Wildlife MattersQuarterly newsletter of the St. Francis Wildlife Association

St. Francis Wildlife is a local, nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of native wildlife through the rehabilitation of sick, injured and orphaned wildlife and public education since 1978.

Caring fo

r wildl

ife

for 40

years!

V. 18, No. 2 Summer 2018

P.O. Box 38160, Tallahassee, FL 32315 = 5580 Salem Rd., Quincy, FL 32352www.stfranciswildlife.org = 850.627.4151

It rushes through our front door carrying ababy river otter or beaver separated from mamaby a spring deluge. It surges with hundreds of tinyopossums. It crests with dozens of ducklings. Itoverflows with orphaned grey foxes.

This river of orphaned, displaced, and injuredwild babies began in March. By May our wildlifehospital was hip deep in owls, hawks, songbirdsand woodpeckers that rained from trees or losttheir homes to chain saws.

Owl and hawk parents — so focused onhunting for their new families — don’t notice thebarbed wire fence, or cell tower guy wires in theirpath. Opossum mamas, pouches heavy with ba-

bies, and turtles insearch of matesmove too slowly onour roads. When the baby

birds fledge (growup and fly off), weflood again from Au-gust to Novemberwith dozens of fawnsand hundreds ofbaby squirrelscaught by pets ortossed from theircozy nests bystorms.St. Francis

Wildlife, and thegenerous veterinari-

ans who donate their services to us, areall about giving every one of these lit-tle guys a second chance. Whatever ittakes.

Teresa Stevenson, director andwildlife rehabilitator (we call herMother Teresa), examines and evalu-ates new arrivals in the triage room.

One recent morning, first to arrivewere two box turtles, a yellow-belliedslider, one Barred Owl, a handful ofRed-bellied Woodpeckers, several babyopossums, and a rabbit.

With a trained volunteer assisting,Teresa quietly and efficiently examineseach animal from head to toe to tail.

Each one is ‘Angel.’ “I’m sorry,Angel,” Teresa whispers as she checksfor broken bones, wounds, dehydra-

tion, trauma, and parasites. They are warmed,weighed and then stabilized with fluids and medsif necessary.

Predators and prey animals go to separaterooms. Raptors rest on perches in large, darkenedcages. Turtles and tortoises have heated tanks.Baby opossums, bunnies and squirrels suckle spe-cial formulas and snuggle with new siblings.Spotted fawns bed down on soft blankets. Patientvolunteers feed dozens of orphaned songbirds, theyoungest in incubators, every 20 minutes, fromdawn to dusk.

When orphans are grown and injured animalsrecover, they move outdoors to ‘wild halfwayhouses’ spread across our 35-acre sanctuary to ex-ercise the wings and little legs that will carry eachback home, making room for others who willneed a second chance on this never-ending wildriver that flows through St. Francis Wildlife.

St. Francis Wildlife river at flood stageBy Sandy Beck Left: Two orphaned baby Barred Owls, a juvenile and a neonate, cuddle with each other and

a plush owl toy. Both will soon be released. Photo by Teresa Stevenson. Below: Orphaned cottontail bunnies. Photo by Sandy Beck.

St. Francis Wildlife 40th Anniversary Celebration, November 1st !

See page 3.

Thank you from the bottom of our wild hearts for these donations.

Summer 2018 Wildlife Matters, Newsletter of the St. Francis Wildlife Association page 2

Sincere thanks to our community for caring about wildlife = Target Print & Mail for donating their mailing services.= ElectroNet for our web site space & email.= Law, Redd, Crona & Munroe, P.A. for doing our taxes probono all these decades! = COSTCO for donating produce for our animals! = Walmart in Quincy for donating dog food and birdseed! = Tony Kelly Heating & Air for installing a ductless air condi-tioner free of charge.= Mark and Laurie Forare, our great neighbors who help maintainour property with their tractor.= All of our amazing, dedicated volunteers!= Community Foundation of North Florida (CFNF) for creatingpublic awareness of SFW and your generous donations. = The Tallahassee Democrat, WCTV and WFSU for supportingour efforts to teach people how to coexist with wildlife. = Libby Allen for beautiful bird calendars and many donations ofhospital supplies, bird food, and funding.= Felecia A. Elmore-Perfect and many anonymous seamstressesfor their handmade, ultra-soft baby wildlife hammocks.= John Wesley United Methodist Church for hosting their annualAlternative Christmas Market which greatly benefits St. Francis

Wildlife and other local non-profits.= Whole Foods Market for selecting SFW to be the recipient oftheir Donate Your Dime program January through March 2018.= Natelle Draws Stuff for continuing to donate part of the proceedsfrom sales of her beautiful custom pin of our dear Pepé Opossum!= Rick and Jane Wolfarth for their donation of halibut andsalmon they caught and brought from Alaska!!!= Apple Lane Foundation for its generous ongoing support.= Lewis Family Foundation for their generous continued support.= TJ McGowen from Network for Good for his spectacular guid-ance in helping us attract donations.= Kristen Summers, for her beautiful watercolor paintings of ourRed-shouldered Hawk and Eastern Screech Owl and permitting usto use them for posters and t-shirts for our 40th Anniversary Celebration (November 1, 2018)! See them on page 3!= Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, for inviting St. Francis Wildlife andour raptors to share the stage with them at this year’s Word ofSouth Festival and for their generous donation.= Nationwide Transmission, 1828 Capital Circle NE, Tallahassee,for fixing the transmission on our rescue vehicle at no charge!= To all our supporters who helped us win the Demo Award!

Hospital staff (Left to right) Seated: Christina Ohm, Teresa Stevenson Standing: Nicole Chalfant-Kero and JessicaGehring (interns), Nancy Thomas, Brianna Patterson, Michelle Robinson, Kelley Gray

Third annual In Concert for WildlifeBelle and the Band — Kathryn Belle Long, Kevin Robertson,

Mike Snelling and Mickey Abraham — played their unique folksy,jazzy, bluesy hearts out for injured, orphaned and sick wildlife atour third annual In Concert for Wildlife.

Bill Wharton dropped by to add a little of his own spicey bluesto the pot. Thank you, Sauce Boss!

Thank you also to Junction at Monroe owner Russ Pangratz, hishappy staff, our volunteers — Pat, Barb, Sally and Sandy — andall our friends who came out to enjoy great music, eat, drink andmake this fundraiser a success.

In Memory of Harry BurnFromSusan BurnBuckFromRobert and Marilyn LivingstonLaura Ann Haugdahl FromEric HaugdahlPeggy BarnettFromLinda and Glen YoungClaireFromDiane and Ken Linthacum Bailey Donohue FromJim and Becky DonohueDonna Marie WaltersDavid KampfFromSandy and Bob BeckGinger and Ted SanbornFred KonradFromKathryn (Kate) KonradHelen Patricia (Patsy) GilliamFromPatricia MorganPatricia Rapp FromIrwin and Georgia Jahns Mary Beth Ward SavageFromJohn and Virginia WardHelen J. Staskiews FromBruce Staskiews Margaret R. TrammelFromSusan Trammell Burn

In Honor ofAbrielle AmmonsFromEbbye Henry Thompson Judy Gillan, Pat Simmons andSandy BeckFromSharon Quintero Tom DuggarFromDe Witt and Neddy Sumners

Eric and Mel HaugdahlFromEric HaugdahlJonFromNoble BielbyMax FromDavid and Angela TriplettLisa PhippsFromJohn PhippsGary and Sandy RobertsonFromJohn Robertson

Pat Simmons and KatharineGossmanFromRichard and Betty SimmonsTara TanakaFromSusan HensleyCarlos Varela, DVMFromJim and Becky DonohueJohn Michael WillisFromJohn E. PhippsZack and BuddyFromRobert and Marilyn Livingston

P.O. Box 38160Tallahassee, FL 32315

850.627.4151www.stfranciswildlife.org

stfranciswildlife@comcast.net

Board of DirectorsPresident

Pat SimmonsVice PresidentBarbara Barnett

SecretaryElenita Gomez, Esq.

TreasurerIan Waldick, Esq.

John L. Brennan III, Esq.Mitch Potter, DVM

Kelly CraftKatharine Gossman

Allan Franklin III, CPADonna Hansell Laura Phipps

Emeritus

Full and Part-time StaffDirector & Wildlife Rehabilitator

Teresa StevensonEducation Director &

Newsletter Editor Sandy Beck

Wildlife CaretakersKelley Gray, Michelle Robinson,

Nancy Thomas, Brianna Patterson,Christina Ohm, Deborah Moye

Wildlife RescuersJustin Parrish, Kayla Gainer,Ashton Boon, Misty Penton

Administrative AssistantAnn Lewis

Office AssistantDiane Watson

Volunteer CoordinatorDonna Hansell

Intern CoordinatorShelby BoykinWeb Master

Robbie Estevez

Thank you Michael H. Sheridan and Judy Wilson for your very generous continued support.

All the animals at St. Francis Wildlife thank Sandy Beck’s Facebookfriends for donating $1,000 to their care in honor of her birthday!

Diane Roberts, Judy Gillan, Lorelei Ennis, Corine Samwel, Trina Mitchell,Sebrena Thomas, Rob Smith, Abby Derby, Kevin Pearson, JV Phipps,Annette Ajay Zamore Ramsey, Lesly Pogrew Terrance, Mimi Hearn, Kathleen Carr, Terri Carrion, Grayal Earle Farr, Dale Finch, Bonny DotsonAllen, Shari Downs Magee, David Cook, Peggy Woodham, Sheila HayesRyan, Angie Mathis, Jessica Lauria, Jan Jordan Walters, Margaret Clark,Kathy Rothman, Fred Rubin, and Karen Berkley.

Thank you, Cabo’s and so many who packed this great, local restau-rant on July 22nd to eat, drink, and raise money for St. FrancisWildlife. Thank you, also, Mike Ferrara, all the patient servers, andBarb Barnett for getting the ball rolling.

Wildlife Matters, Newsletter of the St. Francis Wildlife Association page 3Summer 2018

Tickets (Until sold out)

$50 each/2 for $90After 10/25:

$55 each/2 for $100Patron Ticket $100 each

Includes recognition in program book, 40th Anniversary T-shirt (artwork on this page!), & photo with a bird of prey.

—Where to buy tickets—Native Nurseries (cash or check)

1661 Centerville Rd. Tallahassee

Wild Birds Unlimited (cash or check)2098 Thomasville Rd.

Online at www.stfranciswildlife.org

5:30 - 7:00 p.m. — On the terrace Enjoy birds of prey, a glass of wine and the

soothing sounds of the Big Bend Woodwind Quintet.

7:00 - 9:30 p.m. — In the Carriage House•Treat your senses to Real Paella, prepared by

one of Valencia's finest chefs • Music by the incomparable Avis Berry

•M.C., WCTV’s Julie Montanaro• Guest Speakers: wildlife author Joe Hutto,

sculptor Sandy Proctor, and ecologist Dr. Bruce Means.

November 1, 2018at

Goodwood Museum & Gardens

SponsorshipsRead about 40th Anniversary Celebration sponsorship levels and benefits at

www.stfranciswildlife.org/40thAnnivSponsorships.pdf or contact Barbara Barnett, barb.barnett@comcast.net or (850)524-3046.

St. Francis Wildlife’s 40th Anniversary Celebration

Summer 2018 Wildlife Matters, Newsletter of the St. Francis Wildlife Association page 4

Baby bobcat updateBy Teresa Stevenson

Last summer we rescued a one-week-old bob-cat. When she was a few months old, we locateda Tennessee wildlife rehabilitator, Phyllis Rollins,who had a male bobcat about the same age as ourfemale. We drove our little girl to Tennessee soshe could learn how to socialize with her ownkind. This spring Phyllis released them both inthe Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee.

She wrote, “Your big girl was so ready to goand took off running faster and faster until shedisappeared from view. Her boy pal just ambleddown the ravine and wandered off in the same di-rection so I'm sure they met up later.

“Here's a picture of her before she took off.The male is just going over the bank.”

Above: Newborn bobcat kitten. Photo by Teresa Stevenson.Below: All grown up, our bobcat returning to her wild world.Photo by Phyllis Rollins.

Our beloved opossum, Pepé passed away peace-fully in his sleep. Pictured above with director TeresaStevenson, this disabled wildlife ambassador earnedhis keep by visiting schools and public events anddoing TV interviews. He was also the star of ourmonthly behind-the-scenes tours. His photographeven won the Tallahassee Democrat’s UNselfie con-test last year.

Pepé and his brothers and sisters came to us whentheir mother was hit by a car. We were able to raiseand release his siblings, but Pepé suffered braintrauma and could not climb.

Opossums live life in the fast lane — most foronly two years. Pepé lived to the ripe old age of three.

Pepé opossumBy Teresa Stevenson

Photo by Kris Bass-Peterson

The best little spot in Tallahassee to store

all your stuff. 2424 Monticello Dr.

Tallahassee, FL850-385-7266

Amazing Woodpeckers

A woodpecker’s tongue is so long that it wraps around its skull to protect its brain while it is hammering away at a tree. This, combined with its super strong neck muscles, plates of spongey bone in the skullthat act like a football helmet, and a smallamount of fluid surrounding their brain, all helpto prevent a woodpecker from shattering its brainwhile pecking like a jackhammer.

Illustration by Denise Takahashi.

Above: Big baby! This nestling is one of eight orphanedPileated Woodpeckers that we have raised and released alreadythis year. Photo by Teresa Stevenson

Below: Pileated Woodpecker, all grown up and just released,with volunteer Bob Beck. The Pileated is our largest woodpecker— the size of an American Crow. Photo by Sandy Beck

Internship program invaluableexperience for FSU student By Michelle Kaae

As a pre-veteri-nary student, Iam always look-ing for opportu-nities to gainexperience inveterinary medi-cine.

I started vol-unteering at St.Francis Wildlifeduring the fallsemester andquickly fell inlove with thecenter. So whentheir internshipopportunity was

announced for the following spring semester, Ijumped at the chance. Although it was hardwork and I had a lot to learn, the amazing staffguided me and made it a fun experience.

My favorite part of my internship was work-ing with the raptors, especially the owls. I was‘enraptured’ from day one — s o much so thatI’m hoping to focus on birds of prey in graduateschool!

It is an honor to be able to work closely withsuch incredible animals and to play a role in re-habilitating them and eventually releasing them.It’s truly an indescribable feeling to know that Iwas able to make a difference in these animals’lives, and I owe it all to St. Francis Wildlife.

Michelle Kaae feeds juvenilePileated Woodpeckers.

Photo by Shelby Boykin.

As natural areas are paved over, some preda-tors adapt. So raccoons, foxes, opossums, bob-cats, coyotes, snakes, and birds of prey havebecome as much a part of our urban and subur-ban neighborhoods as they are of our rural areas.

Normally timid towards people, these preda-tors are not a threat to us; however, small petsare easy prey. Keep your pet cats indoors andsmall dogs close to you, even during the day.Remove attractants from your yard: Feed petsinside, keep garbage in a sturdy, tightly closedcontainer, and wash recyclables well.

Predator proof your ‘oval office’You don’t need to live on a farm to gather

fresh eggs for your family. Many people withsmall yards or gardens raise chickens.

“If you keep animals that other animals liketo eat, you need to provide them with adequateshelter to protect them from predators,” St. Fran-cis Wildlife volunteer Emily Shaw said.

Emily recently had the heartbreaking task ofrescuing two baby raccoons whose mother wasshot and killed while pilfering a chicken for them.

“Killing [or trapping] one raccoonworks only until the next one comesby. In other words, it doesn't work.And it could also be a death sentencefor any babies that animal left in itsnest.”

Predators are active 24 hours a day. Hawksand owls can attack from the sky. Foxes,

raccoons, opossums, coyotes, rats, and dogs canattack at ground level or by digging. Snakessqueeze through small openings.

So how do you protect both chickens andchicken-loving wildlife?

Build it right, and they will not come Cover any openings, including the roof, with

quarter-inch hardware cloth (not chicken wire).Purchase this very sturdy, steel mesh by the rollat local home improvement stores and attachwith special staples. Snakes can squeeze throughhalf-inch openings, but not the quarter-inchmesh. Also bury hardware cloth 18 to 24 inchesdeep all the way around to keep critters fromdigging under.

Don’t forget the padlocks. Clever raccoons’ nimble fingers can easily open latches.

Darcy Abbott and Marty Dix, local chickenand wildlife lovers, constructed two critter-proof“Taj MahChicken Coops.” They built the run,pictured above, with plastic lattice and rein-forced it with hardware cloth. Marty placedlarge stepping stones around the entire perimeterto thwart diggers. They also installed solar sen-sor security lights to discourage nocturnal predators.

“We try to let the chickens out in our fencedyard every day, but only when we are able tokeep an eye on them,” Darcy said.

Vanessa Walthall, an avid gardener, createdthe ‘chicken tractor,’ a moveable run.

“It was a practical, safe, and eco-nomical alternative to fencing a large yard. By moving the tractor daily,

the hens get a new patch of grass, bugs, and dirt to scratch and peck in,” Vanessa wrote.They also help her garden by

scratching (tilling) and pooping (fertilizing) and are safe.

Fake eggs are bad news Some people plant wooden or ceramic eggs

in their coops to encourage hens to lay, but alsoto bate or foil snakes. A snake that swallows thefake egg is too fat to leave, but even if it does, itwill die an agonizing death.

Dr. Kathleen Cavell at Northwood AnimalHospital recently operated on a harmless grey ratsnake to remove a wooden egg. After weeks ofcontinued care at St. Francis Wildlife, Dr. Cavellremoved the sutures and we released it. Quarter-inch hardware cloth is the simple and humanesolution to excluding egg-loving snakes.

With a little thoughtful planning, you cankeep your pets and chickens safe, and live inharmony with your beautiful wild neighbors.

Summer 2018 Wildlife Matters, Newsletter of the St. Francis Wildlife Association page 5

Proper planning can protect pets and chickens— and their wild predators By Sandy Beck

Dr. Kathleen Cavell surgically removed a wooden egg fromthis harmless grey rat snake. Pictured is the snake, still underanesthesia, and the fake egg. Photo courtesy of Northwood AH.

Vanessa Walthall’s ‘Chicken Tractor,’ a moveable chickenrun, protects her chickens while they forage, till and fertilizeher garden. Her dog, Pansy (pictured in the Tractor), was agood chicken herder and guarder. Photo by Vanessa Walthall.

Darcy Abbott with Alice, one of six hens. Photo by Marty Dix.

These two orphaned baby raccoons are being raised at St.Francis Wildlife now. Their mother was shot when she entereda poorly constructed chicken coop. Photo by Emily Shaw.

Summer 2018 Wildlife Matters, Newsletter of the St. Francis Wildlife Association page 6

Help St. Francis Wildlife go greenWould you prefer to read our newsletter on-

line? If so, please send an email to stfrancis@tds.net with “Add to Email List” as the subject and your full name and mailing address in the body of the email (so we can remove you from our printed newsletter list).

And rather than clipping and sending in theDonation Form (on left) with your check, you canalso make a secure online donation with PayPal atwww.stfranciswildlife.org. Thank you!

Questions, comments, or suggestions? Email editor, Sandy Beck, stfranciswildlife@comcast.net.

Orphaned or just blending in?Well-intentioned rescuers may ‘kidnap’ fawns. Learn what to do (and not do) if you find one.

By Sandy Beck

A tiny, black puppy caught my eye. It was stand-ing in a ditch on the roadside. Thirsty, hungry andalone — of course he had to come with me. Thepuppy curled up in my lap as I drove home.

The need to nurture and protect a soft, little bodythat has helplessness and vulnerability written allover it is so tightly hard-wired in adult mammalsthat the sight of almost any baby will melt us.

But sometimes that lovely instinct is misplaced.I’m talking wildlife. This time of year, it’s fawns. Ababy white-tailed deer with its wobbly legs and big,brown eyes practically screams “take care of me.”

Puppy fur has a rich, warm smell, kind of likemaple syrup. And puppy breath — well, that’s am-brosia. But nature has endowed fawns with undevel-oped scent glands. This nearly odorless state combinedwith a spotted coat that blends into the sun dappled for-est floor makes it almost invisible to predators.

Alone but not abandonedIn fact, a fawn spends the first few weeks of its

life in camouflage jammies, curled up on a cozybed of leaf litter. Does are very good mothers anddo not abandon their young. She watches over herbaby from a safe distance so that her movement andscent do not draw attention. She returns to nurse afew times a day, when her acute senses of hearingand smell assure her the coast is clear.

Fawns are being bornnow. They’re in the woodssurrounding our homes.

At the beginning of Au-gust, St. Francis Wildlife hadalready received 18 fawns.Four were found with a deaddoe. One was bleating andfollowing people; so itsmother was likely dead. Sixwere injured.

Two fawns were found bydogs. But instead of remov-ing their dogs from the area,the people ‘kidnapped’ the fawns and kept them forseveral days. By that time the doe’s milk was prob-ably dry so reuniting them wasn’t possible. Anotherperson had placed a fawn in a cage where it injureditself. (It is illegal to possess a fawn.) And fourmore were outright kidnapped.

Two more fawns were ‘rescued’ by well-mean-ing people who thought they had been abandoned.St. Francis Wildlife was able to reunite one with itsmother.

One woman who called about an ‘orphanedfawn’ was advised to “leave it alone.” Later, shecalled back to report, “Just like you said, the motherreturned for her baby.”

This is only the beginning of fawn season. Lastyear, St. Francis Wildlife received 39 deer; mostwere fawns.

If you find a fawn. . . near a dead or injured doe, or the fawn is in-

jured, cold, covered with insects, or crying, call St.Francis Wildlife, 24/7, at 850.627.4151. We willhelp you assess the situation and advise you how toproceed.

If you find a fawn doing its best impression of apile of leaves, lucky you. But no touching, please;your scent might attract predators. Besides, mamais probably nearby, and she has some powerfulhooves. Just tuck that sweet picture away in yourmemory bank.

If the idea of caring for an animal stokes yournurturing instinct, consider becoming a volunteer atSt. Francis Wildlife’s wildlife hospital, especiallyduring this busy baby season. Or, if puppy breath iswhat you crave, visit a county animal shelter or oneof our area’s pet rescue groups. There are so manybabies that truly need your kindness and care.

Donation Form: Please renew your annual support.Mail your check to: St. Francis Wildlife Assoc., P.O. Box 38160, Tallahassee, FL 32315Or make a secure online donation with PayPal at www.stfranciswildlife.org.

Name___________________________________________________________ Date___________

E-mail Address______________________________________________________________________

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City____________________________________________ State_______ Zip Code_______________How would you prefer to receive our quarterly newsletter, Wildlife Matters?

____ I prefer to have a printed copy of Wildlife Matters mailed to my home.____ I prefer to read it on-line. (It is a PDF file, so you will need Adobe Acrobat.)

To make this donation in honor of someone (for a special occasion, memorial, etc.) please include a note with the honored person’s name and the name and address of the person to receive acknowledgement of the gift. Your gift will also be noted in our next “Wildlife Matters” newsletter.

Please check the appropriate box and return this form with your tax-deductible donation.Donor Levels: cAngel $35 cHero $50 c Friend $100 c Sponsor $250 cGuardian $500

c Steward $1,000 c Patron $2,000 c Saint $5,000 c Other ____________

Please contact me about: cVolunteering cYour “Wild Classroom” outreach wildlife education programs. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800.435.7352) REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.

St. Francis of Assisi Wildlife Association, Inc. Registration #: CH4537.

A fawn lies quietly, blending into the forest floor, while its mother forages nearby. Photo by Glenda Simmons

Summer 2018 Wildlife Matters, Newsletter of the St. Francis Wildlife Association page 7

St. Francis Wildlife cared for 1,426 wild birds, mammals and reptiles from January 1 - June 30, 2018, including . . .

1 Bobcat We attempted to reunite this baby bobcat with his mother by

playing a recording of baby bobcat calls, but she did notreturn. Photo/Teresa Stevenson

9 Great Horned Owls and 27 Barred Owls, 5 Screech Owls, 1 Barn Owl

This orphaned Great Horned Owl was just a few days old whenhe fell from his nest in The Vineyards. With the help of Bill Arm-strong Tree Service, we tried to reunite him with his parents, but

the parents did not return. Photo/Sandy Beck

24 Box Turtles This box turtle, like most turtles we receive, was hit by a car andhad a fractured shell. In this photo, all healed and waiting for its final check-up, it seems to be saying, “Hurry up, lady I’m ready

to go home now,” as it tried to climb out of the box. Photo/Teresa Stevenson

200 Virginia Opossums If you find a dead opossum on the road, check to see if it is a female with a pouch. During the spring and summer, a pouch

may contain up to 13 babies like this one. You can save the ba-bies by keeping them warm and taking them to us. Every year,we raise over 300 orphaned opossums. Photo/Sandy Beck

5 Striped SkunksThis little guy, getting a bath, is one of four siblings that were

found when their mother was hit by a car. Photo/Teresa Stevenson 3 Grey Foxes

and 2 Red Foxes Unable to outrun a controlled burn, this orphan arrived with singedfeet. He recovered, and we raised and released him. Photo/Sandy

24 Red-shouldered HawksAlso 11 Red-tailed Hawks, 2 Cooper’s Hawks,

and 2 Broad-winged Hawks This little hawk is exercising his wing muscles with his “sibling”

in the mirror. Photo/Teresa Stevenson126 Eastern Cottontails

Photo/Tori Bakley

Summer 2018 Wildlife Matters, Newsletter of the St. Francis Wildlife Association page 8

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. POSTAGE PAIDTallahassee, Florida

PERMIT NO. 329

St. Francis Wildlife Association

P.O. Box 38160Tallahassee, FL 32315

Wildlife MattersEditor and Layout

Sandy Beck Writers and Photographers

Sandy Beck, Tori Bakley, Shelby Boykin, Marty Dix, MichelleKaae, Kris Bass-Peterson, Phyllis Rollins, Emily Shaw, Glenda Simmons, Teresa Stevenson, Kristen Summers

ProofreadersLouise Barker, Barbara Barnett, Bob Beck, Craig Shaw

PrintingPost Searchlight Printing, Bainbridge, GA

Mail ProcessingTarget Print & Mail, Tallahassee, FL

This newsletter of the St. Francis Wildlife Association is mailed to our support-ers and is also available at local businesses and online at www.stfranciswildlife.org.

To send letters to the editor, email: stfranciswildlife@comcast.net

Sincere thanks to these veterinary hospitals and caring doctors for donating their services

Gift Certificates• Stone’s, Lowe’s, HomeDepot, Walmart • Native Nurseries• Wild Birds Unlimited• Panhandle Pet Supply• COSTCO• Squirrelsandmore.com• Foxvalleynutrition.comFood/Feeding• Unsalted peanuts in the shell • Raw, hard-shelled nuts, likewalnuts, pecans, acorns • Black oil sunflower seed• Wild bird seed • Keet seed• Cat & dog food (dry & canned)• Baby food: only fruit, vegeta-bles, and chicken (no noodles,beef, gravy, etc)• Eggs • EXACT powder (baby birdformula)• Plain and fruit yogurt• Live or dried worms andcrikets• Waterfowl maintenance pel-lets• Waterfowl starter mash• Jar lids, plastic • Plant pot saucers, plastic • Heavy stoneware food bowls Cleaning Supplies• Laundry detergent — highefficiency, unscented

• Bleach, unscented • Heavy-duty 39 & 55 gallontrash bags • Paper towels • Dawn dish soap• Odoban • Scotch-brite heavy duty scrubsponges• Hand sanitizer• Rakes• Heavy duty hosesAnimal Housing• Heating pads, not auto shut-off• Humane live traps • Baby blankets • T-shirts, sweatshirts, pillowcases, top sheets, towels, babyblankets. • Soft toilet paper or soft tissueMaintenance• Lumber: plywood, 1x2s,2x4s, etc. • Tools • Hardware clothOffice• Sticky notes• Clip boards• White, letter-size printerpaperBig Wishes• Golf cart • Gasoline Pressure Washer• Van or SUV in good repair

Wildlife Wish ListWish List also online at: www.stfranciswildlife.org/Donate.html.

Please take items to St. Francis Wildlife, Northwood Animal Hospital, or Allied Emergency Veterinary Clinic.

Call St. Francis Wildlife about large items.

If you find injured, orphaned, orsick wildlife = Call us at (850) 627 4151 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.= After 5 p.m., call our After-hours Rescue Hot-line, (850) 933-2735. = Take it to our wildlife hospital, 5580 Salem Rd.Quincy, FL (4 miles NW of Havana), 8:30 a.m. - 5p.m.Directions at: www.stfranciswildlife.org.= 24/7, take it to Northwood Animal Hospital,1881 N. Martin Luther King Blvd., Tallahassee or Allied Emergency Veterinary Hospital, 2324 Cen-terville Rd., Tallahassee. Or, during their regularbusiness hours, take it to North Florida AnimalHospital at 2701 N. Monroe St., Tallahassee.

Important Information= Use a box with air holes punched in the lid. Placea t-shirt or blanket in the box (not a towel), put theanimal in the box and tape securely. Keep babieswarm with a heated plastic water bottle wrapped in at-shirt. Keep it quiet, and handle as little as possible. = Never give it food or water.= Never handle rabies vectors such as raccoons,foxes, or bats (even babies). Call us. Birds and rep-tiles do not carry rabies. Squirrels, opossums and rab-bits are rarely rabies vectors, but it is still wise to usegloves.= When calling to report an animal hit by a car,note exactly where it is, and, if possible, please re-main with the animal until we arrive.

For more information about wildlife rescue:www.stfranciswildlife.org

1881-B N. MLK Jr. Blvd. Tallahassee, FL 32303

(850) 385-8181

2701 N. Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32303850-385-5141

Help wildlife when you shop at AmazonBegin your shopping at our Amazon Smile page,

smile.amazon.com/ch/59-1888022, and Amazon donates a percentage of your purchases to St. Francis Wildlife!

Since 1980Nurser iesNative

1661 Centerville Rd., Tallahassee, FL850-386-8882 www.NativeNurseries.com

Above: Dr. Steve Steverson, Bradfordville Animal Hospital with a Mississippi Kite. Below: Dr. George Simmons, North FloridaAnimal Hospital, with a Bald Eagle.