Meet the Beaver!

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!

VERY exciting news!

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.

We have new furry babies!

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.

Volunteer Potluck

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!

News clips

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/

Bat Release a spectacular success!

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!

Bat Release postponed until tomorrow (3/31)

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!