slow moving, and this one could not begin to outrun the inferno. His quills and skin were left completely intact but his body was strangely deflated; I hate to imagine how his life ended. Needless to say it was a sobering day.

It’s likely that we were searching the forest too late. Obviously human needs come first in a disaster but at this point there was very little chance that we would find injured wildlife.

What are your thoughts? How soon after a disaster should animal rescue groups begin helping wildlife?

Wildlife In Need After Wildfires In Tahoe, CA

Wildlife flee Tahoe fire, loose habitat.

Myself and fellow responder Wit Davis are currently in the southern area of Lake Tahoe, CA where uncontrollable wildfires have just recently became contained, preventing further damage. For a week and two days, the wildfires created swift paths through forests and neighborhoods, causing millions of dollars in damage to residential areas and unbearable suffering to local wildlife. On a sad note, bodies of animals have been seen burned "in running poses"; the horror of not being able to escape.

The cause of the fires is believed to be a campfire that was not completely extinguished in a "no campfire zone".

The fires spread so quickly, due to drought, wind and other variables, that residents of the South Lake Tahoe area had very little time to evacuate; if they knew to evacuate at all. However, firefighters (over 2000 of them from all over the US!) responded promptly and are now being thanked across town through words of gratitude on banners hanging from homes, restaurants and overpasses: "Thank you firefighters for all your work ".

Wit and I are here in support of a local wildlife rehabilitation effort called the Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care (LTWC) that has provided care and treatment to injured wildlife in the Tahoe region since the 1970s! Everyone from on-the-scene firefighters to concerned residents have been calling to report injured wildlife, or calling because wildlife is now unexpectedly popping up in populated areas. A bobcat was reported running along a main road in the downtown area and a bear, lost and confused (slightly anthropomorphic description but UNDENIABLE) trapped itself between fences just behind the wildlife clinic, not sure which direction was safe.

Just as many people have lost their homes and are looking for shelter and help to comfort them in moving on with life, local wildlife has also lost their homeland and territory once rich in food. They have no choice but to search elsewhere, even in unwanted areas. The director of LTWC, Cheryl Millham, said to us today that many of the calls that come in are cases that need to be "defused"; meaning people just don't know what to do with the increased number of wildlife, now roaming refugees, that are encroaching onto decks and into trash cans.

So, IFAW's purpose is to be here to support LTWC and their effort to care for fire affected injured wildlife and to search the human/wildlife conflict zones for injured wildlife that have not yet been reported.

Photos and stories are coming.....

Attention Needed: Dogs Adopted and Used For Medical Research

Even in some of the most remote areas, animals have found protection under the wing of caring individuals. It's always refreshing to hear rescue and adoption stories from these small, individually run shelters that rarely shine in the media spot light. But behind these good stories are the darker stores that need our attention.

News has just been brought to my attention that tragedy has struck a shelter in Sri Lanka; a shelter that has provided soliced to stray and abused animals for close to 10 years. This shelter, run by KACPAW (Kandy Association for Community Protection through Animal Welfare), has been home to many companion animals that needed another chance at life. ("Kandy" being the name of the town where the shelter is located, not a warm and fuzzy adjective.)

Unfortunately a good adoption story went wrong. Three dogs adopted from the KACPAW shelter were thought to be going "home" and it turned out to be the the complete ugly opposite. They were sent to a research facility that in the end would remove several vital organs, leaving one of the dogs dead.

The story is graphic and tragic. Here is the website that has published all the details concerning this case. And here is the website for KACPAW where you can find successful stories of rescues and adoptions.

Click here to read a letter written by the Professor that conducted these operations, in an attempt to justify his cause.

You will find a response by Smt. Maneka Gandhi to the Professor at the bottom of this page.