MY FRIEND, BETSY KNIGHT, DIRECTOR OF BIG BEND WILDLIFE SANCTUARY, ALTHA, FL HAS PASSED AWAY...A GREAT LOSS TO WILDLIFE

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20120221/NEWS01/202210311/Betsy-Knight-dies-73-after-raising-45-abandoned-black-bears

I met Betsy shortly after I moved here. I visited her in Blountstown to meet her when I was actively volunteering for another wildlife rehabilitator, Julie Hart, who had a pet shop in Panama City. One of my projects was to take two tiny fawns (Wind and Sky) from the people who found them and teach them to nurse from a bottle. What a wonderful undertaking. I kept them on my porch and the cats decided to sleep with them. I had done this with goat kids many times. What a thrill. When I delivered them to her she was delighted, for in a little while they would join the current crop of young ones and ultimately be released. A few months later, I couldn't pick them out from the herd, but she could. She knew every one and their history, too.

She helped me when a young forked horn buck got his antlers caught in chain link nearby and the Bay County Humane Society delivered him, bloodied and still a bit stunned and shocky after all night with his head twisted up in the fence to me...with a broken arm! I got my neighbor's son to ease him into a wheelbarrow and into a kennel directly across from the kitchen window. It was too small, but that was good. He was bleeding a bit but it was a long way from his heart. Betsy told me to find smilax, a thorny vine and to feed him hay and grain so my neighbor and I picked him smilax. We were on the phone constantly. He wasn't eating! She told me he was eating at night, and he was, that rascal! Finally the biologist who manages the deer herd on Tyndall AF Base came with his dart and a helper. The drug worked fast and he went down, lifted into a trap which would secure his freedom and taken away.

Betsy was well known for her work with birds of prey, one of which appears on this entry. She also had in the past, two wolves. Her bald eagle, Olaha, was a well known education bird.

When I raised Mouse, the orphaned opossum, Betsy guided us into Big Bend National Forest to release him. Opossums are strange. They never really know you. They get used to you but there is no affection there. You bring food. They have been blessed with a keen nose and remarkable survival skills. Mouse weighed about 25 pounds. I wrote about him in my book, "Waltz on the Wild Side - An Animal Lover's Journal", and a watercolor of him by Maggie Guinn, graces the cover. We found a perfect spot in the quiet forest, with water and downed trees, plenty of shelter and food for a possum.

I spoke to her not long ago. She was excited with plans to go to Montana and study bears again.
She was so happy that I had cockatoos in my life again and lamented the passing of her Romeo, a Moluccan.

We've lost a great lady in the Florida, and Florida wildlife has lost a dear friend and benefactor.

I hope that her legacy lives on and that Big Bend Wildlife Sanctuary will continue to be the haven she wished for and was given.

I will miss her terribly.

GUY RESCUES HUMMINGBIRD - THE FEEL GOOD ITEM OF THE NIGHT

http://www.youtube.com/user/kandwarf

DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT THE DRUNKEN MOOSE?

http://www.thelocal.se/36002/20110907/

MOM OF WOODPECKER SAVING DAUGHTER GETS $500 FINE

http://wusa9.com/news/article/161065/158/Woodpecker-Saving-Daughter-Costs-Mom-500

Sheer madness. And I volunteered as a wildlife rehabilitator for years. I make no apologies for the insanity of these actions against this woman.

NEWBORN WILDLIFE ABANDONED BECAUSE OF HEAT AND DROUGHT

http://www.nbcdfw.com/weather/stories/Newborn-Wildlife-Abandoned-Because-of-Heat-Drought-125724738.html

This is always such a tragedy.

If you can, leave water out for wildlife. Fill the bird feeders, do what you can, even in small ways.

LIVE NEAR ALTHA, FLORIDA? BIG BEND WILDLIFE SANCTUARY NEEDS A LITTLE HELP WITH A FLIGHT CAGE

http://www.thecountyrecord.net/archives/159-Big-Bend-Wildlife-Sanctuary-Now-Home-For-Two-Bear-Cubs.html

She might not be a "Mama Grizzly", but Betsy Knight, my friend and head of Big Bend Wildlife Sanctuary, is "Mama Black Bear" to many, including the injured and orphaned bears of all ages who come to her.

This is an old article, but Big Bend keeps a low profile.

I heard from Betsy today, and was saddened to hear that her flight cage for recovering birds was burned by a Forest Service controlled burn. (Which sounds like an oxymoron - but nevertheless, the flight cage was destroyed).

Betsy does really good things for animals and always has. Wild birds, mammals - they all find refuge with her volunteers and all who can be released are sent to their freedom in the most
natural of places for their species, away from hunters and humans in general.

If you are interested in donating to Big Bend's effort on wild birds, please do - whether it is your time or materials, give her a call.

This is what she needs: " I need to concentrate on a flight pen 100 feet long and 20 feet wide and 18 feet high right now. We don't want to use chain link because that breaks feathers."

The Bald Eagle above is a photo of mine of Betsy's Olaha, an education bird.

GULF FISHERMEN ALERT - DOLPHIN CALF TANGLD IN LINE, DRAGGING WEIGHTS NEAR NAVARRE, FL

Fisherman spots dolphin calf tangled in line, dragging weights

September 14, 2010 07:03:00 AM

WENDY VICTORA / Florida Freedom

NAVARRE -- A boat captain 12 miles due south of Navarre Sunday spotted what he described as a juvenile dolphin swimming with an adult in an area known to fisherman as the Timberholes.

The calf was wrapped in fishing line and trailing about 20 feet of weighted line, according to the captain.

Now local marine stranding rescue experts are hoping someone spots the pair again and photographs the calf so that its condition can be evaluated. If necessary, a team might be sent out to rescue it, said Steve Shippee, who heads up the Marine Mammal Stranding Team for the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge.

"These animals in the gulf that are out there in the deeper reefs, they're not the same dolphins that we see closer to shore," said Shippee, who has been studying dolphin behavior for the last two years. "They usually come up and approach fishing boats. It wouldn't be unusual for someone to spot this animal again.

"That would be a good thing," he added.

Anyone spotting the calf should call the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge at 650-1880 or email Shippee at shippee3@earthlink.net

EVER SEE A BABY SLOTH? YOUR DOSE OF ADORABLENESS FOR THE DAY...

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/baby-sloths-cute-video-2.html

One of the earthly delights that make us say Ahhhhhhhh!

NATIONAL WILDLIFE/BP SPILL VOLUNTEER WILDLIFE RESCUE EFFORT - APPLY HERE

http://www.nwf.org/Oil-Spill/Surveillance-Network.aspx?s_src=20100719_WLO_July_Edition

GULF OF MEXICO BECOMES AN ACCIDENTAL LABORATORY

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727702.800-gulf-of-mexico-becomes-an-accidental-laboratory.html

GULF COAST RESIDENTS - INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING FOR ENDANGERED WILDLIFE FROM THE BP LEAK? HERE'S HOW.

http://www.nwf.org/Volunteer/Find-Opportunities/Gulf-Coast-Surveillance.aspx

The National Wildlife Federation needs sharp eyes and skilled trainees (they'll train) to care for oiled or distressed wildlife. Here's your chance to help.

MY BACKYARD ARMADILLO HUNT - 4 PM TODAY!

I had the best time following this little guy around, crawling around the wellhouse and trying to get a good photo. I 'm no videographer, but if you don't get dizzy, you'll see him (or her). I reached out and touched it a few times. Feels like supple, thick leather. I was at times, nose-to-nose and it wasn't frightened. Very poor eyesight. I did not speak and I was careful not to make noise. This armadillo has been around in the yard for over a year, I think. It leaves snuffle signs. At one point, it uncovered a millipede, but they exude foul smelling fluid from their sides, and it dropped it.

I am absolutely thrilled! I think next time I see it foraging, I will take it into the forest up by the springs where it will be safe from traffic.

Their eyes are so bad - no wonder they end up dead on the road.

OIL OFFICIALS IGNORING BIRD SAVING BOATS FUNDED BY JIMMY BUFFET

http://current.com/groups/veganism/92514581_cnn-oil-officials-ignoring-bird-saving-boats-jimmy-buffet-helping-oiled-birds-video.htm

Just spoke to my Parrothead friend who told me about this.

Don't you think ANY EFFORT SHOULD BE WELCOME IN THIS ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER?

A VENICE, LA BOAT CAPTAIN RESCUES SEA TURTLES

Blessings on you!

FIRST TURTLE NEST DISCOVERED BY ACCIDENT AT GULF SHORES, AL AS THE OIL WAS COMING IN

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/06/an_oil_spill_survival_story_th.html

The nest will be monitored until they hatch - but then, what is their future. They are tiny things with hardly any protection. They can't swim through the oil - and how can they survive in a dead zone?

Conservation efforts and rescue of Spanish Goats

http://www.grit.com/Animals/Goat-Rescue-Conserves-Spanish-Goats.aspx?utm_content=GRT+eNEWS+06.11.10&utm_campaign

The picture is beautiful, and I love goats. I am also looking for a couple of Nubian does or Nubian/Alpine crosses (does only, please). My empty corral and little barn is sadly overgrown and lonely, and I miss making cheese.

I leash train my goats so we can walk together. When I lived in the desert, I walked with my donkey, my goat off-leash and my German Shepherd taking up the rear, also off-leash and a raven on my head, my shoulder, sitting on the donkey or flying along with us. We covered many a dusty mile. It was wonderful. I am so fortunate to have the memories I have.

Incidentally, I have begun the story of a raven I raised. The title has always been (it's been in my head for decades), "The Little Boy in a Birdsuit - the Story of Orville, the Raven". I decided to write it for my grandkids, who do not understand yet what a wildlife rehabilitator is. But they will. Leave it to Grandma.

If I can keep my wits about me, with this oil spill and our political climate, I'll finish it. It's a nine month segment of my life that was full of surprises, laughter, love and wonderment that a "bird" could be that smart and funny.

And if you want to learn about ravens, crows and related corvids, join ASCAR, the American Society for Crows and Ravens. There's a website and a free and remarkable newsletter that appears sporadically, to which you can contribute.

THE BIRDS OF THE OIL LEAK - THIS SHOULD BREAK YOUR HEART

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-na-oil-spil-20100608,0,6884788.story?track=rss

But don't forget the other animals, and the scallops with their electric blue eyes, that watch from two rows and clap like castenets to get away from you; the dolphins, oysters, the crabs, the fish, the microscopic larvae, the otters, raccoons, the opossums, the beavers, nutrias, the bobcats...all this suffering and that punk in the White House attends parties and plays golf.

Inside, my brain is shrieking with anger.

THE TOLL ON WILDLIFE IN LOUISIANA - IT'S HORRENDOUS, AND THE OIL MOVES ON

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100605/D9G5B9PO0.html

Updte from Center of Guf - Oiled Birds

http://intbirdrescue.blogspot.com/2010/06/update-from-center-of-gulf-oiled-bird.html

MOTHERS - IT'S WILDLIFE BABY SEASON, SO IF YOU SUDDENLY FIND YOURSELF A FOSTER MOTHER TO A WILD ORPHAN, HERE'S A GREAT RESOURCE

And that's the best gift I can give you today.

http://www.awrc.org/index.html