DID YOU KNOW . . . ?

There are presently 10 Bald Eagles in our care at BACK TO THE WILD! Three have been rescued in the last three weeks, as this news is being written! Some are rescued in the middle of the night or whenever we receive the call. Most are victims of power lines, vehicle collisions, unintentional poisoning or other human-related reasons! On November 7^th, we released a Bald Eagle back into the wild, along with six other hawks and two wood ducks! In 1979 there were just four Bald Eagle nests in Ohio. This past spring, Ohio had 215 known nests! The majority of these are located in Ottawa, Sandusky and Erie County. A typical eagle nest weighs several hundred pounds and can easily reach over 2,000 lbs. ~ one TON in a tree!

Bald Eagles are the size of their parents at 10 weeks old, but do not leave the nest until 11 or 12 weeks of age. They do not have a white head and tail until they are four to six years old. Through the intense efforts of the Division of Wildlife, a successful eagle restoration program was established. With the increased protection of Bald Eagles, their habitats and the banning of DDT ~ THE BALD EAGLES ARE BACK! FANTASTIC NEWS! But this means we are receiving an increase in calls and admissions of injured Bald Eagles and this translates into a great increase in our time, veterinary intervention and expenses. You can help sponsor a Bald Eagle here at the center by providing funding to cover the care of one of our eagle patients. You will receive a certificate and a photo and can visit the eagle you sponsored (if it is one of our permanent, education ambassadors) or attend the release of one being returned to the wild!

On a typical spring or summer day, human visitors arrive every hour bearing bundles of fur, feathers or even scales, tucked away in boxes, buckets, bags and blouses! These caring people are very happy to find us ready and willing to intervene and offer them a solution to their wildlife crisis! After stabilizing the animal, each visitor is offered a tour of our facilities, to help them understand our mission. We do not charge for the wildling they delivered to us or for the tour we provide. Thankfully, there are many who offer to leave a donation to help care for their rescue, but more often than not – there is no donation attached. We realize some are not able to help. A typical day fills our incubators and clinic with bunnies, squirrels, chipmunks, opossums, skunks, fox kits, songbirds, ducklings, herons, egrets, hawks, owls, turtles and more. Several times this year, we took in over 30 animals in one day and found only $3.00 (or less) in our donation box at the end of the day! Remember, we do not receive funding from anywhere else! WE NEED YOUR HELP!

EXPENSES YOU MAY NOT BE AWARE OF . . .

Pumping, pressure-washing and disinfecting 9,000 gallon wetlands pond every six weeks	$400
Handicap Restroom and portable restroom maintenance (holding tank pumped)	$200/mo
Communication System – phones, land line, wireless, fire and security alarm, computer	$500/mo
Gas and mileage for rescues; trips to off-site educational presentations (21,000 miles/yr)	$100/mo
Van payment - van used for daily rescues and educational programs	$450/mo
9 freezers, two incubators, heat lamps, filtration system	$700/mo
Insurance costs - liability and fire	$312/mo
Required pre-exposure rabies vaccine for staff handling mammal patients	$4,200 for 7 employees.
Clinic supplies: medicine, pine and aspen bedding, wildlife formulas and diets	$300/mo
80,000 Mealworms each month, plus crickets, night crawlers, fruit and vegetables	$500/mo
5,000 frozen mice, rats and chicks for hawks, owls, eagles, herons, bobcats and fox	$750/mo
Monthly trip to Michigan for truckload of rodents to feed wildlife	$250.00/mo

ARE YOU ASTONISHED AT OUR EXPENSES?! WE ARE - EVERY DAY! PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN!

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Last edited on December 6, 2009.