Hello, wonderful people!
We are looking for as many volunteers as possible to help us clean our new center in Louisville this weekend. If we can finish the cleaning this weekend, we can move on to painting and replacing carpet, and hopefully getting the furniture in, all before the new year!
Can you come help us this weekend?
We will be at the center in Louisville (just 10 minutes south of the Sapp Brothers exit in Omaha) at the following times:
Saturday, December 11th from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Sunday, December 12th from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Please let Laura know ASAP if you can help (nebraskawildlife@yahoo.com), and she will send you a confirmation e-mail with directions to the new center as well as the name of the person you should check in with when you get there.
We can't make the new center a success without you, so please come and help! Snacks and beverages will be provided!
Thank you so much!
We have a new home!!
The generosity of Ash Grove in Louisville, NE has allowed NWRI our very own 4,500 square foot habitat. Our new Wildlife Operations and Education Center is located just 10 miles off the Sapp Brothers Exit on Highway 50.
You can read about our new center, and all of the exciting things happening in our new newsletter, which is now available online here.
NWRI is poised to grow immensely now that we have a center! We will be growing in all areas - animal care, education, school projects, university internships and conservation partnerships. Now is the time to get involved in this amazing and rewarding organization!
First, we need your financial support to cover the costs of running a center. To help us towards this goal, some generous donors have issued a challenge grant to you! (Yes, you!) They will match every donation, dollar for dollar, made to NWRI in the month of December, up to $10,000. This is the perfect opportunity to make your gift to our wildlife go even farther! Please donate through our PayPal link on the NWRI website.
(You can also set-up recurring donations from a credit or debit card to make your gift last year-round! If you’d like to do this, just e-mail us at nebraskawildlife@yahoo.com and we’d be happy to send one to help you fulfill your gift!)
Second, we need your time! Over the next several weeks, we are going to be cleaning, painting and moving into the new building. Our first cleaning sessions will be Tuesday, December 6th and Wednesday, December 7th, from 4-8 PM both days. If you’re interested in coming and lending a hand, please us know at nebraskawildlife@yahoo.com or call Laura at 960-4366 so we know to expect you. Then, please watch the Events calendar on our Web site to find out when we’re going to be there, and what we’ll be doing. The more people who can help out, the faster we will be up and running in our new center! If you can clean, paint, vacuum, or move furniture, we need you!
Then, starting in January, we are going to start training volunteers to staff our hotline from the building. This will be a great job for anyone who wants to learn everything about our native wildlife, as well as NWRI as an organization. We would like volunteers who can commit to a 4-hour per week shift at the center in Louisville. It is intensely interesting and fulfilling work.
In February, we will start NWRI animal training for anyone who wants to rehabilitate wildlife. We need more animal rehabbers in almost every species, including squirrels, raccoons, rabbits, songbirds and waterfowl. This is an in-home volunteer opportunity, so volunteers do need to be able to care for wildlife in their homes.
Lastly, we need wildlife transporters to move wildlife from the Nebraska Humane Society to whomever will be caring for it. This is a one day per week commitment year-round, lasting maybe just 45 minutes to an hour in the winter, and up to three hours in the summer. It’s a fantastic job for someone who wants to learn a lot about wildlife, but can't care for animals in their home.
This is an incredibly exciting time to be involved with Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, and we hope you will join us in our new adventure as we expand to serve more of our homeland through our love for animals. It's been a long and winding road, and we know we are here because people like you care about the importance of wildlife. Thank you for all you do!
Please, make a donation to help Nebraska’s wildlife today! Remember – this holiday season your gift will go twice as far! If you donate in December, your donation will be doubled by a matching grant!
If you have any questions about donating or would like to volunteer, please let us know.
We, and the animals, appreciate your support!
On Sunday evening, NWRI received a call that there was a pigeon hanging from an "invisible line" above a pole on 55th and Leavenworth. We contacted the Nebraska Humane Society to see if they had dispatched to the call and they had, but there was nothing they could do because the bird was too high and beyond their reach.
So, unable to ignore an animal in distress, we went to the site at 8 p.m. that night to find that the pigeon was hanging by a wing from what was likely a fishing line. It was still alive and in desperate need of help. It was hanging halfway between the tree and the electrical pole, above the sidewalk, probably about 50' in the air!
The pigeon isn't in this picture, but he was a few feet above the top of this pole and a few feet to the right, hanging above the sidewalk about halfway between the tree and the pole.
We tried calling tree trimmers, Cox Cable, and the utilities -- anyone with machinery that could get that high in the air. Finally, Dave from OPPD answered our call for help! He arrived on the scene and was able to determine that the pigeon was hanging from fishing line that extended from the nearest tree all the way across Leavenworth Street, where it was attached to another pole! He extended his cherry picker to its highest limits and was able to cut the line and catch the pigeon as it swung towards him. He brought it down to us, safely on the ground.
Upon examination, we were shocked to see that although the fishing line was wrapped several times around the pigeon's wing, there are no broken bones or dislocations! His wing was swollen from lack of circulation and very sore, and he does have some feather damage. We cut all of the remaining line away, and gave him some medication to help with the swelling. He is now resting comfortably and will be released in just a few days!
We know that many people, even bird lovers, are not fond of pigeons, but this guy was in serious distress and we couldn't leave him there to suffer!
We are incredibly grateful to Dave from OPPD for helping save this guy! Thank you, Dave!
Hello to all our wildlife friends! As some of you may know, we have been working with the students of the Underwood Hills Focus School (3rd through 6th grade) to build an Outdoor Science Classroom at the school. This classroom has been designed by the students and includes bat, bird, and butterfly houses, a digital weather station, and a huge native prairie garden. This project has been partially funded by the Nebraska Environmental Trust, administered by the Nebraska Academy of Sciences.
The students have been working hard since last spring -- they have done extensive research, designed and built all of their houses and picked out their plants. While they were on fall break these past two weeks, the school district was supposed to clear the approximately 500 square feet garden plot of sod so the students could till, landscape and plant over the coming three weeks (seeds and bare root plants). However, the school district HAS NOT cleared the land and we are in desperate need of someone with a bobcat or other large machinery to come in and clear the sod for us ASAP. With the cooler weather upon us, it's really important that this garden go in soon! If you or anyone you know can help, please call Laura Stastny at 402-960-4366 as soon as you can! We all thank you for your help!
Also, if you are interested in joining students and parents to lay pavers and put in plants on a Monday or Wednesday afternoon in the next few weeks, please call Laura or email nebraskawildlife@yahoo.com. We'd love to have your help with this exciting and energizing project!
Finally, if you can't help out on the ground, but would like to donate to this cause, we'd still like to raise funds for some extras for the students, including field guides and references, binoculars to scope out the birds in their new houses, and even a Web cam for the bat house.
Donations can be made to NWRI by check at PO Box 24122, Omaha, NE 68124 (just write Focus School in the memo line) or by PayPal. You can find our PayPal link here.
We appreciate all of your help in making these students' hours of hard work and dedication an educational success!
Please excuse the long interruption in posts-- it's been quite a busy summer for everyone! Here are our most recent pictures of the sweet little beaver and tiny, fuzzy minks we had....none of whom are so tiny anymore!
It has been an exciting spring for all of us with Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, Inc. (NWRI)! We have received several charges that are unusual in rehab, including a baby beaver, a baby muskrat, 3 baby minks, and a beautiful Franklin’s gull. All of these aquatic creatures have really tested the limits of our caging resources (we don’t have that many pools!) but we are really enjoying their time with us, and are thrilled at how well they are growing and learning the skills they need for their release.
The big story for us right now is the extreme number of baby raccoons we have received and are trying to manage right now. After a very slow start to raccoons this spring, they have been flooding in! We have about 80 babies now with another month or so for juveniles to continue to be admitted for care, and we need your help! Please consider the following:
VOLUNTEER – Whether you are a seasoned veteran or a brand-new volunteer, we need help now! We have 14 babies in need of immediate placement, including the following:
- A litter of four that are nursing well off a bottle. They are working on weaning now, and will need about two to three weeks in care before moving outside.
- A single baby, far younger than our other babies, that needs to be fed four times a day. She needs about five weeks with a rehabilitator before she can be weaned.
- Three single babies, all eating formula out of a dish. They need to be weaned, and will require another two to three weeks in care before moving outside.
- Another litter of three babies, all eating formula out of a dish. They need to be weaned, and will require another two weeks in care before moving outside. These babies are not friendly and will need an experienced hand.
**Please note that to be a raccoon volunteer, you must be in a house (no apartments please!) and there cannot be any children under the age of 12 in your home.
If you’d like to help, please call Laura at 960-4366 or e-mail her at lastastny@yahoo.com. If you have never completed a volunteer application, you can find it online at:
http://www.nebraskawildliferehab.org/pdf/get_involved/volunteering/application.pdf
DONATE – Raccoons are the most expensive animal we rehabilitate on a regular basis. Each baby costs NWRI about $50 to raise, including formula, food and caging. Please consider donating today to sponsor one or more babies!
http://www.nebraskawildliferehab.org/how_you_can_help.html#donations
BUILD A CAGE – With all of the extra babies, we need more caging! Raccoons spend about eight weeks in an outdoor wilding cage once they are weaned. We need additional cages and release sites for them to accommodate all of our raccoons! A new cage costs about $200 to build, so you can help by donating to build a new cage, or by putting a cage on your property if you live in a rural area with good raccoon habitat!
If you have any questions about how you can help us with our raccoon explosion, please call or e-mail Laura at 960-4366 or lastastny@yahoo.com.
There are tons of other exciting developments happening at NWRI this spring, including a project with the Underwood Hills Focus School to build an Outdoor Science Classroom and wildlife habitat on school grounds, and a new home of our own! Watch your mail for our newsletter with more details in the coming weeks. If you’re not on our mailing list, you can make a donation to receive the newsletter or watch our Web site for the new newsletter, which will be posted there once it is sent!
That's the update. Thanks for all you do!
I'm currently rearing a litter of six little joeys. They're lapping their formula now and very interested in applesauce, escaping their kennel, scattering in all directions in the backyard, and practicing their climbing with this tree and tire swing!
I hadn't, until Nebraska Wildlife received these three sweet little babies!
  Last month a local business had to move a piece of heavy machinery that had been sitting all winter on a work site near the Missouri river in northeast Omaha. When they did, a mother mink ran out, leaving behind her three babies that were only a few days old. It was a blustery, rainy day, but one of the workers knew he needed to give the mother a chance to reclaim her young, so he put them in a container and left them near the original den site, making sure they stayed warm. The kind worker did exactly the right thing, but unfortunately the mother didn't return the entire day, likely due to all the human commotion and noise on the work site. Because the day was so cold and wet, the minks' rescuer knew he couldn't leave them on the construction site overnight, and had no choice but to take the babies home with him when he left for the day. He immediately called NWRI and transferred them to us so that they could receive the care they needed.   Over the past three weeks, they have more than quadrupled in weight and are beginning to look more like mink than they did when they first arrived. They are getting very close to opening their eyes (mink open their eyes at 3 1/2 to four weeks of age) and will be transitioned off of formula and over to solid food within a few weeks after that. We are working on designing and building a wilding cage specifically for mink, as they can escape from most of our traditional caging. They'll need to spend time in this cage to acclimate to the outdoors, so we expect to have them for a few months as they learn to hunt, swim, and make their way in the wild! Just look at these tiny things. What a privilege to care for them, and what a responsibility to do it right!
Would you like to help us care for these fuzzy little mink? Every donated dollar goes directly to food in these creatures' bellies and the wilding cages we build for them. Help us help animals here!
We'll be back with updates....thanks for all you do!
Surprise! A little over a month ago, utilities workers in north-central Nebraska found a baby beaver that they thought had a broken leg! Poor thing. They picked her up and took her to the nearest veterinarian, which happened to be a spay-neuter clinic. The veterinarian didn't have x-ray equipment on site, so she splinted the baby's leg and her assistant contacted us here at Nebraska Wildlife Rehab. A volunteer at the clinic transported the baby to Valentine, NE and cared for her overnight. Then the next day, she drove the baby to meet Shelley, a Nebraska Wildlife volunteer from O'Neill. Shelley took the baby back to O'Neill, where she met up with a couple more of our volunteers from Omaha, Susie and Dan. They drove the baby all the way back to Omaha on the same day, a seven-hour trip in total, to make sure she received the medical attention and formula she needed!
On Saturday, April 24th, Dr. Keith Halsey at VCA Animal Medical Center x-rayed the little beaver's leg and determined that although it was sprained, it was not broken, and that it should heal without any intervention. Nebraska Wildlife volunteers now have the long task of raising and rehabilitating this unique baby and returning her to the wild. Amy, this baby's primary caretaker, reports that she has been on formula for several weeks now, but is really beginning to eat solid foods. She loves sweet potatoes and willow branches. Her diet consists of several other foods as well, but those are her favorites! Since it has been such a long time since Nebraska Wildlife has had baby beavers, we no longer have an enclosure suitable for their rehabilitation and are in the process of a building a new, large enclosure, complete with a pool and "chew-proof" walls. We couldn't do all of this work with our amazing animals if it wasn't for the support of our generous public-- so if you find your heartstrings tugged, please donate to our baby beaver's care and her new home today! We'll post pictures of her enclosure once it's built and keep you posted on her progress too!
It has finally happened! Nebraska Wildlife Rehab has been offered a BUILDING!
(Meet Chuck, our president Kay's husband.)
Isn't it beautiful? Ash Grove is located a mere 10 minutes from the Sapp Brothers interstate exit, approximately 20-30 minutes from most of Omaha via the interstate and Highway 50, and it is right next to the Schramm Park State Recreational Area. We can do SO MUCH with this building. It will be our first center of operations ever, giving us a real street address and a base for conducting the business end of non-profit work. We'll staff it with volunteers to field the wildlife hotline calls! Transporters can drop off animals in need! We'll be able to host wildlife training and certification events, and call board and volunteer meetings in our very own space! We're even looking into hopefully hosting field trips for elementary children as well as possibly figuring out a summer internship program. The possibilities are truly endless.
Ash Grove Cement is generously offering the use of this building to us for a whopping $1 per year. We will be responsible for utilities, insurance, and routine upkeep and maintenance. For us to be able run the center on an all-volunteer basis we are estimating that we'll need an additional $10,000 per year, and we are needing to come up with that amount of money within the next 30 days. So on that note, we need your help!
1) WE NEED MONEY!
For insurance, utilities and other immediate building necessities, we absolutely must have $10,000 within the next 30 days. Otherwise, we may not be able to take on the responsibilities of this building and all the opportunities it could give us. That's not a lot of time! Nebraska is one of only three states without a permanent wildlife rehabilitation facility-- we are doing this ourselves, out of pocket, on our own time.
2) WE NEED VOLUNTEERS.
We need as many willing hands as possible to help us whip the building into shape this summer. The building is a bit run-down from disuse, but it's nothing a little elbow grease won't be able to fix.
Once the building is up and running, we will ALSO need volunteers to staff the hotline and help the public with their wildlife questions and problems. If you are interested in learning everything there is to know about wildlife in Nebraska, this is the volunteer gig for you!
Please help us make this happen for the animals! Please donate to help us secure this building and all of its advantages!
And please, do tell your friends.
On Saturday, April 3rd, a farmer and his wife found two beautiful fox kits hiding underneath a round hay bale on their farm west of O'Neill, Nebraska. The two kits, a boy and a girl with eyes still sealed shut, were cold and out of their den, with a dead sibling lying next to them. Their mother was nowhere to be found. At a mere 12 days old, they would have died out there had they not been rescued. Shelly, a wildlife rehabilitator in O'Neill, collected the kits and cared for them until they were transported to us in Omaha on April 5th. On that day, their little eyes opened and they began to explore their new world!
They are thriving wonderfully under care. In the first week alone they doubled their body weight and they are still eating with gusto, moving about confidently, playing, pouncing on each other, wrestling and climbing. Just yesterday they were weaned off a bottle and are now lapping their formula from a dish. They are healthy, exuberant five-week-olds! Here are pictures of the little fuzzballs:
If YOU would like to make a donation to help support the care of these baby foxes, please visit our website!
http://www.nebraskawildliferehab.org/
Hover the mouse over "Get Involved," then click "How You Can Help." There, you'll find a Donations link with instructions on how to donate to Nebraska Wildlife via PayPal or by mailing a check. Alternately, you can scroll down the right side of this blog and look for the brown "Get Involved" box-- a link to the Donations page is there as well. Remember, it is YOUR generous support that makes our work possible!
Well be back with updates on Thing 1 and Thing 2 (just kidding), so stay tuned for that and other exciting news! We appreciate your kind help in caring for our wild friends! And of course, so do the snuggly foxes.
We will be having our annual Volunteer Potluck on Saturday, April 24th at 3 PM. Whether you've just started volunteering with us this year or have persevered with us through the seasons, all Nebraska Wildlife Rehab volunteers are welcome to attend.
Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 3 PM
Gifford Farm
700 Camp Gifford Road
Bellevue, Nebraska
This is a great opportunity to meet and get to know other volunteers, network, share tips and ideas, and just have a good time together. Please bring your favorite potluck dish to share!
Looking forward to seeing all of you!
Hello everyone,
Below is a collection of links to news video clips about the bat release:
http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/89551162.html
http://www.ketv.com/video/23019059/
http://www.ketv.com/video/23019059/
WOW! Thank you so much for coming to our spring bat release and showing those batties such love! There were around 250 people out at Joslyn tonight to watch over 200 of our overwintered bats fly free, and we gathered over $500 in donations. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Stay tuned for video clips of our news spots-- they will be posted as I get them!
Hello Everyone! Unfortunately the sustained winds are too high for a good bat release tonight so we are going to postpone by one day. Tomorrow night's forecast is perfect, so I have no doubt that it will go off tomorrow night without a hitch. We're sorry for the delay, and hope that you can all join us tomorrow! Here are the new particulars (note the earlier time): What: Bat Release Date: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 When: 7:45 Where: Joslyn Art Museum Parking Lot - North Side Free-Will Donation ($5 Requested) Please be there at 7:45 as there are a few instructions to go over before the actual release starts at approximately 7:50. The bats tend to go quickly, so we should wrap things up by 8:30. Thank you all for your patience, and sorry for the delay! Hope to see you there!
Hello Everyone! We are planning on releasing the bats Tuesday night. We have over 250 eager little guys ready to fly! Here are the particulars: What: Bat Release Date: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 When: 8 PM Where: Joslyn Art Museum Parking Lot - North Side Free-Will Donation ($5 Requested) Please be there at 8 or beforehand, as the bats tend to go quickly. We should wrap things up by 8:45. Please note that if the winds get too strong, we may have to postpone until Wednesday night. If that happens, I will send another e-mail and we will post the notice on Facebook no later than 4:00 PM on Tuesday. Hope to see you there!
Our presentation last night at First United Methodist was a great success! Thanks so very much to everyone who came and showed such interest and respect for wildlife. We heard a lot of excellent questions and even better stories! Thanks also to the Sierra Club for hosting us and being so generous, bringing refreshments and kind words alike. Everyone should check out the Sierra Club's event list here, because there are some fantastic things coming up that I know I definitely won't miss.
Until next time....thanks for all you do.
When: Thursday, March 25th from 7:00-8:30pm
Where: First United Methodist Church (69th and Cass)
Join the Sierra Club as Nebraska Wildlife Rehab speaker Laura Stastny gives tips on how we can more peacefully and humanely coexist with native wildlife. We will learn about the natural behavior of local wildlife and how to use this knowledge to avoid conflicts. The presentation will include some live bats and possibly bunnies or baby squirrels depending on what animals happen to come into care this month. Plenty of pictures of past rescue animals will be shown. This program is free and open to the public. For more information, click here.
Hello supporters,
Nebraska Wildlife Rehab is searching for a new name. We have been feeling of late that our name doesn't truly embody all of the ideals to which we are committed, and so we are in the market for a new one. This is where you come in. We would like a name that best exemplifies not only our commitment to the rehabilitation of the of Nebraska, but also to public education and community service. To that end, we are asking our members and supporters to help us by suggesting new names and logos for our organization. Here's an example we received recently--
W.R.E.N.
Wildlife Rehab and Education of Nebraska
Will you help us out? We would so appreciate it!
...and with Spring comes the bulk of our wildlife charges: babies! Contrary to popular belief, parent animals will indeed respond to cries of distress and return to their young, even if they have been touched by human hands. Should you find a baby animal, here are some quick tips to help you best help Nature take its course.
* Before removing the baby from its environment, determine whether or not it really needs help. Stop and pay attention to your surroundings. Is it snuggled into a hidey-hole in the ground, or hidden under a bush? Is there a tree nearby from which it could have fallen? Do you hear any cries of agitation from what could be its mother? Animals have the best chance at survival if they remain with their parents, and oftentimes the parents know exactly where they have tucked their youngsters-- and will come back. Finding a baby out on its own doesn't necessarily mean it needs human intervention.
* Examine the baby with eyes-only.
Is it obviously injured? Can you see blood, puncture wounds or a broken bone? Are there flies around it? Does it seem weak or unable to use its legs? Pink, hairless babies with eyes closed are in grave danger if they are separated from their mothers for even a short time. A healthy baby will have a glossy coat, round, bright eyes and a healthy sense of self-preservation, in that it will likely try to get away from you.
* If you think everything looks okay, leave the baby there.
Baby birds on the ground with most of their feathers are fledglings learning to fly; you should leave it on the ground. You can place a younger baby (no feathers, eyes shut) gently back in a visible nest.
Baby squirrels (if its eyes are open) can be left at the base of a tree.
Bunnies can be placed back in their ground nests and covered with grass or other greenery.
Raccoons pups are almost never far away from their mothers, but the mothers will wait for you to leave before they approach.
In any case, allow the mother around four to six hours to return.
* If you determine the baby needs help, help it.
In these instances, call a wildlife rehabilitator, then put on some gloves and place the baby carefully into a shoebox or other small container, lined with soft cloth, tissues or paper towels. Try to avoid any kind of terry cloth, as delicate toenails can be caught in its loops. Cover the baby with more cloth and put the covered (but not sealed) container in a dark, quiet, warm place away from children and pets. If you have a heating pad, set it to low and place the container halfway on the pad. Resist the urge to handle the cute little thing, as they are easily susceptible to shock...and wash your hands well!
Please do not give the baby anything to eat or drink unless instructed to do so by your wildlife rehabilitator.
This is only a very basic outline of how you can help baby wildlife if you find yourself in a position to do so. Rehabilitators with Nebraska Wildlife Rehab are always happy to help you analyze a situation to see if a baby needs to come into care--so if the need arises, don't hesitate to call us at 402-341-8619. And for more detailed information, more useful tips and interesting reading, please visit our website at www.nebraskawildliferehab.org.
Thanks for all you do!
Thank you to everyone who came out to our Volunteer Orientation on Tuesday night! We are extremely pleased with the results. We filled three wildlife transporter spots and secured new, passionate volunteers with exciting talents in fundraising, cage-building and hosting, and animal caretaking. We were thrilled to meet you all-- 2010 is looking to be our best year yet!
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Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, Inc. needs a home of our own to care for more animals and provide hands-on educational programs for the students of Nebraska. WE NEED YOUR HELP to make our dream a reality! Please donate today! Interested in learning more about "A Home of Our Own", click here.
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