Check Out Some Hope for Wildlife Videos!____________________________________________________________________ This little orphan is a Northern Short-tailed Shew. At first glance you might mistake one for a mouse, but they aren't even rodents - they are insectivores, a group of mammals that also includes moles and hedgehogs. Shrews they eat insects, but they’ll also go after small mice. And while most people think of bats when it comes to echolocation, shrews use it too. Their tiny hearts can beat up to 1,300 times per minute—faster than a hummingbird’s! They can also eat almost three times their body weight every day! ____________________________________________________________________ Hope for Wildlife has many young crows in our care right now! ____________________________________________________________________ This adorable tiny orphaned baby skunk is practicing his communication skills waiting for his room to get cleaned. As they grow up, the skunk stomps indicate nervousness and need for more space, so when you see a skunk stomp in the wild it means they are asking you to let them be so they can move on. You know what happens if you don't listen! ___________________________________________________________________ Thanks to the kind folks who answered our call out for trees, this little fawn has the perfect snack! He’s just starting to learn how to munch on them, and now he’s got plenty to practice with. ____________________________________________________________________ Four of the seventeen white-tailed deer fawns in our care are really enjoying breakfast! Fawns must feed with their heads up—it’s essential for their health. We use bottle racks instead of manually feeding them to keep them from getting too comfortable around people. At birth, part of their stomach isn’t fully developed, and feeding with their head up helps the milk bypass it safely. As they grow, this changes, and they'll soon be ready to graze with their heads down. But for the first three months, it’s bottoms up! ____________________________________________________________________ The final farewell! This is the most rewarding part of what Hope for Wildlife is all about…the moment an animal is released back where it belongs. Just over a year ago, we admitted an orphaned two-week-old beaver found trapped between rocks with no mom in sight. You might think he’s overdue to go back to the wild, but he actually needs another six months in care. Beavers stay with their parents for two years to develop essential skills like navigating, finding food, and building dams and lodges. In rehab, they need year-round water access, winter heating, natural diets, and constant mental stimulation like building materials to chew, dig, climb, and, of course, barricade everything in sight! ___________________________________________________________________ Our first orphaned striped skunk of the year is this tiny 113g infant. She's so young her eyes aren't even open yet. She was found crawling outside, which tells us she was hungry since young skunks don’t leave the den until they’re at least six weeks old. The orphans continue to come in every day - we received over 130 just in one week! Click HERE to see watch this tiny skunk being fed! ___________________________________________________________________ The Canada Goose that was admitted after being shot with an arrow through her wing and with three lead pellets has recovered from her injuries. After 21 days of surgical and medical care, she is now back on the water being a honkingly bold ambassador for Canada! Click HERE to see watch this goose going back home!
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