By Donna Ralph, Ellicott Wildlife Rehabilitation Center

Another year, another shortage of licensed wildlife rehabilitators in our area. The calls are already coming from rehabbers and rehab centers from north of us to take animals and calls they can't handle because they're already full. We run into this problem every single year, but usually not until May; the problem has started earlier this year. What this means is that animals will be euthanized because resources are so limited. Most of us in Colorado work from our homes; space is limited. Nobody funds us our pays us to do this work; money is very limited. Without donations we cannot feed these sick, injured, and orphaned animals so they are euthanized. What are we going to do in 2007?

We've taken the fox kits and squirrel babies that we can for right now. Now baby raccoons are turning up. Nobody to take them; raccoon rehabbers are either full or filling up already. One of our rehabbers had a call yesterday that just sickened her. A young raccoon in the Highline Canal's mother apparently was hit by a car. This starved youngster was approaching people that were walking, touching their legs, begging for food. How sad is that? Whose responsibility is it to care for this baby? We sent a volunteer out to try to locate the youngster but couldn't find him. Was he lying in the grass or near a tree somewhere, slowly starving to death? Did something bigger come along during the night and eat him?

What about baby birds? Nobody wants to take on this responsibility; baby birds require every 15-minute feedings, sunup to sundown, for several days until self-feeding. What this means is no days off, no picnics, barbeques, graduations, or even shaving our legs! The baby bird rehabber in Colorado Springs needs to take the year off this year. If I didn't have to work a regular full-time job and if I were paid to do it, I'd take the baby birds myself. My work schedule doesn't allow it right now and my finances don't allow me to work without pay. EWRC can take all self-feeding birds, and baby water birds and baby raptors. Baby water birds feed themselves and we have fosters for baby raptors. So what do we do? There is a fine, outstanding baby bird rehabber in Pueblo but her space and financial resources are limited as well; it wouldn't be fair to dump on her.

And baby bunnies. These are heartbreakers. In our area, few have good luck with neonate cottontails. After taking in so many that don't do so well, rehabbers just give up. But yet these babies keep coming in. What will happen to these babies, and the others? It's going to be a long season indeed.

We need help! We need money to buy food, medical supplies, build more outdoor enclosures. We need quality licensed rehabbers to help out. What we REALLY need is for people to make sure an animal needs help BEFORE it is picked up. Is it really orphaned? Can it be safely returned to its nest? What can each of us do to help prevent problems these animals encounter?

Please contact us for information at 719-683-8152

EWRC, P.O. Box 75069, Colorado Springs, CO. 80970

www.ellicottwildlife.com