We receive many phone calls during the winter months regarding wildlife behavior,  especially in regards to migration and hibernation. I had a phone call earlier this week regarding whether muskrats hibernate or not. As a thick furred mammal, many people think that they do or should be hibernating, but the opposite is actually the reality for these large rodents.

Muskrats do NOT hibernate, but ARE less active in the winter months in order to conserve body heat and energy. They spend most of their time sleeping and eating in their safe, warm lodges.  The muskrat’s home has to have an entrance that is located far enough under water that it will not freeze.  This way the muskrat will be able to leave its lodge to eat even when the water is frozen. Muskrats chew through the ice to create entryways into the water so they can forage for food out of the water.  After they create an opening, they build a covering over the opening out of cattails, grasses and mud.  A muskrat’s diet consists of aquatic plants, freshwater clams, frogs, small fish and salamanders. If these foods become hard to find, they can also survive on dry twigs, stems and leaves. The fur of the muskrat is very thick and keeps them very warm. It is nearly waterproof and helps keep them from getting wet. 

So don’t be alarmed if you spot a muskrat out during the winter! He/she is just foraging for food and will soon be back in the lodge warm, safe, and napping away

Fun fact: We admitted 13 muskrats in 2011!

Being over 4000 miles apart, it’s no wonder that the diversity of wildlife in Minnesota is completely different to that of the UK, but along with different animals, comes different diseases, and many different parasites.

A parasite which I have not encountered before my time here at the WRC is a type of roundworm, whose host is the raccoon. This parasitic worm is called Baylisascaris procyonis. It usually spends its life inside the gut of a raccoon, periodically shedding its eggs within the raccoon’s feces. To the raccoon, it is virtually harmless, but very widespread, infecting up to 70% of adults and 90% of juveniles. If it is harmless though – then why write a blog about it?

Since my time at the WRC, numerous other, ground-feeding animals, such as squirrels, rabbits and woodchucks have been brought in with suspected Baylisascaris infections. These animals have accidentally ingested the eggs along with their food whilst foraging. When this happens, the parasitic larvae migrate to their brain or eyes, which is not only potentially fatal, but can also cause visual impairments, substantial neurological damage and considerable lack of coordination.

I’ve also learned that Baylisascaris is a potential threat to humans. It most commonly affects children, as they are more likely to ingest contaminated soil or sand to which raccoons may have access. Unfortunately, there is no treatment which is known to completely eradicate the disease in humans, and in cases where the infection is not fatal, severe neurological damage can occur, along with blindness.

This is the direst warning we can give to people who find orphaned raccoons in their yard, and with the best intentions, want to care for and rehabilitate them. Not only is this illegal without the necessary permits from the DNR, but it is also incredibly dangerous.

On a positive note – not all of the infected animal patients admitted to the WRC suffer fatal damage from the parasite. Sometimes the worm causes only a slight visual impairment, or some minor imbalance. One of the neurological effects of the worm can also be a decrease in aggression, and lack of fear of predators. Although these particular animals would not do well in the wild, it does make them ideal for placement, given that they do not become stressed in the presence of humans.

Recently, an infected female woodchuck came in that stole the hearts of everyone at the WRC, not only was she approachable and friendly toward humans, but the sight of her munching on a carrot in her enclosure was enough to make anyone smile.

Happily, she was able to be placed at the Staten Island Zoo in New York, where she will educate a whole new generation of children to love wildlife as much as we do!

A Northern Leopard frog was brought into the Center about a week ago, it was found on top of the ice of a frozen lake, and it was thought that it was trying to get under in order to hibernate, but unfortunately had made it just a bit too late.

It had some minor scratches to its skin, and a curious air bubble on its upper back, beneath its skin. I learned this is called a subcutaneous emphysema (see picture above).

The Northern Leopard frog is actually the state amphibian of Minnesota! It has been housed in an aquarium within our reptile and amphibian ward, and given some much-needed warmth and food. Now its lesions are healing nicely, and the subcutaneous emphysema has completely disappeared! Unfortunately, this frog will have to stay with us over the winter, since although it is a species well adapted to the cold, it is well past the date when it should have found a hibernation spot. It’ll be released with other over-wintered amphibians and reptiles in the spring.

‘Tis the season for reflection and party conversation, for simple answers to complex questions and for small talk and big ideas. That came home with me recently when I was asked, “So what do you do for a living?” Of course, I always eagerly anticipate that question because I love what we do at WRC. It’s also an easy question because what we do at WRC is actually quite simple. We provide medical care for injured wild animals – this year about 8,000 – and provide training to hundreds of students and volunteers.

I’ve found that what we do is seldom a conversation stopper. My answer inevitably leads to another question. “Why do you do what you do?” The answer to this question might seem simple, but it’s more complex and I think quite profound – it’s a big idea.

What we do is about the health of a single animal. While we take pride in our improved medical outcomes, that alone is an incomplete, perhaps even insufficient, reason. Why we do what we do is a reflection of our collective responsibilities as stewards of our world. I believe that by its presence in our community, WRC helps create a culture of hope, compassion and kindness. We provide a place for seemingly small, often individual, acts of compassion; a place for people to act on their instincts to assist.

Indeed, I believe there is a sacred quality to the nature of our work. It inspires us to ask deeper questions about our role on earth. While I believe we should be at the cutting edge of wildlife medicine, science can only tell us so much about whether and what animals feel. But we know that as individuals we feel, and all of us have been touched in some way by the animals with which we share our world, especially when we witness injured and orphaned animals.

As the days shorten and darkness deepens we gather with friends, family and neighbors often to just share small talk about our daily lives, but in a deeper way we gather to celebrate the promise of renewed light and rejoice in the spirit of compassion and hope.

Make no mistake, what we do is a big idea – it does make a difference in the lives we live and world we leave for future generations.

Thank you for being part of this truly inspiring enterprise. I hope we can count on your continued support in the form of a generous year-end contribution to injured animals; and to the spirit of our community.

Warms regards and best wishes for a happy holiday season.

Hi everyone! Thank you Tami for introducing me, I don’t have much to add other than I’m really excited to be here, and to have the opportunity to help out at such an amazing organisation like the WRC! I heard about the Center from a friend that I met out in Africa – proving that the news of the great work you do really does travel far!

So my first blog is going to be about a pelican that came in on Friday 2nd December – caught on a frozen river out near Hudson, Wis.

I can’t think of any birds that we get in the UK that are nearly as big as pelicans, so it was a really great experience for me! Unfortunately, it was quickly apparent upon vet Renee’s admit examination that the patient had an amputated wing as a result of some accident. We thought that this could have happened from flying into a power line. As this injury made the bird non-releasable, unfortunately the only option was euthanasia.

It was, however, amazing to work with the pelican up close. We found pouch-lice inside its bill, (see photo).

And holding the pelican felt like gripping bubble-wrap! This is due to the large amount of air sacs under the bird’s skin. These help to keep it insulated in cold temperatures, and also keep it buoyant.

Also, we managed to salvage the pelican’s other wing, which was in perfect condition. It will soon be incorporated into an educational display of avian wings in the conference room, scaling all the way down to a tiny hummingbird’s!

I’d like to introduce you to our newest WRC Pulse blogger: Eve Smaller. Eve’s visiting us from the United Kingdom on a year-long work study.

She has lots of incredible experience including work in Namibia, Uganda and Wales.

Thanks for welcoming her to our team!

Remember the post from a week ago about the leucistic nighthawks we admitted? (scroll down for post) Turns out that they were actually Sennett’s nighthawks: a subspecies of the Common Nighthawk uncommonly found in this region. Many thanks to Bob Russell of USFWS for the heads-up in identifying the birds.

In fact, when I took the one specimen we had over to the UMN’s ecology building for their scientific collection, I learned that it’s most likely the only Sennett’s specimen that the UMN has; and their collection is from around the world dating back to the early 1870s!

Here’s Jennifer Menken of the UMN’s Bell Museum with the nighthawk specimen drawer:

The bird will be tagged showing when and where it was found (Springfield, Minn.), its sex, contents of its stomach and all sorts of other fascinating info:

As an organization we’re fortunate to be a part of the “big picture” and to help scientists record species and conduct studies on the specimens we salvage. Although this bird died, the wealth of information it will provide to scientists will live on for generations. NOTE: this Sennett’s died from seizures, the other needed to be euthanized due to severe fractures. We do not ever euthanize an animal purely for specimen purposes.

And, for those of you who have never seen a nighthawk fly, here’s a video of a release from a couple weeks ago by our Avian Nursery Coordinator Jessika Madison-Kennedy.

We see quite a few leucistic birds at WRC. These are birds that have either a paler overall coloring than typical of the species, or that have what is oftentimes mistakenly called “partial-albinism.” So, a robin with a white head, or a mallard with white wings.

Leucism is a genetic condition, much like albinism, the difference being that a true albino will have absolutely no pigments, whereas leucistic animals have some coloration somewhere on their bodies, in the case of all white birds it’s usually their legs, beak and eyes.

We had not one, but two leucistic Common Nighthawks come through WRC this fall. Amazing. The overall pale coloration gives us a chance to see the incredible detailing in their feathers:

The back view shows that the bird still retains normal coloration on its tail:

Many thanks to vet Leslie Reed for taking such detailed photos!

Fall migration continues at WRC. Nighthawks have moved on, and now warblers and hummingbirds are moving through. The first of the northern migratory sparrows are starting to move through the Metro as well.

For those who haven’t seen the nighthawk exam video yet, it’s a great look at these fascinating birds.

Many of the hummingbirds and warblers have hit windows and are either stunned or have wing fractures like this little hummingbird:

Working with these tiny birds is challenging!  If you have a stunned bird, here’s info on what to do.

And, as we move into cooler weather, hummingbirds will be moving slower in the early morning hours until they warm up and have boosted their energy by sipping nectar. If you find a grounded hummingbird early in the morning and have hummingbird feeders, set the bird on a feeder and see if it’ll drink before bringing it in to us. Oftentimes they just need to get their metabolism going (do not hand-feed the bird). Of course,  if it has an obvious injury, please bring it in immediately.

Keep your hummingbird feeders full until mid-October: the birds from Canada are just moving southward and your full feeders won’t keep the birds from migrating.

A juvenile loon that was found sitting on Big Lake Road in Cloquet, returned home today.

Loons easily become grounded on pavement that resembles water, either due to it being wet or the shimmer of heat. Once on the ground, loons cannot walk nor can they lift back up to fly away. Oftentimes, loons that have been grounded have abrasions on their keels, legs and feet.

This loon was perfectly healthy so after our vets examined it yesterday, we started planning its return to Cloquet. We try to release loon as soon as possible because they’re very difficult to keep alive in captivity, being highly susceptible to aspergillosis (asper).

I released the loon at the north end of Big Lake, at the Fond du Lac Recreation Area. A perfectly quiet bay for it to re-adjust to being home. It immediately tried to dive in the shallow water, then swam away peering into the water searching for fish.

The loon will stay on the lake for several more weeks before moving to Lake Superior where it’ll join hundreds of other first-year loons in huge “rafts.” The rafts of loons will eventually migrate to the Gulf Coast, most likely via Lake Michigan according to new research from a USGS loon tracking study.

It’ll spend a full year in Florida (not migrating back next spring), acquiring its black and white colors with which we’re familiar, before returning to Minnesota. Here’s a view of its current markings:

(for those interested, here’s clinical info on asper (pdf))