University Daily Kansan / Friday, October 26. 1990
Features
9
Nancy Schwarting, director of WILDCARE, hand feeds a high-protein solution to an iguana at the KU Animal Care Unit. The iguana has a broken right front leg because of a calcium deficiency.
WildCare: KU program helps rehabilitate animals
Jane Rudolph/KANSAN
Amy Albright holds two opossums kept at WILDCARE.
By Mike Brassfield Kansan staff writer
Kansan staff writer
T the red-tailed hawk did not look particularly happy as the woman wearing thick gloves held its legs. But when a WILDCARE volunteer offered it three mice, the hawk ate them.
"He's hungry, and that's a good sign," said Nancy Schwarting, director of WILDCARE, a wildlife rehabilitation program at the University of Kansas. "I think he'll recover completely."
Animals sometimes must be force-fed because they are too weak to stand up or swallow, she said.
they are too weak to stand up or swallow, she said. When the hawk first arrived at Malont Hall, it was dizzy and was acting too calmly for a wild animal, sign of a concussion. Schwartzgain said.
Schwarting said she hoped to release the hawk into the wild within a week
WILDCARE, a division of the KU Animal Care Unit, is the largest wildlife rehabilitation program in Kansas. Its two staff members and more than 50 volunteers are dedicated to caring for injured and orphaned wild animals. The program is financed by the University and through private donations.
THE WILDCARE room in Malot Hall is filled
THE WILDCARE room in Malot Hall is filled
with hawks, owls, opossums, box turtles, a woodchuck and an iguanae. People bring in animals that have been hit by cats, caught by cats and dogs, caught by birds. People also bring baby animals they have found.
Amy Albright, WILDCARE rehabilitation coordinator, said the program received half of its animals between April and August because that's when baby animals are born or hatched
Many that are picked up as “orphans” are simply awaiting the return of their parents. Albright said. When possible, people should be picked up and before touching or picking up a wild animal.
In 1979, its first year, the program cared for 21 animals. Last year, about 700 animals received immunizations.
This year, the program had already cared for more than 700 animals by July.
In addition to the care unit at Malot, WILD-CARE keeps animals at Sunflower Farm, located in South Carolina. Animals are kept outdoors flight pens and large animals, such as foxes and bobcats, are kept in outdoor enclosures.
Sunflower Farm is a place of transition for
animals being prepared for release into the wild,
Schwarting said. Wounded animals are conditioned to build up strength, and juvenile animals are taught how to hunt for live food.
Much of the work is done by the program's staff more than 30 volunteers who help feed and care for them.
"Without volunteers, we could not exist," Schwarting said. "But it takes time to train them. They must be reliable and they must be willing to work on the program for a while. It often not what they expect."
Schwarting a volunteer shortage often occurred during the summer when students left
But that's also the time when volunteers are needed the most. The summer is a blur of baby clothes and playgrounds, and it is not that easy.
"A nestling bird must be fed every 20 minutes for its hours a day." Albright said, "That's 48 times a week."
Last summer, the program received emergency administration money to hire four part-time student workers. Presently, funding for part-time workers is not available for next summer.
'We don't like to keep animals for very long. If you keep them for too long, they can get imprinted on humans. Then they have trouble surviving by themselves.'
Nancy Schwarting WILDCARE director
AIPright holds a hawk while Camille Anderson, Lawrence junior, feeds it
Jane Rudolph/KANSAN
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