This year, the staff and volunteers of WRC have successfully raised and released 85 Eastern Cottontail Rabbits… and it’s not even May yet!  We are on track to have what may be our busiest year ever!  We’ve seen an increase in early admissions due to the nice spring weather.

The bunny in this picture is about the size of a tennis ball and able to fit in the palm of a person’s hand.  It may seem strange that such a small animal is not being cared for by its mother, but bunnies are perfectly capable of feeding themselves when they are this size.  It’s always a happy event to release an animal that has been in our care.

Yesterday (April 20) was a busy and exciting day at WRC.  As posted earlier, KARE-11′s Jeff Olsen was here for two live shots at 5:30 and 6:30 during the Sunrise News.  Live television is always unpredictable and we were saved a very embarrassing moment when the cottontail rabbit we were showing made a break for it – just as we were explaining that it was old enough to be on its own despite its small size.  Fortunately Tasha was quick enough to capture it before it got away.

Before we even unlocked at 9 am people were bringing us animals; 61 total for the day.  While all are precious and will get our best medical effort, the highlight of the day for me was admitting three tiny Red Fox kits.  They were rescued near Bruno Minnesota, about 10 miles southeast of Moose Lake, and taken to the Audubon Center of the Northwoods and subsequently transfered to us.  They appear to be healthy but weigh only about one pound each!  Hopefully, with proper care and nutrition they’ll be able to be released later this summer.

Support the foxes’ care.

Happy to return to its migration along Lake Superior, this Red-necked Grebe’s paddling take-off was captured on film by Jeff Moen.  Many thanks to Jeff and CVT Katie for taking the grebe back up to Duluth and releasing it!  Learn more about Red-necked Grebes.

Our Executive Director Phil Jenni and Senior Veterinarian Tasha Barnes were up bright and early (at the Center by 4:15am actually) to join Jeff Olsen from KARE11 in our treatment room.

Take a look at the news clip: 

http://www.kare11.com/news/local/mornings/sunrise_article.aspx?storyid=848468&catid=16

This evening we admitted our first baby songbird of the year. It’s very hard to tell at this age what species it is, possibly a red-winged blackbird or brown-headed cowbird. He fell from the nest and was unable to be placed back into it by his rescuers. Aside from being slightly dehydrated and hungry, the baby looks just fine! At this age, baby birds need to be fed every 15 minutes!! Looks like it’s about that time to give him another meal!

We received our 1st litter of 4 raccoons the other day.  They’re very tiny, eyes not open yet, and are in care of a licensed volunteer through our Orphan Outreach Program.  You can learn more about obtaining your license through the DNR at

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/eco/nongame/rehabilitation/index.html.

Every spring we anticipate the first large jump in animal admits.  That day hit yesterday, Sunday April 11th, with 74 animals admitted.  Just to give you an idea, last week were admitting fewer than 10 animals a day.  On the 10th, we admitted only 27.

Of those 74 animals, 62 were cottontails (ECTRs).  Most of these rabbits could have been left in the wild to be raised naturally.

We know the gardening bug has hit, but when you find a bunny nest, if you’re truly concerned about them please leave it alone.  Newborn bunnies cannot be raised in a captive environment and at this stage, nearly all bunnies are too young to survive being away from their mom.

Need help determining whether or not they’re orphaned? Check out our FAQs and watch this WCCO news video.

We received several phone calls this afternoon about a female Canada Goose who chose to nest and lay eggs in an odd location…in a commercial parking lot in Golden Valley. A local news station took photos and video of the goose and posted them on their website this afternoon, prompting many concerned calls to WRC. Many questions were posed about whether she should be relocated or left alone.

The best thing to do in this case is to leave her be. She chose to nest there for a reason, and disturbing her could cause the loss of her eggs, and would also stress her out greatly since she is very defensive at this time. Employees at the business where she layed her eggs have placed orange cones around her to prevent cars from parking next to her, and will be watching her closely over the next few weeks. They even placed potted plants around her to give her a bit more privacy. The Minnesota DNR has been contacted and they made the same recommendation; to leave her alone and let her carry on with her motherly duties.

The incubation period for Canada goslings is about 28 days. The goslings are born precocial, which means they are feathered, eyes open, and able to walk, eat/drink on their own, etc. When all the eggs are hatched, they will instinctively follow mom to water. Both parents will stay with the goslings until they migrate this fall.

Sometimes it’s best to just let nature take its course. We wish this momma the best of luck and hope that she can sucessfully incubate her young.

We are currently caring for an adult, male Eastern Bluebird who’s recovering from a left shoulder fracture. He was found in Mound Prairie on the ground unable to fly. They are such beautiful birds; one of my favorites to work with.  The fracture should take 2-3 weeks to heal, then hopefully he’ll be on his way!

It is evident that reptiles and amphibians are waking from their winter hibernation and are moving about. Yesterday we received our first Western painted turtle of the year, and today our first Eastern garter snake! The turtle had been hit by a car and had multiple severe shell fractures, as well as a fractured front leg. She spent the night in our intensive care unit, but unfortuntely did not survive.

The snake has a vertebral (spinal) fracture. He/she is still able to move his/her body, so hopefully cage rest and time will make for a full recovery (along with pain relievers for comfort)!