Wild & Free May Email Update
Hi everyone,
Wow!!! May 1st, warmer weather, Mother's Day, Fishing Opener, gardening, cutting grass, Memorial Day weekend at the end of the month, looks like it's going to be a busy month. It's also going to be a busy month at Wild & Free as it's officially the "Start of the Baby Season". We expect to be very busy by the end of the month as all the little babies are being born and we usually get deluged with orphans in addition to our injured animals. If you would like to get involved by volunteering and having a great time feeding some of these animals, you can find the details later in this Update on whom to call.
During the month of April, we only received 10 animals at Wild & Free.
As of May 1st, the following animals were still at Wild & Free:
Bear Cub Screech Owl Bat
If you would like to see some pictures of the some of the animals that have been at Wild & Free in the past, check out our web site at http://www.wildandfree.org.
Volunteer Hours:
During the month of March (April hours won't be available for another week or so) our volunteers donated 111 hours of service. That's about normal for a slow month like March. But, as we said above, look out as May begins our "Baby Season" and we should be very busy within a couple of weeks.
We would like everyone to know that when we give a total for the number of hours during a month, it only includes "reported" hours. If we had to guess, we would think that there are at least 20% to 30% more hours that are never reported. Many of the people who help with Wild & Free in different capacities do not keep track of their hours and, therefore, nothing is reported. We are getting better and better with trying to get everyone to report all the volunteer time, but some just fall through the cracks.
If you would like to get involved, whether for a couple of hours a week, a couple of hours a month, or just help out occasionally with one or two fundraisers throughout the year, please contact Kristin Carlson (Volunteer Coordinator) at 218-330-8418, Bob & Char Wrobel at bwrobel@brainerd.net, or 218-764-2625, or the Garrison Animal Hospital at 320-692-4180. We will provide all the details and work out a schedule with you for a quick training session on how to provide for the animals' needs.
New Members and Renewed Old Members - We have received many checks since the first of the year from individuals, families and businesses who have renewed their memberships for 2011 and we thank each and every one of them. We depend on the generosity of the renewed memberships to help pay the bills for all the animal care, medical, food, building costs, etc., because without these memberships, we would cease to exist.
If you haven't renewed your 2011 membership yet, or wish to become a "New" member, please consider doing so soon. With all the animals coming into the facility during the year, our expenses last year were excessively high and we anticipate 2011 to be the same. Details can be found later in this Update.
Note: Remember, all donations are tax deductible.
Animal of the Month - Fawns I could probably write page after page about Whitetail Deer and their fawns, but this month I want to tell you a few "do’s and don’ts" about what to do if you see a fawn in a field and you are undecided whether to pick it up and bring it to Wild & Free.
At this time of year, Wild & Free and all other wildlife rehab centers receive many fawns picked up by the public that would have been better off just being left where they were. Fawns are left lying quietly by their mother, while she is out foraging for food. Someone sees the fawn and the first reaction is that it is an orphan or has been abandoned by its mother. 90+% of the time, nothing could be further from the truth.
If you see a fawn lying quietly in grass or in the woods, its mother is probably close by, but camouflaged by the surroundings. If you pick up that fawn and take it away, the mother is probably watching as you take her baby. I’m sure none of us want that to happen.
If the fawn is lying quietly, the best thing you can do, is leave the area and if you are concerned for the fawn’s safety, try to keep watch by going back occasionally over the next 3 to 4 hours to see if it is still there. In most cases, when you return, the fawn will be gone as its mother has returned for her baby. If after approximately 4 hours, the fawn is in the same spot, then you should call Wild & Free to find out what you should do before picking it up.
If you find a fawn wandering around crying, that is a sign that it might be in trouble. Again, keep a watchful eye on it over the next hour or two, and if it is still crying and wandering around, maybe it’s time to intervene. But, before you do anything, it is best to give us a call and find out what is best for the fawn.
We usually receive about 30 fawns each year from the public and at least 20 of those are brought in by people who have the best intentions but are uninformed. We’ve also received a few where the mother was killed by a car, and of course, those fawns should be picked up immediately as, if left alone, they will die.
If you’re ever in doubt, it’s best to give us a call at the Garrison Animal Hospital (320-692-4180), tell them the details, and they’ll instruct you on how to proceed. We all want to see all the animals live a normal life with their mothers if possible.
You can go to the Wild & Free web site, http://www.wildandfree.org, to see some pictures of fawns that have been at our facility in past years, along with some other animal pictures taken by Jim Lease.
Future Fundraising Events
Wild & Free Television Appearance
We were invited to appear on the PBS Lakeland Television program "Lakeland Currents" to discuss the Wild & Free Rehabilitation Program. The program was scheduled to be on Thursday evening, April 21, 2011, from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. on channel 22 in the Brainerd area. This program was carried through much of Minnesota, a portion of Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and even into some areas of Canada. We spoke about our Rehabilitation Program, showed pictures of some of the animals, and told stories about some of the animals we have treated at Wild & Free. Hope you had a chance to watch and found it interesting.
Wild & Free Power Point Presentation We are scheduled to give a presentation to the Onamia Swampstompers 4-H Program in Onamia in May, and then two different presentations in Cross Lake in June and July, two presentations in September, and one each in October and November. We'll tell you more about these in future Email Updates. As you can see, we are already scheduled for quite a few presentations this summer and fall. If you have an organization that would like us to come to your location with a presentation, please schedule it soon as we are filling up rapidly and are limited to how many we can give in a certain time period. Details to schedule a Presentation are below:
The staff of the Garrison Animal Hospital and volunteers of Wild & Free occasionally give a Power Point Presentation to various organizations such as schools, service clubs, church groups, lake associations, etc. as a way to let people know what we are all about. We've given many presentations over the last 6 months and have received many great comments.
If you know of a group such as a service organization like Jaycees, Kiwanis, Sertoma, etc., Senior Citizen Centers, Church Groups, Schools, Lake Associations, Boy/Girl Scout groups, 4H groups, or any other groups that would like to have Wild & Free give a presentation at one of their meetings or luncheons, please ask them to contact us for details at bwrobel@brainerd.net, or (218) 764-2625. The presentations can be tailored to anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes or more as allowed by any time restraints. It includes a power point slide presentation along with rehabilitation details, pictures of some of the animals we have taken care of, stories about some of the animals, a question and answer period, and informational handouts. We would like to give these presentations to get the word out on what Wild & Free is all about.
Bouncing Emails Since we started these Email Updates about 2 years ago, we have had some emails bounce due to people changing their email addresses and not notifying us about the new address. When an email bounces more than once, we are forced to delete that address from our records to eliminate additional work. If you know anyone who is not receiving the update each month, please ask them to contact us at bwrobel@brainerd.net to inform us of their new email address. We want to keep everyone informed about the animals and happenings at Wild & Free each month.
Pictures of Animals Featured in Email Update
We have always avoided sending pictures with the monthly updates since many people still have dial-up email, and it would take well over an hour to download a bunch of pictures while also tying up their phone lines. Well, Jim Lease & Becky Miller, who keep our website updated each month, have graciously offered to put pictures of this month's featured animals, along with pictures of other animals that we have taken care of. So, if you want to see what some of these animals look like and also see many more pictures and other information, go to http://www.wildandfree.org, and browse the site. What a great addition to our website. Thank you, Jim & Becky, for updating our website with such interesting pictures and information.
Membership Information
If you have not sent in your membership for 2011, or are not already a member and would like to join, please go to the Wild and Free website www.wildandfree.org, click on "membership info" to the left of the picture of the otter on the opening page, and keep following the instructions until you get to the Membership Registration Form. Print and cut out the Membership Registration Form, make out a check for the proper amount, and mail it to the address on the form. If you know anyone else who may be interested in being a member, please feel free to pass this form to them.
Adopt-An-Animal Program
Since we started talking about our Adopt An Animal Program in these Updates, we have had various animals adopted by individuals and groups.
Thank you to all who have adopted an animal, and for their interest in helping Wild & Free with their generous donations.
The Wild & Free Adopt-an-Animal Program is a great project for adults, students, scout troops, a class project for schools, etc. Why not get our students involved with wildlife at an early age by doing some kind of fundraising project and adopting one of the animals? With spring arriving, we are deluged with animals and will need all the funds we can get. Why not consider helping the children learn more about wildlife and at the same time help Wild and Free by participating in the Adopt-An-Animal Program? Tell your child's teachers, troop leaders, church groups, lake associations, service clubs, etc. about the program and ask them to contact us for more information.
Right now, we have a Screech Owl that is waiting to be adopted. Why not think about adopting him or one of the animals we will be receiving later this month and into June and helping Wild & Free? Or, get a few neighbors, friends, relatives, or co-workers, pool your money together, and adopt an animal of your choice. Just do it quickly as the animals are adopted on a first come basis.
Details are below if you're interested.
Just print and clip the sheet below and send it to the address in the upper right hand corner.
Thank you, and we hope you enjoyed receiving this update about our animals and some of the upcoming events. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone who may be interested and ask them to contact us with their email address if they would like to receive an update each month. We would also like your comments about what you would like to see in future updates. Please send your comments to: bwrobel@brainerd.net
Thank you for all you do for our animals. Wild and Free Rehabilitation Program
If you change your email address, you must notify us by email of your new address if you still wish to receive these monthly updates about Wild and Free. Send your new email address to bwrobel@brainerd.net. If your email bounces due to your account no longer being active, we must remove your name from our records until you notify us with the new address.
UNSUBSCRIBE If you do not wish to receive our monthly email update and want your name removed from our mailing list, please reply to this email and write "unsubscribe" at the top of the email and we will remove your name immediately.