Each year, the Ontario SPCA Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre provides care and treatment to approximately 1,500 animals, comprising more than 100 species of mammals, birds and reptiles. Below are some examples of the variety of cases requiring the Centre staff's expertise.

Porcupine Rescue
In early May 2005, a very young and vulnerable patient arrived at the Ontario SPCA Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Midland. A female porcupine was hit by a vehicle in the Owen Sound area and, after being hit, gave birth to a baby on the side of the road. The mother and baby arrived at the Wildlife Centre in need of immediate intervention and care. Although she was injured herself, during their first night in care, the mother porcupine was able to feed her newborn baby. This was especially important because female mammals provide their young with important maternal antibodies in the early stage of their life which helps protect them from disease and illness. Sadly, the following day, the mother porcupine had to be euthanized due to the amount of traumatic injury she had suffered, including a broken leg and extensive lacerations. Staff at the Wildlife Centre were pleased that the young porcupine continued to thrive despite the sad fact that her mother was gone. In the wild, porcupines spend a very limited amount of time with their mothers so it is possible that the negative impact of losing a mother will be minimal for a baby porcupine. The Wildlife Centre staff continued to consult with other professionals to ensure that proper care was provided to her as she developed and she was released in late summer.

Opossum Rescue
During one of February's bitterly cold periods, a Virginia opossum was found in a parking lot in Barrie. The opossum was shaking from the cold temperatures, had signs of previous frostbite damage on her tail, and was very thin. A group of people standing nearby observing the opossum also caused her significant stress. It was clear that this opossum was not handling the winter conditions very well and needed some assistance. Agent Rachel Banks from the Ontario SPCA Barrie Branch picked the opossum up and she was transferred to the Ontario SPCA Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre on February 5, 2005. Although the opossum had obviously suffered some ill effects of the Canadian climate, her prognosis was excellent. She spent about three months at the Wildlife Centre where she was provided with a warm, indoor den and was given a nutritious diet to help her gain weight. By the end of April the opossum had doubled her admission weight and was healthy enough to be returned to the wild. She was released on April 26, 2005.

Owl Rescue
About every ten years, natural variation in small mammal populations forces great gray owls to leave their typical range in northern Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta to forage for food further south. The winter of 2004/2005 was one of those rare years when an influx of great gray owls moved into southern Ontario due to a lack of food in their usual home range. Although it is a wonderful privilege to have the opportunity to see these stunning birds, they are also very susceptible to injury due to their lack of habituation to humans. The Ontario SPCA Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Midland admitted many great gray owls over the winter months, most of whom were victims of collisions with vehicles. In their normal habitat great gray owls are not generally exposed to people and cars, so they do not know to fear vehicles and avoid roads. One of the numerous great gray owls who arrived at the Wildlife Centre was admitted on February 25, 2005 after being found in a snowbank at the side of a road in Ramara Township. Staff at the Wildlife Centre assumed that, based upon her location and injuries, she had been struck by a vehicle. The great gray owl was in good body condition, but was bleeding from the upper part of her beak and through one nostril. She was placed on antibiotics and also given medication to counteract the effects of any head trauma she may have suffered. After spending several days under the watchful eyes of Wildlife Centre staff, she was released and appeared to suffer no long-term effects of her injuries.

Mallard Ducklings Rescue
The first patients to benefit from the Centre's new waterfowl enclosure were eight mallard ducklings that were rescued in May 2004 from a sewer pipe in Markham. Upon arrival at the Centre the ducklings weighed just 28 grams each, but they ate plenty of food and grew quickly until they were flying well and anxious to see open water. They were released in early July. This new building has been of great benefit to the mallards, Canada geese, common mergansers, and ring-billed and herring gulls that have come to the Centre for rehabilitation.

Mink Rescue
On November 2, 2004, a long, black and silky animal was transferred to the Wildlife Centre from the Ontario SPCA Orillia Branch - it was a small mink that was injured during an encounter with another animal. While the injuries resulting from the altercation were relatively minor, a more severe problem for the mink was a broken tail sustained during a previous incident. At the base of his tail was a large wound, and x-rays showed that several vertebrae in the tail had been crushed. Upon further examination, it was easy to see that the mink had been suffering for some time as he was very thin and had to have approximately 50 ticks removed from his face, ears and upper body. This body condition indicated that, due to his physical injuries, the mink had not been able to feed or groom himself for some time.

After just a couple of days at the Centre, the mink's prognosis was very good. The ticks were removed, and, although his badly injured tail had to be amputated, this did relieve his pain. During his recovery at the Centre, the mink was very active and eating well.

Groundhog Rescue
Centre staff has come to expect that each season, in fact, each day, brings new experiences with different animals. The summer of 2004 it was juvenile groundhogs, otherwise known as woodchucks.

It started with one little female from Newmarket, transferred to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre from the Ontario SPCA York Region Branch in mid-May. She had a broken finger, but other than that she was just a little too young to care for herself. The next groundhog came just a few weeks later, as a result of being caught in an illegal leg-hold trap. Fortunately the nerve damage to his leg was not permanent, and after some time in rehabilitation he was anxious to get back to the wilderness of the Bracebridge area he was rescued from. It was only two days after this groundhog arrived that the Centre received two sibling groundhogs - a brother and sister that were orphaned after their mother was struck and killed by a vehicle on a road in Stouffville. All they needed was a little time to mature, and then they were ready for release.

The Centre was already surprised at the number of juvenile groundhogs admitted at this point, when only one week passed and we got our fifth groundhog! This not-so-little groundhog needed more than time though, as he had been tangled in a hockey net in Newmarket overnight and had injured his chin quite severely. But time, medical attention and nutritious food worked wonders, and the groundhog was released back to the area he was rescued from.

Loon Rescue
In October the Centre received a call about a common loon that had been found on Sauble Beach beside another loon that had died. Loons are not able to walk on land, as their legs have evolved for superior diving as opposed to walking. Knowing this, and hearing that the loon had for some reason come to rest on the beach beside the other loon, we knew there was a problem. The loon was brought to the Centre and determined to be an adult bird with cloudy corneas.

Loons are incredibly stressed in captivity, most likely because they live their lives on water and do not encounter humans as land animals do. This high stress level can seriously impair their recovery during rehabilitation, so it is always vital to resolve their medical condition and return them to the water as soon as possible. With this in mind, a highly secluded, quiet area in the building was prepared to help reduce the loon's stress, and then staff administered a strong dose of eye medication and provided plenty of fish for the 3.5 kilogram patient. Thankfully, these efforts worked very well - the eyes cleared quickly and tests showed the loon's vision was good. Just two days after being found, the loon was returned to the open waters of Sauble Beach in excellent condition.

Turtle rescue
Some of the great rescue success stories from summers involve turtles who've suffered shell damage. In most cases, turtles with shell damage are females who have been hit by cars as they cross the road to lay eggs. Female turtles who do not have beaches to use as egg-laying sites often attempt to cross roadways in order to lay their eggs in the sand and gravel along the roadside.

Fortunately, many of the turtles admitted to the Centre do not have severe injuries and a veterinarian is able to repair their shells. In one summer the Centre admitted 20 turtles: 14 snapping turtles, five painted turtles and one Blanding's turtle, ranging from one day old to almost 50 years old!

Ring-Billed Gull Rescue
Abandoned fishing line and lures can cause serious problems for water birds. One case the Centre dealt with one August was a ring-billed gull that became entangled in fishing line in Bell Ewart, located south of Barrie on the western shore of Lake Simcoe. Thankfully, a kind resident notified the Ontario SPCA Barrie Branch and the gull was immediately taken to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.

The line was wrapped around the beak, making eating impossible for the gull. Further examination revealed that the line had also wrapped around the gull's tongue, around the neck several times and around one wing. After removing all of the line, the end of the line was found leading down the gull's throat… with a hook attached! With the help of an x-ray, we saw exactly where the hook was and it was easily removed.

Since the gull's tongue was very swollen and sore, Centre staff cut up his food into little pieces to make eating easier. In time, the gull made a healthy recovery, and he was released back into the water - fishing line and hook free!

Swan Rescue
Agent Kara Gosleigh, Ontario SPCA Huronia & District Branch

I received a call in mid March about a swan that had been hit on the road by two different cars the evening before. One of the people whose car had hit the swan by accident called the Ontario SPCA to report their concern. They reported that the swan was lying in a field and was having difficulty moving. The swan's one wing appeared broken. The incident happened near Huron Park, in Huron County.

Inspector Carol VanderHeide met me, and my co-op student, Ashley Smith by the side of the road at Huron Park. We could see the swan, a Tundra swan, in a muddy farm field. It would take a couple of steps and then fall down again. Inspector VanderHeide warned us about that swans can be aggressive and how strong their wings, beaks and necks are. We walked slowly towards the swan and surrounded it. The swan was quite weak at this point and we were able to quickly cover it with a blanket. Its feet were caked with pounds of wet mud from the field. Our feet were like cement shoes and it was quite difficult to walk.

The swan was taken by Carol to the swan keepers for the City of Stratford. Its wing was not broken after all, but badly bruised. The young bird recovered well and was released shortly after.

Racoon Rescue

One October afternoon, the Ontario SPCA Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre received an unusual call about a raccoon stuck in a stovepipe in Oro-Medonte. It was difficult to visualize the situation by the description: an old, unused cabin with a disabled stovepipe, and a raccoon that must have climbed down the chimney and then become lodged.

At the cabin we discovered that the stovepipe had been cut off after the point where it turned from being vertical to horizontal. At the end of the cut pipe, the steel had been folded inwards, creating a more narrow opening than the pipe itself. Drywall had then been erected to cover the pipe's end. This adult raccoon, with all of her pre-winter fat layers, had managed to maneuver the bend in the pipe but then hit the drywall. After chewing and destroying all of the drywall that she could reach, her hind end was stuck in the narrowed opening of the pipe.

With flashlights in hand and a chair under our feet, we managed to subdue the raccoon and lubricate her hind end using water. After that, it was quite easy to free the exhausted raccoon from the pipe (now with a small distant audience of neighbours watching).

Back at the Ontario SPCA Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, we examined the raccoon to make sure she had not injured herself. Under sedation, we hydrated her and flushed her mouth to get rid of the drywall and paint she had chewed inside the cabin. With one night's stay at the Centre, that included food, water and rest, she was ready to go back to Oro-Medonte the next evening!

Squirrel Rescue

On occasion, squirrels will find themselves caught by their feet in bird feeders while attempting to eat the seed. Recently, however, the Ontario SPCA received a surprising call about an adult male squirrel hanging by his top teeth from the bottom of a very old, metal bird feeder.

The squirrel, still attached to the feeder, was brought by an Inspector back to the Branch for assistance extracting him. It appeared that the adult male had been hanging in this position for quite some time as his mouth was thoroughly swollen. Extraction was not going to be easy - his top teeth had gone so far into the small hole of the feeder that they were jammed into place. Any tooth fracture could result in the squirrel being non-releasable, due to the nature of rodent tooth-growth.

Armed with sedation drugs, bolt cutters, wire cutters and a screwdriver, it took an Inspector, a veterinary technician and a wildlife rehabilitator over one hour to free the squirrel. The cutters were used to remove parts of the feeder so the teeth could be accessed from inside the feeder, a one to two inch wide path to the bottom of the feeder was made and a flathead screwdriver was used to push on the bottom of the teeth, very gently, until he was eventually freed.

To everyone's amazement, the squirrel did not fracture any teeth and x-rays revealed he had no jaw fractures! What he did have was a very sore mouth. He was released back to the area he was found at the end of May.