Cooper’s Hawk

Dr Diane D’Orazio giving a Cooper’s Hawk a physical examine. The hawk was found in Roanoke City beside the road. The digits on his feet are of concern, since one digit has been missing and now the hallux is broken. The hallux Is needed to puncture prey. We wrapped and set the foot and sent the patient off for a second opinion.

Hannah & Hawk

Hannah, is holding a Red tailed hawk rescued by Rudi Woykowski. The hawk was found in a horse pasture in Blacksburg, VIrginia. The RTHA has a fractured right wing and blood in the left eye which Dr D’Orazio expects to clear. X Rays were not given today due to the overly stressed bird. The patient’s wing is wrapped to stabilize the fracture and fluids and medicine were given. We just did an afternoon check and found him devouring a mouse. Tomorrow the hawk will be transferred to the Wildlife Center or Va for further care.

Bobcat Story

The bobcat cub’s story. I answered a call from an animal control officer in Grayson County. He had a cub. The (ACO) Animal Control Officer received a call a few days prior and the caller explained how he and his friends were hunting with their dogs and heard them attacking something. When they arrived the dogs had killed all the cubs except for one which they were going to keep! The ACO informed the caller it was illegal to keep wildlife in the state of Virginia and they needed to bring it in. The caller hung up. The officer requested a search on the phone number. The next night, as he was getting into his truck he heard a noise and found a cold cub in the back. He kept the cub for the weekend until he located us. Dr. Diane and I, were worried about how much human contact he had received at this point and was he already habituated. Also, the cub was underweight, now we were concerned about his improper diet over the last week, especially, when he began to bloat and have loose stool. We managed to get the diet and GI under control. Next, I began the search on getting him with other siblings so he would not become habituated. The Wildlife Center of Va and VADGIF help locate another rehabber who had ended up with four cubs. I hated to see this gorgeous cub go but we insist on doing what is best for the animal. This cute cub is now released, running free and hates humans, which hopefully will keep him safe.

Home Show

SWVAWC was a guest of Blue Ridge Wildlife Management at the Home Show today. Gail is holding Zombie our education Screech Owl. They were a hit at the show.

Bobcat cub

Bobcat cub rehabbed spring of 2014. His story will come later this weekend. His presence was kept low key and only the vet and I handled the cub to keep him from being habituated by humans.

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Hermit Thrush

Hermit Thrush released after staying with us since January. He had to recover from feather loss from a cat attack.

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Lucky

Number one assistant, Lucky, helping triage a Red tailed hawk. The hawk was found in a pasture on Bent Mountain today. Weakness was noted on the left side and the cause has not been determined. X Rays next.

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Fox Squirrel

Fox Squirrel scheduled to return to the New River area where he was rescued. This magnificent specimen is the largest squirrel we have raised. He spent the winter at the center enjoying his daily diet of vegetables, nuts and assorted foods. Now, he is ready for release after we elected to winter him. When he reached maturity it was winter and he did not have a cache of nuts to survive.