Live Animal Food Market Update

Live animal food market update is an eye-opening article in the Tri-City Voice by Eric Mills, OHS' Community Relations Director. Permits allowing the importation and sale of live frogs and turtles for human consumption are still being issued by the Dept. of Fish and Game, despite being instructed to the contrary.

There are three market animals for which the Dept. of Fish and Game issues permits: the American bullfrog, the spiny softshell turtle and the red-eared slider. The last animal might be familiar to you—baby red-eared slider turtles used to be sold as pets. Remember the funky plastic tank with the palm tree?

Eric’s article clarifies why it’s so important to get these permits stopped and what you can do to make it happen. As he eloquently states, "Only such a move will adequately protect the environment, the public health and the welfare of the animals."

Spring—and Baby Bird Season—has SPRUNG!

The first baby bird rescues of the season—two hummingbirds—were brought to OHS' Wildlife Rehabilitation Center by a concerned client. We advised her to bring them in for immediate care after she noticed the mother hadn't fed them for a couple of days.

They arrived in their nest which feels like a soft silk sock. The nest is tiny: only 1½" across and around ½" in depth. You can imagine how small the babies were!

David Anderson, OHS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center manager, immediately began warming them in an incubator and preparing their food. Baby hummingbirds must be hand-fed with a 1cc syringe EVERY 15 MINUTES from sunrise to sundown, the same feeding schedule they would have in the wild. Luckily, David doesn't have to visit a thousand flowers a day to gather food as a mother hummingbird does!

Four days after they arrived, the babies decided they didn't like their nest so David made a mock nest in the incubator. They obviously like their new abode.

In another 2 weeks, the babies no longer have to be hand fed (whew!). They'll go into a basket habitat where we will coax them to eat by themselves from a syringe. After that, they'll move into a screened habitat where they will learn to fly and begin eating on their own.

Once we observe them eating regularly on their own, they will be released back to the wild to know the freedom of flight!

Many thanks go to our caring client...without her proactive concern, these baby hummingbirds would not have made it by themselves.