Update on the Belmont coyote.

Good news! I am very happy to report that the Belmont coyote released last month is doing great! John managed to get these pics of her last Sunday. The blue tag in her ear means there is no question it's her....not that we wouldn't recognize that beautiful face anyway! The sighting was within about 50 yards of where she was released and while poking around, John thinks he may have located a den. He'll be keeping an eye on the area to further track her progress.

It's always wonderful to see first hand how well an animal does after it's release!

The great coyote release!

 Belmont coyote released back into the wild after treatment at Tuft's Wildlife Clinic!

That is the happy headline for this lucky girl. You may remember her back in the beginning of December when John managed to catch her while attempting to rescue another male out there with the same problem. Well, Tuesday was the big day. I picked her up at Tuft's and met John for the big release. He had chosen the perfect spot for her away from traffic and people with lots of woods, and close enough to reconnect with her family.
Those georgeous eyes! She was anxious to be out!

 

Finally the big moment arrived!!!

Don't let the picture fool you....it may look like she just casually walked out, but not so! She was out of there like a racehorse out of the gate!

She wasted no time getting as far away from us as possible! One final shot as she rounded the corner out of site and it was over in seconds!

If you watch the video from the story in the paper above, you'll see just how quick it really was. Another great day for wildlife...it was wonderful to watch and it's great to know there are many out there willing to help these beautiful animals as opposed to those who would see them harmed out of fear and ignorance. I know one golf course that will be thrilled to have their exterminator back!

All I know is that seeing these animals go home is just a wonderful feeling beyond words. :)

And in keeping with good things happening this week, my buddy Hissy & the Missus showed up a couple days ago! So good to have them back safe and sound. Like it or not, it's officially spring out on my pond!

Helping the local coyotes.

John, the Belmont ACO, is on a mission! This coyote family is obviously in desperate need of help! They have mange and it's so bad at this point the wounds they are inflicting on themselves is horrible as you can see in the pictures John got. Not to mention the fur loss. We have been pleasantly blessed with a very mild fall....it's December 6 and we have been in the 60's more often than not! If not for that these guys may have suffered even more.

First sightings were of this male, a welcome visitor to the golf course due to his rodent control skills. (Imagine that...someone who appreciates and is willing to coexist with this totally misunderstood animal! You guys rock!) Tuft's was contacted and willing to take him if captured. Game on! These guys are NOT easy to catch!

Thanks to John's patience and traps from the ARL.....success! But wait a minute.....this is a female! John was pretty sure he had identified the "proper equipment" on a MALE while tracking the original coyote. (And I'm pretty sure that, his coyote expertise aside, he knew what he was looking at! LOL)

So as it turns out, this female is safely tucked away at Tuft's. She's doing well, eating fine and being treated for heartworm, mange and her wounds. Further sightings have been of a pair traveling together, one being the original male spotted. Uncanny that his large wounds are almost identical to this girls in size and location, tricking us into thinking it was one and the same! He's thinking that this female is possibly one of the kids to the pair still on the loose...

And so the wait continues as John regularly checks the traps hoping to get the male before it's too late! The traps have remained frustratingly empty, although the report from last night was that one of the traps had been sprung and the bait was gone. But I know John and he's determined to help them....if anyone can catch them he can!!

A gathering of critters.

With some of the warmer weather we have been having, spring fever is in the air! After seeing the little stinker out I put a little something from our wildlife food donations out for him to give him a little break.

I'm guessing by this picture he's not the one that got to enjoy it! Although I have to admit....they only pick at it a little. They don't inhale it like a dog would, so plenty was left behind for the next crew..... Fox and Coon were very polite dinner partners and shared well....and also left some behind for those that might follow them! Sorry about the quality here...the batteries were on their last legs!

I never would have guessed it would have been this crew though! I have my regular hen that comes back every year, but she certainly doesn't bring a rowdy gang of boys! They polished off what was left and did some sparring as well it appears.

I only decided to check the cameras because I walked out to the shed one afternoon a couple of days ago and suddenly noticed one of the stumps out there moved! I immediately stood still and looked a little closer. Turned out to be 4 toms just hanging out together. I left and they eventually wandered off into the woods past where I have the coon cam set up. So I decided to download the pics and turns out it was a busy day for toms! Not something I usually see on there and a pleasant surprise to boot!

Lets hope this signals the end of one long, cold, awful winter!

Following in the Fox's footprints.

I love that my dogs are not prey driven or go nuts at the sign of other living things in the yard (with the exception of Grammy and Grampy and other favorite human visitors...nuts does not begin to describe it, LOL!). They do, however, serve as a great alert system when there is something of interest out there I might love to see.

Take, for example, the scenic dog couch. Strategically placed for comfortable observation of the great outdoors. (Thanks boys for the great pose to show the folks out there!)

Bernard was sitting up there yesterday afternoon, perusing his kingdom. As I watched him I noticed a very slight change in his demeanor....the ears went up a little and he was no longer just looking, he was intently watching something specific. He didn't make a noise or move really...but I knew there was something! So I trot over to take a look. (with Boo and Marly right behind me, because they could tell by MY reaction there just might be something good out there!)

Lo and behold we had a visitor! One of our local coyote was out scrounging around. Recognize the green fencing on the ground? Yup...following the same basic route as our little foxy friend a few days ago.

She poked around outside for a few minutes then ambled off down my long driveway. I didn't like that she was heading toward the more populated area during the day...you know how people are..."Oh my god it's rabid, it's out during the day..."etc, etc! (They are SO misunderstood and persecuted!) But a few minutes after she disappeared I walked down to check on things and I noticed her tracks veered off into the woods before going down near the other houses.

She looked great and there is no reason to suspect any problems, and she was definitely smart enough to avoid the populated area.

They are out there during the day folks, they have just adjusted their wandering habits around people to the dark (usually), when their biggest enemy can't see them! Perhaps our girl here was pulling double duty to find more food because she's eating for 3, or 4 or 5 now?! Oh I would love to get a glimpse of some pups this spring!

All I know, what a pleasure it was to have the opportunity to observe her! It beats the pics on the cooncams I have out there for sure! And..... at least it was at a decent hour, instead of at 3am when they wake me yipping outside my window and it's too dark to see anything anyway!

My foxy friend.

Ever have one of those moments where there is a delay in your brain processing what your seeing?

The other afternoon I let the dogs out and when I peeked out to see what what they were up to (because it's usually no good!) I FREAKED OUT seeing this streak of orange walking towards the yard. My brain registered it as Rookie....my orange tiger cat! (the cats of which are not allowed outside to become coyote food!) Luckily the synapses connected properly before I went dashing outside to grab him and the fact that it was one of my resident foxes registered. Whew...heart attack over!

He or she (not sure which of my pair it was) was just inside the wood line heading toward the back yard. Then it noticed my 3 goofballs running around out there. Surprisingly it didn't react to them like it does when it sees me, by darting off into the woods! He stopped and watched, contemplated the threat level, then changed course slightly to maneuver around them. Quite relaxed, he trotted along maybe 30 feet away from them, occasionally stopping to confirm there was still no threat. Marly and Bernard either never saw him or just didn't care. Boo boo saw him and was interested enough to trot over towards the woods and watch, but that was the extent of it. (There is a path back in there where people walk their dogs so they are pretty used to watching other animals go by, and very good about watching with interest but staying put where they belong!)

The fox was so relaxed, in fact, that I had time to go grab my camera and watch as he came up along the driveway.... ....and rustled up some grub. Don't know what he got, but he sure enjoyed it!

He continued to investigate the area (one he's very familiar with, I see their prints all over my driveway and yard all the time!) and I watched until he finally wandered out of sight.

I ran into one of the little stinkers the other night too. Worked a late shift and driving down the driveway around 2:30 am I encounter a little moving pile of snow! Then the pile turned to face me and I realized it wasn't snow after all. The little fella turned and slowly walked away from me, right down the driveway where I needed to go. So I'm rolling along behind him, EVER SO SLOWLY, thinking it's gonna be a while before I get to the end at this pace! (I have a very long driveway!) One more glance back by stinky gets me an annoyed look, as if to say "Why are you still following me!?" He decides screw this! and climbs the snowbank along the side of the driveway and slowly waddles into the woods.

Temperatures switching back and forth between warm and cold have melted a lot of snow and made the remainder a lot easier to walk on top of now...at least for most of the animals out there. Many, like the skunks and coonies, are taking advantage of it while they can to forage.

The fox and coyote I can say where not dissuaded by this winter's weather at all out here! I have regularly seen the fox pair out there and almost as regularly heard the coyote yipping away....usually right outside my window and usually at some ungodly hour like 3am!

An update on my extended family!

My coyote pair has grown! Near the end of the summer looks like mom and dad brought the kids out to show them the best places to visit.Looks like the kids learn fast! This little guy decided to beat the crowd and came back on his own early the very next night. Isn't he the cutest, most handsome thing! Absolutely gorgeous!
I'm happy to report everyone is behaving and getting along well....at least while visiting mom's house! LOL
Here we have one of the little stinkers, a coonie and one of the red fox's. How do I know there's a fox there you wonder??

Surprise! LOL

The coonies and the stinkers pretty much have no problem with each other and often visit together. Here is Quinny politely enjoying a meal with a stinky guest!

Even more incredible........

Yup....no one screws with the skunks....at least not at mom's house! LOL How amazing is that? We could learn a LOT from our wild friends!!

And a special thanks to Kristen and all the wonderful people who send over goodies for the gang. As you can see the occasional sweet treat is greatly appreciated by the coonies who are not about to share it with anyone!

I'm outta here and I'm takin' the pie with me! Ha ha...what piggies!

Moving day, new babies & a visit with old babies.

Laurie and I spent the better part of today moving 16 of the babies to the release site in Littleton. We have spent the past week getting it ready. The boys with attitude and the NCIS kids with 6 of Laurie's gang are on their way to freedom soon. As soon as I find where I left the camera I'll get the pics posted! The move and mixing the 2 groups went REALLY well! Whew.

The second round of squirrel babies is in full swing. These 2 cuties are with me now. Both came in with upper respiratory problems but after a round of antibiotics they are doing great! Snarf is the boy and Snuffles is the girl....names are the result of their previous respiratory conditions...it just couldn't be helped! LOL

Got an early evening visit the other day too. I guess he didn't want to wait for dark and the rest of the crew! Early bird gets the worm.
Got anything good mom?

Oooooooo sardines!! How yummy!

Thanks mom! These are great!

The latest video I have been looking over from out there is crazy! Lots of activity with a couple of coyote and a fox.....all hanging out peacefully (and pretty cautiously I might add!) with the skunks out there! It's amazing....no one wants to mess with these guys! Can't say I blame them either.

How relaxed is that! You know, animals could teach us humans a lot I think!

Clambake leftovers! Yum!

Mom and Dad had a clambake Saturday night and guess who took advantage of the leftovers! The little stinkers. This is Lisa's group that came here to live and that I released Friday night. They think they hit the jackpot...and now they'll probably never leave! LOL

Don't get used to it gang....you won't be dining like that again.

The skunks pretty much ruled the night....who would want to mess with them after all.

When the coonies showed up there was a momentary standoff.....

But eventually everyone got along and shared! You can see a skunk tail moving right behind the coonie here.

One little stinker triggers the camera and gets scared....

....but has no problem telling the coyote where to go! LOL Guess I won't have to worry about this gang holding their own out there.

Some of the neighbors.

All my woodland neighbors have been coming by for a visit lately! There are 2 pair of geese that are regular visitors and hang out together with their babies...this pair with their 3 kids and often another pair with a single kid. Looks like some of my little stinkers are still hanging around....I was happy to see this one passing through.


I'm really hoping to see pups following these guys one of these days! That would be awesome!

A lot of the coonie kids are out and about now with their moms....showing up everywhere pretty much!

And another pleasant surprise....perhaps one of my girls released in the spring?? There was quite a bit of possie activity here the last couple nights.


I thought this was Popeye at first.....the face is unmistakable...but upon further review of the accompanying video to this picture, it isn't. There is one other however, with the same face as Popeye.....his sister Foxy! Sure enough this is definitely a mom and with that face I am very confident it's our elusive Foxy girl! A very pleasant surprise indeed!

I've got another baby coming next week that a fellow rehabber has been caring for until it was weaned and out of quarantine. Hopefully I'll have Phil's necropsy results back by then so I can hopefully put it in with his gang if all is clear as far as contagious diseases go! At least if I don't have it back, I have the pens in the shed it can go into....only the babies that are cleared and out of quarantine graduate to the shed....I can't risk loosing that hazmat-free zone by putting anything out there unless it's been cleared!

I have 2 new kits that I couldn't say no to either, despite not having a quarantine free zone really. So I just put them in the guest bedroom for now! They were found at Dracut Quarry. The guys were working in the morning scooping from a pile of ground asphalt with a loader. When they dumped a load into another container, these 2 kits tumbled out. Alive and uninjured by some miracle, they were placed into a box and put aside for mom to find. A while later another bucket dumped into the container revealed the body of the mother. They had apparently been around the pile when part of it had collapsed onto them and buried them.....smothering the mom. The guys said the pile holds the heat and when they take bucket loads out of it small pockets are formed. Mom must have decided to rest with the babies in there and for one reason or another, the pile slid, burying them.

How could I say no to those poor babies! Luckily they are a little bit older....6-8weeks....and eagerly eat out of a bowl, making it much easier for me. Not all too friendly at first, but we had a breakthrough yesterday morning when the little girl decided to come over to me and start climbing onto my arm. Next thing you know she's jumping around playing with me! Little brother followed suit soon after and I have officially been accepted as the new mom now! I'll be holding my breath until their quarantine is over now! I can't handle another tragedy like Bramble and her siblings!

5 baby skunks heading this way Sunday also....looks like I'm back to a full house!

The coyote pups move on.

Well it wasn't easy....but I parted with the coyote pups on Friday. I really miss them! Many thanks to Jim who was heading to Western Ma. to see the rehabber that was taking them! Our little pups got to hitch a ride and are now safe and sound in their new home and doing well! Thanks Dawn for taking them in.....they couldn't be in a better place! Here they are getting a little outside time before they left.

A sad turn of events for the little robin family. There was one baby being cared for and one morning I checked in on them and no activity at the nest. When I went out and checked I found the poor little baby dead on the ground with a wound. Possibly another bird or chipmunk had gotten to the nest. A rat or coonie wouldn't have left the baby. I was so bummed!

The weather is looking good for the next few days so it looks like I'll be heading out to the release site tonight to send the gang on their way.......more goodbyes.....sigh......

New (very adorable) arrivals!

Here are the adorable new additions! A pair of coyote pups...a male and female. Both were found wandering and crying in a backyard that abuts the woods. The woman that found them and took them in had heard of people poisoning the coyotes last year, so it's possible the parents of these 2 met the same fate? John found no sign of a den or parents when he checked the area, so we can only speculate....but unfortunately it would not surprise me. At least these 2 are safe and sound now.
A check up at the vet and they are covered with dog lice and ticks, (yes I have the heebie jeebies and have been convinced I am covered with bugs since....I am scratching more than they are I think! LOL) and they have an awful case of seborrhea due to the parasite infestation, but are otherwise in good shape. A little frontline on them and the bugs are already clearing up and the skin should follow. If it doesn't clear up within a week or so we'll get them started on some antibiotics, but I can already notice a difference in the past 24 hours. Once they are up to par they will head out to the Pittsfield area where we have a rehabber that specializes in these cuties! I have already given her the heads up!

The rest of the gang is growing like weeds. The original group from the Animal Rescue League...now named Gibbs, Magee, Dinozo, Ziva and Abby (names all you NCIS fans may recognize??) are cute as can be.....

The older boys...Gerry, Vin, Bruce, LL and The Rock have graduated to a huge crate and will start getting some time in the baby section of the outdoor pen soon. For now I just wheel their crate out into the yard in good weather so they can soak up some rays!

Kinky is out of quarantine now and her eyes have opened! In about a week the 4 boys from Salisbury....Tashmoo, Katama, Chappy and Squibby and the little Merry and Pip will also be out of quarantine and Kinky will be able to join them as they are all about the same age.

Two new monster coons have joined the crew shortly before the coyote pups. They came from an abrasive woman who found one under a tree, didn't listen to a word I said, wouldn't bring it to me right away and finally found another one under the same tree the next day after trying to reunite the first improperly. She brought them to the animal hospital at exactly the time we told her not to and when Laurie was not there to get any info. on location to try to reunite again. When I called her back she just went onto a tirade so I just had to hang up on her...I think she was drunk or something! At least the babies were safe out of her hands! Anyway Lau didn't think they looked that good so we ended up keeping them. They are younger than the NCIS gang but way bigger! Wow! The male was in pretty good shape but something was off with the female. It turns out I think she had a head trauma from falling out of the tree. She was lethargic, the left eye a little swollen and gunky and the nose seemed gunky, but on further cleaning it turned out to be dried blood clogging it. Once the blood was cleaned up more, she was able to breath a little better and eventually she started taking the bottle well....she just needed to take breaks in between because it was hard to breath and eat at the same time! Now her nose is cleared up completely and she can suck down the bottle in no time, the swelling is gone and she's active and healthy. Welcome Phillip and Michelle to the gang!