ENVIRONMENT
near Redding . They climbed the tree , darted the bear with a tranquilizer , hoisted her down with a rope , put her in a box and took her to Gold Country rescue in Placer County . ( Wildlife experts say bears and mountain lions climb trees to escape flames , but when they come down , the ground is often still burning .)
When the bear arrived , it got a typical treatment from Johnson and
Peyton : chest X-ray , abdominal ultrasound , echocardiogram , full blood workup and swabs of hair to detect toxins exposure . In addition to the tilapia skin , burned animals are also treated with acupuncture , pulsed electromagnetic therapy and a special burn cream . “ We want to ensure they have the highest level of success for return to function and return to the wild ,” Johnson says .
NAVIGATE LIFE WITH CONFIDENCE
Stay informed with stories that keep you connected to your community , California and the world .
90.9 FM capradio . org
That is the ultimate goal of the humans who care for burned wildlife — rehabilitate them and return the animals to their natural environment .
“ About 80 percent of the patients we enter into a rehab facility will end up being survivable and released back into the wild ,” Johnson says .
The increased need for caring for burned animals has led Gold Country Wildlife Rescue to take on a major expansion . Through donations , the nonprofit is currently building the $ 250,000 Bear Cub University , which will be able to house at least eight bears . It ’ s expensive . Feeding the bears can cost more than $ 5,000 a month . Bears burned in fires need several months to rehab before being released .
Another species affected by fires and humans is deer . Tira of DFW says his agency logs “ thousands and thousands ” of dead deer each year . Diane Nicholas founded Kindred Spirits Fawn Rescue in Loomis 16 years ago . An interior designer by trade , Nicholas got concerned when she saw wildlife being displaced by construction and expansion in Placer County . She created the fawn rescue on her property and takes in about 200 orphaned or injured fawns a year . Most lost their mothers to car strikes .
Her rescue , which is licensed by DFW , gets about 5,500 calls a year . She goes out to abandoned fawns with her truck , carefully places them in a crate lined with canvas to protect against injuries , and takes them home to her sanctuary where they are assessed . Many come in dehydrated or starving . “ If you look at what ’ s happening , especially with the wildfires , it ’ s impacting the redwoods and vegetation is actually being suffocated ,” Nicholas says .
Fawns stay in pens cloaked with netting to help obscure their view of the humans caring for them . The trained volunteers must have as little human contact with the fawns as possible so the animals don ’ t get habituated to them . The workers at Gold Country Wildlife Rescue take similar measures .
“ That ’ s our challenge with the bears is to not talk around them ,” Stein says .
52 comstocksmag . com | February 2022