Latest News
Our Newest Rescue
September 4, 2010
We’re happy to announce that we have a newly rescued baby goat at The Sanctuary. Her name is Maddie, and she’s a real sweetheart. She’s still being bottle fed three times a day, and is lovingly cared for by our wonderful volunteers Ashleigh and Lindsay. When they aren’t feeding and cuddling Maddie, they take her out for walks and exercise. As you can see from the photo, Maddie also uses them to play Queen of the Hill!! Unfortunately Maddie was “de-horned” (a practice we despise), so she has two painful wounds on the top of her little head. However, these will soon heal, and Maddie will live a happy carefree life at The Sanctuary.
Can You Identify Our Mystery Bird?
August 26, 2010
This week we got a call from a neighbour, who reported an unusual bird hanging around their property. They thought the bird must be very hungry or injured, because it came quite close to them. The people were worried that a cat or dog might get it, so they captured it and brought it to us…. and none of us had any idea what it was!! We’d never seen a bird like this one before. It wasn’t a quail or a pheasant, but it looked like it might be from that family. It took us a bit of research to discover that this was a CHUKOR. The bird book says that they live in the South Island. Since our animal sanctuary is located in the north of the North Island, the next mystery is: How on earth did it get up here?!?!
A Parliament Of Owls?
July 29, 2010
Did you know that a group of owls is called a “parliament”? Well, with 5 owls being cared for at The Sanctuary at once, we definitely had a full parliament! Three of the owls were very young when they came in: a nest with two babies was blown down, and the third baby’s tree had been cut down with the nest in it. The other two owls were adults with wing injuries. Our vet Ross Lynch operated and put a pin in one, and a cast on the other. Both healed beautifully and regained full flight. Over the last month we’ve been releasing them one by one. After we let them go, we continue to put out food each night, to support them while they learn to hunt in the wild. The last one to be released is either very affectionate or very smart. Every night at dusk he sits on the railing outside whatever room we’re in, and asks for his dinner. He’s so entertaining, we’re happy to oblige. Now that all 5 have been released, I guess you could say we’re suffering from Empty Nest Syndrome! By the way, if you love owls, you’ll want to read a great book: “Wesley”, by Stacey O’Brien.
Bounce-Back
July 12, 2010
Due to the summer/autumn drought, the berries on our native trees didn’t ripen. There’s no food for the beautiful NZ kereru (wood pigeons), and we’ve had lots of skinny, starving kereru brought in to The Sanctuary. We wondered what had become of Bounce, a beloved baby kereru whom we hand raised last spring. Bounce spent all summer in our backyard, accepting support feeds as she gained strength and confidence. Gradually she spent more and more time in the bush, and eventually disappeared to a life in the wild, as it should be. We hadn’t seen her for months, and worried about whether she’d survived. Recently we noticed a skinny kereru in our backyard, and thought: “Could it be Bounce?” We rushed outside…and she immediately flew onto Michael’s head! Sure enough, Bounce had come back to the place she knew she could get 3 good meals a day…AND she brought a handsome male with her. Smart bird! We’re delighted she remembered, and very happy to be able to support Bounce and her mate through this lean winter.
GOING BATTY!!
July 7, 2010
While visiting the USA last month, I had the amazing opportunity to rescue some tiny abandoned baby bats. It was a unique experience to become their “Mom”, to feed and care for them. Bats on the east coast of the States may actually become extinct soon. 90% have died due to white-nose syndrome, a fungus which is still spreading quickly across the States. This will have a devastating effect, as bats eat more than their weight in bugs each night. Crops will be hit hard, and tons more pesticides will poison our environment. Yet bat rehabilitators are disappointingly hard to find. I drove 120 miles to get these babies to a rehabber named Kasha Breau. Like most wildlife carers, she funds herself and works incredibly hard. If you live in the States & can donate a few dollars, please please do: 101 Edstrom Rd, Marlborough, CT 06447 (By the way, that’s a waxmoth grub in the baby’s mouth in the photo. This was his first solid food!)
Website Update
June 25, 2010
For those of you who have The Sanctuary news items sent automatically to your inbox, I wanted to explain why you’ve received several stories for the second time, both last week and again today. The Sanctuary website inexplicably crashed last week, and our wonderful website designer/manager, Amanda Koschak, had to rebuild it for us. When she reposted some of the lost news items, they were automatically sent out to you. I added some more of the lost news today, and they will also come out to you. Sorry about that – but we hope you enjoyed them so much the first time you won’t have minded seeing them twice! As always, if you want to see the photos that accompany these stories, visit our website animalsanctuary.co.nz and click on News. If you’re reading this and thinking “Hey, I’d like to get stories sent to me, how do I do that??”, simply go to our homepage and click on the envelope graphic which says “Get Our News Delivered Right To Your Inbox!”
Cheers, Shawn Bishop, The Sanctuary
Goodbye Sweet Nellie
Our lovely white goat, Nellie, developed what appears to have been viral pneumonia, and passed away this week. It all happened very quickly. She was fine one day, short of breath the next, and died that evening. The emergency vet came right away but was unable to save her. We’re in shock because it all happened so fast, and miss her terribly. Nellie came to us as a very young sick goat: her mother had been shot by a hunter, she’d been tied out with a chain and left to starve. The chain had cut cruelly into her neck and flies had laid eggs in her raw flesh. She was emaciated, riddled with worms, and had hoof-rot. Once we rescued her and she regained her health, Nellie became the most lovely companion. She loved to prance and kick up her heals, and she thought the 2 piglets we rescued were her children. Nellie lived 7 happy years here at The Sanctuary, and we’ll miss her gentle spirit.
A BIRD CATCHER TREE??
It sounds like science fiction, but it’s true. Birdcatcher trees exist in New Zealand, often in suburban backyards, and they’re HORRIBLE. Also called the Parapara Berry Tree (pisonia brunoniana), the tree secretes a super-sticky sap that catches birds. It’s like superglue, and as soon as the bird touches it, they’re stuck. The bird hangs there and starves, leaving skeletons throughout the branches. This poor thin owl was brought in yesterday, wrapped in a cocoon of debris, sticks and seedpods. We covered her in baby powder and worked through feather by feather to remove the deadly sap. It’s stressful for the bird, and also for us!! But happily this particular bird was found in time, and will fully recover. If you live in New Zealand, please google for photos of this tree, and watch out for it. If you see it, educate your neighbour and ask if you can cut it down for them. And tell your local garden centres to STOP SELLING IT as an ornamental garden plant!! Thanks.
