Conflict Management – Wildlife Center of Texas

Helping Drought Victims
Gallery
Helping Drought Victims

Conflict Management, Educational Articles, New, Wildlife Rescue

Helping Drought Victims

The drought Texas is experiencing is one of the worst this state has ever seen. At the Wildlife Center, both mammals and birds are being brought in by the public in dehydrated and emaciated condition. There’s not much we can do to increase our chances of rain, but there are things we can do to help wildlife in their quest for survival during this extreme hot climate change. This article will look at what can be done to help different groups of animals. Birds Both baby and adult birds are greatly affected by the heat. The birds are either starving because their parents are struggling to find food, or the adults collapse from the traumatic heat stress they are enduring. The best way to help our native birds is to provide a water source for them to help endure these dire conditions. Generally speaking, a bird bath should be no more than 3” deep for birds. Change the water daily to avoid spreading disease. Do not chemicals to clean your birdbath. Just use a brush to scrub out any algae every few days. Weekly, you should rinse you freshly cleaned bird bath with a 10% solution of bleach and water. That’s just over 1 ½ ounces of bleach per gallon of water. Let the solution stand for a couple of minutes and rinse. This will kill parasites and bacteria. Place the birdbath near some small bushes or low cover. This makes them feel more secure and not out in the open and vulnerable to predators. It also allows them to have a place to fly to in order to preen their feathers after bathing. If possible, textured birdbaths such as concrete are preferred so birds [...]

By cyndi|July 9th, 2011|Categories: Conflict Management, Educational Articles, New, Wildlife Rescue|2 Comments

A Bump in the Night

Would you know what to do if you heard scratching from the wall or thumps in the ceiling? Your quick reaction could mean the difference between the life or death of an animal(s) and whether there is damage to property from the animal’s activities or from its decomposition. If you didn’t hear animal activity until March – April – May, I can guarantee there are babies in the attic. Even if you don’t hear babies – they are there. The worst thing that can be done is to trap and haul off the mother. The first step in dealing with an animal incursion is to determine the species of animal. Many techniques are common across the board, but a faster solution can be reached if you know what you are dealing with. Rats and mice sound like a scratching that moves along the perimeter of the room or up and down walls. Inspection of the attic will reveal droppings against a vertical surface. Rats and mice show an extremely strong preference to move along walls. Mice will leave dropping that are half the length of an uncooked grain of rice, rats will leave a dropping that is as large as a cooked grain of rice or larger. It is important to know what size rodent you are dealing with. Many believe that rat poison is a “no muss, no fuss” solution. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is a gruesome death as the animal bleeds out internally. The mythology is that rats eat the bait, then leave in search of water. The problem is that they often don’t leave and if they die in an enclosed space, the stench and subsequent clean up [...]

By cyndi|September 19th, 2010|Categories: Conflict Management, Educational Articles, Opossum, Raccoon, Squirrels|Tags: Bird, Education Presentation, mammal, Opossum, Raccoon, wildlife, Wildlife Center, Wildlife Rehab & Education Center, WR&E Center, WR&E Wildlife Center|0 Comments

Coyote Conflict Management

Does the howl of a pack of coyotes send a shiver up your spine? Well, it is supposed to. The coyote is counting on the fact that you and any competitors will hear its vocalizations and steer clear. Fighting between older juveniles and adults is very rare because they use vocalizations, posturing (including lunging and nipping) and scent marking to avoid serious conflict. The fear and hatred of coyotes used to be limited to rural development and ranchers. But the highly intelligent and adaptable coyote has discovered that suburban and even urban locations provide relatively easy sources of food without much risk. Suburban sightings are frequently followed by reporters who dutifully record mothers in fear for their children and stories of missing pets. The problem is that no expert shows up to tell the mother whether or not she SHOULD or SHOULD NOT be concerned. In all of North America, only 2 human deaths have ever been attributed to coyote. Another 2 -3 can be attributed to dog or wolf hybrid coyote. In contrast, in the United States alone, 20 – 25 people per year are killed by dogs and according to the Centers of Disease Control 5 million people were bitten last year. The dog bites are serious enough that every 20 minutes someone needed reconstructive surgery. So, yes the coyote is capable of injuring humans, but the neighborhood dog is the real threat. For an apex predator, coyote are very risk adverse and will readily abandon prey if they feel threatened. Note that risk adverse doesn’t translate into fear. They melt back into the brush or back off to a safe distance to observe. Many researchers believe that the coyote is a stronger [...]

By cyndi|September 11th, 2010|Categories: Conflict Management, Coyote, Educational Articles, Species Article, Wildlife Rescue|Tags: attack, cat, Coyote, dog, Education Presentation, Galveston, Galveston County, Harris County, Houston, mammal, wildlife, Wildlife Center, WR&E Wildlife Center|7 Comments

Nature’s Nuclear Deterrent

The Wildlife Center continues to receive wildlife that was displaced by the recent rains. Mom has moved her kits to the second most safe place she knows…but because of her natural perfume (skunks always smell a little like…well, skunk) the humans and dogs know she’s moved in. This rarely ends well for either party. An interesting fact - it is actually difficult to get a skunk to spray. They hoard their chemical weapon since they only have four or five sprays at a time and it takes ten days to make more. The big caveat is “unless they are startled”. Skunks are very nearsighted (and a little cross-eyed in appearance) and you have to be dangerously close for them to see you. Given the opportunity to flee they will, however there isn’t a self-respecting dog that won’t make a wild dash to see what smells so “wonderful”. Dogs don’t seem to learn their lesson either. Other wild animals give it wide berth. Skunks have a whole ritual to warn off before spraying. There's no biologic reason for it, but if an animal goes the other way without the skunk having to spray, they get to save ammunition for later. First they arch the back, then begin pounding the front feet - at this point you should be making tracks because next they flip the business end towards you and cut loose. Some will bounce the backend up for better aim, while others actually do a brief handstand. The only known predator of the skunk is the Great Horned Owl. Considering how many Great Horned Owl babies come to the Wildlife Center smelling like skunk, it must be a favorite meal. Skunks are nearsighted and can't [...]

By cyndi|July 12th, 2010|Categories: Conflict Management, Educational Articles, Skunk, Wildlife Rescue|Tags: Harris County, Houston, mammal, rehabilitation, Skunk, smell, spray, stink, wildlife, Wildlife Center, Wildlife Rehab & Education Center, WR&E Center, WR&E Wildlife Center|0 Comments