Wild Passion

Wildlife rehabilitators spend long hours feeding their habit, but the rewards are worth it

NEW SUMMERFORD — It's 6 p.m. and baby "Falina" appears to be getting a little antsy. She watches intensely as Dawn Fairchild approaches her castle with a plastic baby bottle in hand. It's supper time, and the two-week-old whitetail doe fawn knows it.

Falina is well-accustomed to the drill. She sniffs the rubber nipple, then latches on with a vengeance. Like a 12-pound vacuum cleaner on legs, the little doe inhales the home brew - powdered goat milk - is in less than a minute.

Photo by Matt Williams (enlarge photo) TPWD Wildlife Rehabilitator Dawn Fairchild of New Summerfield provides 'Falina' with her afternoon meal. The two-week-old fawn is one of two deer currently under Fairchild's care. (enlarge photo) 'Fat Boy' the fox squirrel still shows up at the Fairchild's house on occasion hoping to find a hand out. Photo by Matt Williams (enlarge photo) Wildlife rehabbers must possess a federal permit to raise wrens and other songbirds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

"I told you she doesn't mess around," Fairchild said with a chuckle. "She takes her bottle pretty seriously."

So does "Pretty Boy Buck," a six-week-old buck fawn that shares a spacious, shaded pen with Falina beside Fairchild's country home in Cherokee County. Both deer have been living under her care for the better part of a month now. Sadly, Fairchild is the only mother figure they will ever know.

Fairchild is one of nearly 300 wildlife rehabilitators licensed under the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's wildlife habilitation program. The state issues rehab permits on a case-by-case basis following an application process and facility evaluation that is usually performed by a TPWD game warden.

Fairchild is licensed to provide intermediate care for a variety of orphaned, injured or sick wildlife. She specializes in raccoons, opossums and squirrels, but her permit also allows her to care for deer fawns until they are old enough to fend for themselves in the wild.

Naturally, every rehab client has a story. Some are much darker than others.

The saddest ones involve young animals that are robbed from their natural environments by humans who think they are doing the little guys a favor, when in reality they could be writing them a death sentence.

Wild animals are just that. Wild. Each species has a distinctive code it lives and raises its young by.

Take whitetail deer, for instance.

Does usually begin dropping their young in May and June in these parts, though later arrivals are not uncommon. Mother deer frequently leave their young alone in tall patches of grass or weeds, then venture off for hours at a time to forage before returning to nurse them.

Human encounters with bedded fawns often result in the baby deer being picked up, because it is believed to be abandoned. This is rarely the case. In many instances, does will actually witness the kidnapping from the concealment of a nearby wood line.

The same thing happens with baby birds. People often discover fledglings on the ground and scoop them up thinking something must have happened to its mother, when in reality the parent is perched in a tree nearby.

The real trouble begins when the animal is taken to a rogue environment and its captor comes to the realization that he or she has no idea what to feed it or how to take care of it.

The lucky animals are subsequently transferred to a willing veterinarian or a licensed wildlife rehabilitator with an open space. The less fortunate ones die from stress, illness or malnourishment.

In some cases, however, wild animals do get into trouble on their home turf and need outside help to avoid certain death.

To wit:

I know of one rehabber who raised a family of baby wrens after their nest was discovered inside a junk car that was about to be crushed.

Cliftin's story also fits the mold. Cliftin is a male fox squirrel Fairchild rescued at the office building where she works a full-time job.

"I had been hearing what sounded like a baby squirrel screaming on top of the roof all day long," she recalled. "I heard it again when I was leaving to go home. When I Iooked up, I saw him hanging off the edge of the roof by one toe. Finally, he had to let go."

Luckily, the baby squirrel glanced off a stack of wooden pallets that broke the 12-foot fall. Fairchild rummaged through the pallets and recovered the young squirrel. It appeared dazed, but not harmed. She sheltered and fed the squirrel for several weeks, then released it on the family ranch that surrounds her home.

Cliftin still shows up Fairchild's back yard occasionally to nibble on corn. So do "Fat Boy" and "Crash." Fairchild raised both orphaned squirrels from infancy.

Pretty Boy Buck wasn't so pretty the first day Fairchild saw him. The deer had a gaping wound on its torso and the skin was missing halfway down its left front leg. The deer also showed signs of a serious neck injury.

"The lady who brought him to us said she found the deer hung in a fence," Fairchild said. "He couldn't walk or hold his head up, and the wound was so big you could see into his body cavitiy. We honestly didn't think he was going to make it, but we had to try."

Falina wasn't in much better shape the day a TPWD game warden delivered her to Fairchild's facility. The deer was probably a week old and might have weighed 8 pounds.

"She was pretty much skin and bones," Fairchild said. "She was severely dehydrated and had a deep puncture wound on her hip."

Both deer have made tremendous progress in recent weeks. But it hasn't come easy.

Rehabilitating wildlife is a demanding job, one that Fairchild said she could not do without the help of her husband, Ross. He is listed him sub-permitee on her license, which authorizes him to transport and care for animals when she isn't around.

"We work as a team," she said. "I couldn't do it without him."

Like most caretakers, the attraction to the state's rehabilitation program came natural for the Fairchilds.

They are genuine country people with genuine ways - animal nuts from way back. In addition to horses and cattle, they have a long history raising dogs, cats, chickens and all sorts of other critters. With no children of their own to give their attention to, the animals grab it all.

"It's what we do," she said. "When I heard about TPWD's rehabilitation program, I started checking into it and visiting with some of the other rehabilitators in my area. I knew pretty quick it was something I wanted to do."

Songbirds are next on Fairchild's hit list, but she needs to do some legwork to qualify. A high percentage of the birds found in Texas are protected under the Mirgratory Bird Treaty Act. A federal permit is required to possess any bird on the list.

"I really love birds, but I don't think I would be interested in handling raptors," Fairchild said. "I would hate to raise an owl or a hawk and then have to watch it pick off the bunnies and squirrels that I've raised."

Karen Montalvo of Palestine is one of the few wildlife rehabilitators in the state who shares Fairchild's passion for our feathered friends. She has been specializing in birds for going on two years now. She has raised all sorts of songbirds ranging from bluejays to cedar waxwings.

"Not many people want to mess with songbirds because it is pretty much a full-time job," Montalvo said. "Babysitting usually starts in April and can last all summer long. Hatchlings have to be fed every 15 minutes, from daylight to dark. When you have as many birds as I sometimes do, feeding can be non-stop affair all day long."

Montalvo owns a costume rental shop in town that sometimes doubles as her caretaking facility. She said she is thinking about selling the business so she can dedicate more time to her passion.

"I can't count the times that I have filled my Ford Excursion full of bird cages and gone to work," she said. "I really question my sanity sometimes, but I love doing it. It's my calling."

Gratifying as it can be mentally, wildlife rehabilitation is far from lucrative. In fact, there are no dedicated funds to reimburse caretakers for vet bills, antibiotics, food or time spent caring for the animals. However, most rehabilitators do welcome donations from the public to used in caring for animals.

"We don't get paid a dime, but some veterinarians are willing to help out," said Fairchild. "My boss was afraid I was going I was going to get so big into this that I was going to quit. He was relieved when I told him I needed by my job to support my habit. To do this, you have to love it."

Wildlife: Hands off is usually the best policy

If you come across an animal in the woods that appears to need help, be sure to assess the situation carefully before intervening. Often times, they don't need any help at all.

TPWD offers the following suggestions:

* Offspring calling from nest. Parent not present: Many animals deliberately avoid areas where their offspring are present to reduce the chances of alerting predator. While you may not be able to sense the presence of the parent, it is likely close by and in visual or auditory contact with its offspring. Patiently observe the nest to see if the parent returns. If, after observation, you still believe the nest is abandoned, carefully, without touching the nest, place small sticks around it. If after a day the sticks have been disturbed and the offspring still appear to be healthy, the nest has probably been visited by a parent.

* Blown-down nest: If the nest is relatively undamaged and the young birds or eggs are unharmed, replace the nest into the tree from which it fell or in a nearby tree. It is a common fallacy that birds reject their young if they have acquired a human scent. In fact very few bird species possess a developed sense of smell. Excessive handling should be avoided none-the-less, as mammalian predators may be attracted to human scents in their search for food.

* Grounded baby birds: It is common for birds to fledge from the nest before they are fully feathered or flight-ready. They will be fed on the ground for a day or two until they are able to fly, and then may fly with a parent until able to forage on their own. Usually, if the grounded bird is a healthy fledgling, you will see a parent attending it or foraging nearby. Careful observation should help you make a correct determination. If the bird is in a street, place it under a nearby bush. If there are dogs or cats present, try to keep them away from the area for a few hours. Never unnecessarily handle or move the fledgling from the area where it was found. Baby blue jays are slow to mature, so the fledgling stage will generally take longer for them.

* Abandoned deer fawns: Mother deer typically leave their fawns bedded down while they are away foraging. If the fawn is not crying, is not covered with fire ants, the eyes are not swollen and there are no visible wounds, do not handle or disturb it. Your presence will only cause unnecessary stress for the fawn.

* There are 284 licensed wildlife rehabilitators in Texas, but not every county is represented. To find one in your county or nearby, check the Internet at www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/rehab/list, contact a local game warden or call 1-800-792-1112.

* Licensed veterinarians may possess wildlife for up to 48 hours for emergency care. However, the state does not reimburse hospitals for services rendered.

* For information about applying for a TPWD wildlife rehabilitation permit, contact Chris Maldonado, 512-389-4647 or Christopher.Maldonado@tpwd.state.tx.us.