Release of Huey and Duey

On Wednesday we released our baby squirrels, Huey and Duey. Huey came out first, looked around a little bit, then jumped off the porch into the palmettos. He later learned to climb trees, even the really tall ones (luckily squirrels are not scared of heights!) Duey came out soon after, but was much more cautious. He seemed to enjoy digging in a few pots filled with soil. He hung around on the porch for awhile, then when he finally stepped off of it, a kingfisher flew by overhead making a racket and scared poor Duey right back into the cage! But, he quickly came back out and then explored the porch some more and later found out how much fun it was to run up and down the big trees like his brother. Later in the afternoon he was back on the porch, trying to bury some acorns that we gave him in a hole between two boards of the porch. He has those natural squirrel instincts!

The next couple of days he came back and checked out the birdseed dropped from the feeder and the food we left out for them. We didn't see Huey, who turns out to be the adventurer of the two! Don't worry, there are plenty of huge live oak trees around that are perfect for squirrels! We miss our little guys but know that they are very happy to be the wild squirrels that they deserve to be!

Twinkle Twinkle Brittle Star

Last week during one of our Crab Grabs, a little girl caught this in her net while catching shrimp. She was so excited to find this "starfish". It was actually a close relative - a brittle star. Brittle stars have a disk-shaped body and long, thin arms, which can regrow if broken off. They mostly eat detritus, plankton, or scavenge. Some species are luminescent (glow). Most hide in rocks or crevices and come out to feed at night.
This little one now lives at the nature center in it's own tank. Amanda Clark thought of a great name for it -Aquarius!

Good luck, Mickey!

" What?? You want me to live in the wild? What about my pampering?"

"Here's what I think of that, mom!" *sticks tongue out*

That's right, our little Mickey the possum (see previous posts) is all grown up...except he could get up to 14 pounds...

On Sunday I drove him to the Wildlife Coalition in Jacksonville. He will live in a large pen for about a week, meet some other possums, and then turned loose in the wild. Don't worry, he will be on 130 acres of fenced in woods, with someone to keep an eye out for him and supply food if it's a hard winter. But we sure will miss him!

Ready or not, here I come!

Recently I was leading a Back to Nature Segway tour when we spotted this little raccoon scrunched between a post and the wall of the boat ramp at Walker's Landing. We had been standing there for about five minutes, looking out at the marsh, and didn't notice him til we were about to leave. Although it didn't look like the most comfortable position, he wasn't stuck.

We didn't see another raccoon looking for him, but it was the perfect spot for hide and seek!

Tiny Tot "Tuck"

Last week we received a baby box turtle. Somehow Tuck wound up in someone's kitchen! The homeowner wasn't sure how, but suspected her dog brought it into the house. We put Tuck in a 10 gallon tank with some sand and a little water to drink and soak in. Box turtles can swim, but are usually found on land. We plan on caring for this little one for a little bit and then releasing him.

All Cats go to Heaven

It breaks my heart to post this, but it is an update on one of our rescues. (See posts from August 5 and 19) Ike, who we've raised since a tiny kitten, has passed away from meningitis.

(From PetWave.com) Meningitis in cats is a condition in which protective membranes around the spinal cord and brain, termed meninges, become inflamed. Cats diagnosed with meningitis often develop the disease as a result of feline infectious peritonitis, toxoplasmosis, feline immunodeficiency virus, and feline leukemia virus. Meningitis is a serious condition, and unfortunately the prognosis is usually very poor.

Ike's sister, Mikayla, is healthy and will live with Christina. These poor kitties had a very hard start to life and unfortunately Ike's immune system could not hold up. He did have a good life, though, lots of play and love, and he will be missed!