Wow! I have had one of the most amazing experiences in my life, really. Even the big, bad, biker, Tom, said so. And remember, he was my reluctant cohort in this rescue mission in the first place. Well, not once he got there and met these wonderful folks:
Dear GreenSpot-On Readers,
I wanted to talk to you about something very important. As some of you in Michigan or even in the nation may have heard, on late Sunday, July 25, 2010 a pipeline malfunctioned (which is being investigated by the EPA and the National Transportation Safety Board) near the border of Marshall and Fredonia townships in Calhoun County, Michigan. The oil then leaked into Talmadge Creek, which flows northwest into the Kalamazoo River.
According to the Battle Creek Enquirer: "After the oil leak was detected, the pipeline pumps were shut down and the valves upstream and downstream from the leak were closed, according to a press release from Houston-based Enbridge and the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Management."
The spill has already went past booms set up by workers in Marshall township and is now flowing into the Kalamazoo River in Kalamazoo County. So far it is estimated that about 877,000 gallons (Or according to other news reports around 20,000 barrels) of oil had spilled into the creek leading to the Kalamazoo River according to estimates from Enbridge Energy Partners. A meterologist speaking with the news agency WZZM 13 from the National Weather Service has also said that the spill could reach Lake Michigan by Sunday, depending on a few variables having to do with the flow rate.
There have been warnings and advisories set against swimming and fishing in the area and there is a worry about Benzine being in the air. There are also families that have been evacuated (Last I heard it was at least 20 homes) due to the potential health hazard. According to other sources, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) have told hopeful volunteers to stay away from the area as they are trying to get respirators for workers near the spill. As for wildlife rescues I had heard from another source that the DNR are looking into having trained and licensed wildlife rescuers help with the wildlife and that it is too dangerous for an untrained and unlicensed person to handle distressed wildlife. There have alrady been injuries to reported at Wood TV8 in West Michigan by these distressed animals to humans who had hoped to do some good. Please let the trained professionals and licensed wildlife rescuers do the work, if you want to help ask the Michigan DNRE what you can do. To sign up with wildlife officials or to report oil-covered wildlife, call 800-306-6837.
I promise that as soon as I find a reputable place that is taking donations I will let you know. Already, I have talked with a couple licensed rescuers (Including GreenSpot-On's very own JRouse) who are possibly going to be allowed to volunteer for clean-up, so if I hear any news on how people can assist them or the effort I will let you all know! Though I did find this today:
"BATTLE CREEK (The Enquirer) -- The Circle D Wildlife Refuge has rescued 12 geese, a muskrat and a swan from the Kalamazoo River, said refuge spokeswoman Pam Decuypere. The Vicksburg group is working to help capture and clean wildlife hurt by the oil spill, she said. The refuge is looking for volunteers today to help clean the birds, monetary donations, and donations of buckets, vegetable oil, dish soap and rags, Decuypere said. If you want to help, show up at 13500 East U Ave. in Vicksburg, or call Decuypere at (269) 365-5349"
Meanwhile I am looking for a couple of photo's to post of this disaster in my home state to show you before and after photo's and what it is doing to the environment and the wildlife. If anyone from this area has new photo's and will give permission to post them please contact me!
Please see the links and video below for more information and the sources for my information.
MI DNRE Website: Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment
Huffington Post: Michigan Oil spill among the Largest in Midwest History: Kalamazoo Spill Soaks Wildlife
The latest story from the Battle Creek Enquirer: Granholm criticizes company as oil heads west
Battle Creek Enquirer story: Eager Volunteers told to Wait
The Battle Creek Enquirer has posted a Map showing the spill.
WZZM 13: Oil Spill could reach Lake Michigan by Sunday
Wood TV8 Latest story: Oil Spill Spreading toward Battle Creek
Wood TV 8 video: DNRE: Leave animal cleaning to pros
So, the 4 squirrels I had are doing well ;) One of my friends has taken in 2 of them to divide up the work between the two of us. This is really late in the year to have as many squirrel calls, as we have been getting. Normally, spring time is squirrel time for us. We are working on figuring out a way to be able to do more rehabbing since there are limited amount of rehabbers in Isabella County.
Sincerely,
JRouse @ GreenSpot-On
Link: http://unhub.com/GreenSpotOn/
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Make sure if you ever help take in an orphan animal that you understand what you are doing and if you don't, inquire and find someone that can help you!
This weekend was "squirrel rescue weekend," and I can't emphasize it enough: Make sure that you keep the animal warm and hydrated! 1st of course is getting the animal warm, then hydrating. Another issue is what you feed that animal that you take in.
The squirrels that I got today and last night had been fed kitten replacer milk, while puppy milk (Esbilac) is actually the closest thing to a squirrels milk. So if you, or someone you know takes in a squirrel (or other animal), please get it to an appropriately licensed rehabber who knows how to properly care for them right away. Often what happens, is a person will take in one of these orphaned animals with good intentions and plans to raise them on their own. Then a few days or maybe a week later we will get a call stating that they found a squirrel and that they have had it for a given number of days, and the squirrel seems ill. By the time they they actually seek help for it, it can often be too late!
So, please let anyone that you may know that takes in an animal to properly research and inquire on the care of the animal. In these times we are blessed with the availability of technology and being able to pretty much google any topic that we want to learn about. Here is one link that may help if someone ever gets into this situation:
http://www.squirrelstore.com - Has information for the care of orphaned squirrels and supplies (if needed)
REMEMBER *NEVER TRY AND FEED A COLD/DEHYDRATED ANIMAL*
FOLLOW THE APPROPRIATE PROTOCOL!!!
Welcome to the Fifth Issue of the GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A! Here is a question I recieved from a student at C. A. Frost Environmental Science Academy in Grand Rapids, MI along with my answers! Please keep the questions coming!
I just wanted to give everyone a little insight on why this blog was started and give props to all those who rescue, rehabilitate animals.
I love wildlife like my sister and want to give you a little background on what she does and how it started. I am proud of what she does as a rehabber and at her job and how she loves to teach her child and my boys things about animals. When we were little I always knew she would be doing something to help animals. If she saw roadkill she would immediately want to bury the animal (To this day she will pull over on the side of the road to take care of a cat or other small animal if it had been hit by a car, alive or dead).
My Mom sometimes would have to drive with my sister to help her take care of these animals (deer, cats, dogs and more). Usually the only things they didn't go bury for my sister was possums, skunks and raccoons (Due to the temperment and other issues involving those animals when they were hit or hurt). If she found strays she would beg our parents to help her get them to their homes. We had a cat once that was given to us by our aunt and uncle. We lived on a farm at the time and had neighbors that owned a dairy. The cat had wandered onto their property and got attacked by their dogs horribly. Our neighbor brought the cat to us and she wasn't doing. My sister and I, both in tears begged our mom, dad and a friend of theirs to help her. They stayed up all night, trying to keep her alive and help her, make her comfortable. At the time we didn't have alot of money so a visit to the vet wasn't an option. They did everything they could but the cat didn't survive the night, we were devastated.
My sister still has a hard time when an animal doesn't pull through, wild or domesticated. She has compassion for all animals and always has. That is why she is great at what she does. I am so proud of the way she cares for the animals that get brought into the veteranary hospital where she works by clients. Sometimes I will recieve a call about how saddened she was about a clients cat that had to be put down. Usually it is a tear-filled call and I remind her that the clients were lucky to have someone talk to them as compassionate and caring as she about their pet. She has the same hands-on involvement in them as she does with the wildlife she has helped rehab.
I also recieve the same types of calls when she has lost an wild animal that she was rehabbing. Especially the baby animals. She is so invested in their care (Feeding them every hour throughout an entire day for weeks on end, cleaning, keeping them warm) that it is hard for her to see them not make it. These are the types of people that make good rehabbers. Yes, they can take a step back and do the job at hand, but they also care so much about what they are doing that they can be disappointed or heartbroken when an animal doesn't pull through. Yet they keep doing what they do for the sake of these animals that can't speak for themselves and take care of themselves. When there are sucesses, they are overjoyed and are happy to release them back into the wild or if they can't be released they are placed in a sanctuary, nature center or zoo that will take them in.
I respect the vigor and commitment it takes to do the job my sister does, even while going to school, working and raising a child. My sister and other wildlife rehabbers or animal rescuers spend money out of their own pockets, use all of their spare time and resources to save these animals that other people would not or could not. This post is in honor of those people like my sister that love what they do and are committed to saving these animals. Education is key!
I can name a few others that I respect like my sister for doing what they can to save some or all creatures big or small. Please support them in their efforts or check out their sites that I list here. There are many out there, so I will only name a few. They include:
I Love Rescue Animals - One of our sister sites, run by two lovely women who are very dedicated animal lovers. Please support their effort by donating or helping them in their quest to find homes for shelter animals. Link: http://iloverescueanimals.org/
JournOwl - Another wonderful blog that has great insight and into conservation of owls and other wildlife, this blogger also has two other sites that are dedicated to the preservation of habitat and conservation on marine life and endangered species stats (See Thriving Oceans & Bio the Numbers). Link to JournOwl: http://www.journowl.com/
Thriving Oceans - Link: http://www.thrivingoceans.org/
Bio The Numbers - Link: http://www.biothenumbers.com/
NestCams - A site run by Cornell Lab of Orinthology. It is great place to view video of the nesting habits of different birds. Link: http://watch.birds.cornell.edu/nestcams/home/index
ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) - You can donate or become a member to help stop cruelty to animals! Link: http://www.aspca.org/
You can also support our blog by continuing to read our articles, become a guest blogger if you are passionate about the topics we talk about! Subscribe to our feed! We thank you for your support and any support you give to the above blogs and sites that are doing wonderful things!
Sincerely,
Khrys @ GreenSpot-On
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animals back into their natural habitat by bringing us the animals, and of course they monitor the animals that we have over the year period. We have to keep special logs for the animals that we take care of. As far as actually taking the animal after we have rehabbed them, the answer is no. We usually release them ourselves in the county that they were found in. But, for the birds of prey we usually relocate them to another facility where they are put into flight cages to help assist them in strengthening their skills before release. All of these animals though, need to be acclimated to the outdoors and the environment before release. You wouldn't want to have an animal housed indoors and just release it without acclimating it first.
started volunteering with the local shelter and I eventually landed a job in a veterinary practice. It started as just kennel help (cleaning cages and medicating the animals), during that time I was able to observe how to care for them. After a while I worked my way to assisting the vet in the exam rooms and then eventually started assisting with surgeries. Since we did wildlife on the side, I was able to assist with that and now I am able to do a lot on my own. Although there are still things that only a licensed veterinarian should perform (care-wise) for some animals.
Welcome to the Third Issue of the GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A! Here are new questions recieved from a student at Beachnau Elementary in Ravenna, MI and a couple more from some of GreenSpot-On's adult readers along with my responses to them...
a cage to help distract the cats a little (so they aren't focused so much on seeing the doctor - kind of like you with lollipops), and we also have canaries that are in our boarding facility.
when you are taking in an animal. You can be picky about what you take in, because you may not be able to afford the animals care it needs (depending on what you have to spend and what you have time for). When an animal is in its nursing phase it can be costly, just in milk, syringes, etc. Then when they are weaned it may be less costly, but that all depends on the type of animal you have and what it eats! 
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