Urban Wildlife....

A fawn living in a northeast city cemetery, a bear roaming along Knapp Street - what is going on?

The calls started in August.  A young buck, still with spots, as been following joggers in the cemetery, gently nuzzling them.  He is crossing Knapp Street to beg from the people at the gas station and the small restaurants.  His is not afraid of people - to the contrary, he is attracted to them.  Our DNR officer was notified, because he would be the one to make the decision.  Do we physically remove him, or hope he will travel 1/2 mile East to join a herd already living East of Ball Street?

The cemetery workers have named him "Bambino".  They said he comes and goes, sometimes not seen for two weeks.  Is he slowly joining the other group?  Hopefully, because now he is much larger and has lost his spots.  Why is he behaving this way?  Was he raised by someone thinking they were doing the right thing?  Our thoughts and prayers are with you, little Bambino.  Stay safe!

Bear cubs stay with their mothers until they are two years old.  At that age, their mothers "ditch" them because they have bred again.  Confused and lonely, the cubs are on their own for the first time.  They often wander close to towns and people.  GRPD phoned three times, and our DNR officer phoned twice (we were in church).  Could we help?  Unfortunately, the cub was hit by a truck and killed before he could be located.

As our urban area continues to sprawl, we will see more and more of these situations.  In the past six years this is the fourth "city bear" we have encountered.  Deer and turkeys are living in "pockets" of woods inside the city.  Coyotes are being spotted closer and closer to human habitation.  As surprising as it may be, it is a sign of the times.

Published by...Wildlife Rehab Center LTD

What I am thankful for....

For the past couple of days I have continued to set time aside for me to really remember what I am thankful for. Initially, my family.  I am truly blessed because of the love and commitment that my husband and my children share.  I have two very wonderful children who have grown up to be beautiful people in every sense.  I have a kind and caring husband who is without a doubt my soul mate.  So I am thankful for them!   I also have some amazing friends and family who I am proud to share my life with. 
I am also thankful that my baby girl Wilbur is doing much better.  Wilbur was sent for release and her very first day out she fell from a tree.  Thank goodness she has people that care about her as they brought her to me right a way.  She was found dragging her back legs.  We were worried that she might had broken her back.  She was taken to the vet and was prescribed steroid shots daily for five days.  My husband is the bomb because I am really a big chicken and just can't give the injections.  My husband gave the shots and continued to take care of Wilbur even after she bit him pretty good.  He is such a trooper, so brave.  Today the little missy is doing well.  She even stretched her legs yesterday and pushed up on them.  She has been down now almost 2 weeks and we have now given her a little more room to stretch out.  She is such a beautiful baby.  She won't be able to make it out the door for her freedom until spring because she is no where near able to even walk yet.  I am so thankful that she has so many that care for her.  She will be on the go again soon!

So, thank you Jeff, Dani and Lyndsey for having hearts as big as you do!

so nieve...

Sarah and I went to Saugatuck on Saturday to hike up Mount Baldhead.  After we did the great climb of 382 stairs we definetly were hungry.  We decided to go into town to have some dinner and walk through the little town that is along the water.  We decide to go into a place called the Mermaid.  It looked quite inviting.  So, we make our way into the place and when we walked in everyone in the placed seemed to be starring at us.  We made our way past the bar and kinda stood around just waiting for a hostess to seat us.  Sarah tried to grab the attention of the waitress passing by but yea....that didn't work.  She wouldn't even look at us.  We both had commented on how uncomfortable we were feeling and people were still starring at us.  Sarah & I both looked at each other and said, "I don't think I want to eat here".  We decided to leave and check out another place to have dinner.  Today my friend Meg called and I told her how we were ignored and just felt really out of place there.  Her comment, "Mary, it's because you two were pegged as lesbians".  I'm like, huh?  She said yes, these people saw two hikers, taking pictures and just spending the day together as girlfriends...lesbians.  It never occurred to either one of us.  But after I got to thinking about it....that they were seeing me as the "guy" because I was sporting a ball cap!  I guess kudos to Sarah for getting to be the girl in this relationship.  You know being "ousted" like this really surprises me because if you know Saugatuck then you are well aware that it is known as a gay community.  You see it all the time there.
Nonetheless, we had a fabulous day hiking it up all those stairs and seeing the absolute beautiful colors that Michigan has to offer this time of year.  Oh and man o' man are we feeling each and every one of those stairs today!  ouch....ouch...ouch....
Pictures to come.....