Wildlife Rescue Archives - Animal Fact Guide

Help Save Cholita the Circus Bear

Posted on April 1, 2015 by admin

Cholita, an abused spectacled bear and former circus animal, waits for her trip to the United States, where she can live out the rest of her life in a sanctuary. Photo provided by Animal Defenders International (ADI).

Cholita has had a hard life. She is an Andean/spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), a species considered vulnerable of extinction in the wild. She was kept illegally at a circus in Peru. There, she was severely abused.

Due to the gruesome abuse she suffered at the circus, Cholita now has no claws, teeth or hair. She is barely recognizable as a spectacled bear. But there is hope for Cholita, to live out the rest of her days in a United States sanctuary.

Animal Defenders International (ADI) has worked with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Peruvian authorities to get Cholita on a special ‘Spirit of Freedom’ flight to Colorado scheduled for April 20. The huge rescue mission, which also includes the rescue of 70 other circus animals, is expected to cost ADI over $1.2 million.

Please donate to help save Cholita and the other animals saved during Operation Spirit of Freedom: www.ad-international.org/CholitaAppealUS or call 323-935-2234.

To learn more, visit ADI’s website.

SeaWorld’s Animal Rescue Team Saves Stranded Baby Dolphin

Posted on May 22, 2012 by admin

Preliminary tests have showed no major health issues in the newborn dolphin rescued on May 20, but to ensure the young animal gets the essential nutrients he needs, SeaWorld’s animal team has been manually tube-feeding the dolphin every two hours.

A newborn bottlenose dolphin was discovered stranded in shallow waters off of Three Sisters Island in Florida on Sunday. SeaWorld’s animal rescue team, in conjunction with Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, transported the baby to SeaWorld’s facility in Orlando for medical testing and care.

Due to its size (just under 35 pounds), its upright dorsal fin, and its still-attached umbilical cord, SeaWorld‘s animal care experts believe the male dolphin to be no more than five days old. Usually baby dolphins nurse from their mothers until they are 12-18 months old. Animal care experts have been tube-feeding the youngster every two hours.

To learn more about bottlenose dolphins, see our Bottlenose Dolphin Facts Page.

Get Involved: The Great Animal Rescue Chase

Posted on November 30, 2010 by admin

Deer rescue Did you know that there are animal rescue opportunities all around you? From helping a turtle cross the road to taking in a stray cat to calling a wildlife rehabilitator to save an injured bird, there are actions great and small that you can take to help animals. And a new online community wants to hear about it! The Great Animal Rescue Chase is a website that celebrates the heroes that make an effort to rescue animals.

It’s free to register, so if you already have an animal rescue story to share, visit the site and get started. If you’ve never rescued an animal but would like to get involved, this website is for you too! You can read the rescuer’s code, which is a set of basic guidelines for interacting with wild animals, and you can learn from an international community of animal lovers. There are amazing, heartwarming animal rescue stories that will inspire you to take action in your own neighborhood.

Here’s one story posted on the Great Animal Rescue Chase from Sarah Goodwin-Nguyen in Florida about rescuing a hawk who was stuck in a chain link fence:

This broad-winged hawk got himself in quite a predicament! My guess is he was after a rodent and got stuck. Luckily, the homeowners came to the Key West Wildlife Center for help. I followed them home and managed to squeeze myself between the fences to get a safe hold of the terrified hawk. Those talons and that beak are no joke, and he could’ve caused some serious injury to anyone who doesn’t know how to handle raptors.

At first, I was unable to dislodge him he was wedged in so deep. The very concerned homeowners agreed to sacrifice their fence and, with the help of a neighbor’s bolt cutters, we cut the hawk out to great cheers! The hawk was miraculously uninjured. I took him back to the Center to evaluate, gave him some fluids and a good night’s rest, and the hawk was released successfully the very next day.

My favorite thing about this rescue was how the homeowners and the neighbors got involved, taking time out from their busy days and putting their concern for this magnificent bird ahead of the cost of repairing the fence.

To read more inspirational stories and to get involved with the worldwide animal rescue effort, visit the Great Animal Rescue Chase website.

Harbor Seal Makes Trek to Trout Hatchery; Has Feast

Posted on January 7, 2009 by admin

Harbor seal in Cape Cod

A young harbor seal was discovered in a state fish hatchery in the town of Sandwich in Cape Cod. There she had her pick of delicious trout to eat. Her all-you-can eat buffet came to an end, however, when the Cape Cod Stranding Network captured the seal, tagged her, and released her back into the Atlantic in West Dennis.

What is interesting is the tremendous journey this seal had to make to reach the hatchery. According to Misty Niemeyer of the Cape Cod Stranding Network, the seal would have had to waddle on land for 2 miles, including stretches on the boardwalk and through a tunnel under Route 6A.

For more information, see Boston.com’s article: “Hungry Seal Hits Bonanza at Fish Hatchery”