~If you didn't already know it... I'm a little bit of a nature freak. This semester I've begun to volunteer at the South Plains Wildlife rehabilitation center here in Lubbock. We cover a very wide area and have one of the most diverse sites in all of Texas. We rehabilitate everything from deer, to opossums, to mourning doves, to squirrels, to barn owls, to cottontails, to bats, to anything.
~When I started, I was told to wear ragged t-shirts because you will normally get a combination of blood, bleach, and feces on your shirt, and so far that has held true! This is definitely not a job for the overly squimish or hygienic. In a normal 4 hour volunteering day, I do two loads of dishes in the sink, at least 2 loads of laundry (washing, drying, and folding), clean and fill a 6'x4' kiddy pool, enter about 1 hours worth of collection data, feed a pelican, 4 rabbits, 2 squirrels, 2 ravens, 1 black crowned heron, 3 ducks, plus whatever non-'resident' animals that need care, and go on a run to the nearby pet hospital. There's always something to do! It really is exhausting sometimes, but worth every minute.
~I've learned a lot from the wildlife out here, that I don't think I would have ever known if I hadn't been here. One thing would definitely have to be that all animals that are not domesticated are called wild for a reason. If you don't know what you are handling, don't handle it. I have the fun job of handling wild animals that I don't know much about because it's my job and I have to. Most of the time, you just learn things the hard way..
~When around raptorial birds (such as Mississippi kites that are very protective of there territory) it is best to feed them and get out of the area. I made the mistake of jokingly mimicking there cry to about 4 of them at the edge of the barn. They didn't think it was as cute of an idea as I did and dive bombed my head with their talons. lol. oh well, learned my lesson.
~I had the great honor to take care of two fawns for about a month before they were released. I never knew that they could be like over sized dogs. I would come in with two baby bottles of milk and they would jump on me just like a big dog would and nudge my legs.
~Don't tell Kevin, but I'm someone else's girlfriend. His name is Percy and he's our pelican. He comes up to a little lower than my waste and loves to follow me around the yard. We play catch with his halibut pieces and play splash in his kiddy pool. He loves to take his two foot long beak and bite hands, legs, you name it, but it does nothing more than pinch. He's a big sweetheart of a bird.
~We have a African Kookaburra that someone thought would be a fun exotic pet to abuse unfortunatly. He really is a unique and awesome bird. I don't know how many of you remember the old kids song; "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. Merry, merry king of the bush is he, laugh kookaburra". Sometime while I'm folding laundry I'll talk to cookie (yes, everyone talks to the animals) and I'll ask him to laugh for me. Then the most wild 'jungle' bird call you have ever heard will come out of this out of place bird.
~We go have a few mammals that are big into snuggling if you know how to handle them. One is our Virginia opossum, Fiffe. She's such as sweetheart and would never bite a soul. Now I must admit that opossums are not one of God's prettier animals, but you would be surprised at how much she loves to snuggle in your arms. The other snuggler I handle is our 3 prairie dogs. They are a little less predictable. Some days you'll stick your hand in the cage and they will immediately bite you, others they'll leap into your arms to be cradled and pet for and hour.
~Work is very unpredictable, some days I'll clean for hours, some days I'll be holding a bleeding Harris hawk to the emergency vet, some days I'll spend the whole day feeding baby squirrels, some days I'll clean out the entire aviary, some days I'll record data is the computer for hours. It's nice to never know what surprise is around the corner. It's definitely one of the greatest volunteer position I've ever had, and I'm very grateful for the experience.
