Local Wildlife Up Close

This morning we had our much anticipated tour of the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center. It's only about 20 minutes from Fountain Hills, so very easy to get to (note the last bit, 156th St, is a sandy/dirt road). You have to preregister, but if you're willing to brave the heat (and it was hot), you'll probably have no problem getting in during the summer (the tours start at 9 a.m.). They ask for a $15 dollar donation per person and once you hear each of the animals' stories, you'll want to put at least that much in. I took a bunch of photos, but the fencing between us and the animals made for some crappy shots. Any good ones (without fencing in the way), I've likely grabbed from Southwest's website or Facebook page.

The whole center got started with one orphaned coyote - Don Coyote (get it?) - and the woman who saved him after his burrow got accidentally tilled up by a farmer and his siblings were killed. There are now over 200 animals on Southwest's property, which have been rescued and are either now being rehabbed and hopefully released soon or living in their forever home. Too many of these animals were pets once and then relinquished when the ding dongs that took them in realized they didn't know what they were doing. Like the raptors I've told you about at Liberty Wildlife, a lot of these animals have become imprinted or arrived very ill.

The exception to this is the center's Mexican Gray Wolf program. There are less than a 100 of these animals left anywhere, and of them, only a few dozen are actually out in the wild. Southwest doesn't do breeding, but they do help house the wolves as part of a nationwide program. Incredibly, Southwest doesn't get any government funding, but the Fish & Wildlife Department asks them to house the animals until they decide if a release is in the cards - no money provided. Hrmph.

Look how close we could get to these animals (there was a double fence around some enclosures).



While the tour guide was talking, a bunch of unseen coyotes in the rehab center started yipping, yapping, and howling - it was eerie. They did it when we left too. Supposedly, sometimes the wolves join in. There are a number of homes in the area. You have to wonder what they hear at night.

Maya

Anyway, next up were the mountain lions. One accidentally poked its eye out on a branch last year. Boo. Two of the animals ended up there because poachers killed their mom so they could keep the cubs as pets. The animals were treated horribly, they weren't fed properly (like raptors, they need bones), and they eventually ended up here. Neither scenario was related - this kind of thing happens too often. One cat was even declawed (read up on this procedure, it's a horrible thing to do - any vet that does this should rethink why he became a vet in the first place).

I'm unreasonably scared of mountain lions when we go hiking, so seeing one so close didn't really help alleviate my fears.

Next up were the white-nosed coatis. How cute! I had no idea these existed here. They're related to raccoons, so I'm guessing if you camp, you might run into one. Again, these get taken in as pets and then released when they're found to be rather destructive (again, one was declawed - grr).

Southwest Wildlife has a lot of bobcats. Too many (over 70). Most unreleasable. I guess they prove too cute to resist, especially as kittens, but they're wild animals and don't eat Meow Mix. They also get attached and then can't fend for themselves once you grow sick of them.

The saddest story I heard all day was about this poor leopard-jaguar mix, Leonardo. I actually teared up hearing about what he endured for the first 10 years of his life. People can be so clueless and cruel. You can read about it here; he started out in Las Vegas. What the website doesn't tell you is that while he was in the tiny cage in Arizona, paying onlookers threw things at him in order to try to get him to roar. He was also declawed.  Seriously - sniffle.

I have to admit, I think the enclosures in this place are too small, and some of the animals are overweight and/or under-exercised, but when you hear the stories of how all these animals got here, you realize that this is better than where they came from. Yes, the center needs more land, but that will hopefully come in time. Meanwhile, they do a good service by trying to give these animals a safe environment. Sometimes you can't wait until things are perfect.

We moved on to three mule deer, including 1 male that apparently is just as dangerous as a mountain lion when the buck is in rut. Jeez.



Of course, there had to be a couple of javelina. They look like pigs, but they're actually a member of the hippo family. These two ended up here when their family of 8 all got hit and killed by a car (or two) in one shot. Javelinas stink and they can be very mean (they bite, with very long teeth) - Michael & I had our share of run-ins with them when we owned our house. We still see them, but at least now they're not eating our landscaping.

What was cool though was learning that each family has its own stink. They're trying to introduce the 2 orphans to some other javelina onsite so they can all be released as one new family, but they have to intertwine smells first - slowly.

There are a number of desert tortoises onsite. The guide confirmed that you don't want to pick one up if you see one out in the wild. I had been admonished about this on a prior blog post when I mentioned Michael almost stepping on one during a hike and moving it across the trail. They can drink once/year and will store it. If spooked, they may dump their supply. If they don't find water in the next week, they'll die. Luckily we didn't witness a dump when we did the pick up, and this particular tortoise was used to being handled. Interestingly, tortoises fight by trying to flip the other one over. If one gets flipped, it's pretty much doomed. It can't turn itself back over and will die of exposure or get its soft parts nibbled on by hungry passers-by. Nature can be rather nasty too.

There are a number of black bears on the property (that look brown), including a new one named Heavenly (not pictured). He had a rather rough time of it near a Lake Tahoe ski resort.


























This guy, an arctic wolf, came from Texas - another "pet." He's now 17 years old, which is rather old for a canine that size. Not only that, but he survived a rattle snake bite right to the face last year. Sheesh.

Hello coyotes. Coyotes and bobcats get a bad rap when it comes to their supposed threat to humankind. There are no actual cases of a healthy either of these killing anyone. Even at Southwest - a number of these animals have been at the center for years, since they were babies, and they're still very skittish. They do not really want to be (wo)man's best friend; they just want to be left alone. Obviously your pet is easy prey, but even then, a lot of times it's more likely that your beloved babu was attacked by a raptor, like an owl. I did find it interesting that a coyote could jump 14 feet high. People always feel safe when they have a 6' wall around their properties, thinking their Chihuahuas are safe (like these celebrities in CA), but nooooo. There are a lot of coyotes (they are in every state except Hawaii, and even roam around Battery Park in NYC), a lot of bobcats, and a lot of raptors (which can pick up surprisingly large mammals)  - all hungry. Keep your small pets inside unless you're with them.

There were a couple of porcupines. Did you know that it's a myth that they throw their quills?

And finally, a bunch of foxes. There were various species of them. We've only seen a fox out here once, a red one. The silver one was pretty. One or two of the foxes were there because their mother had been killed in a barbaric trap in Montana for its fur. I can't believe we still do this...Another one had been in a hoarder situation (the person had over 300 illegal wild animals; 50 of them dead in the mix).






Quite a variety, right? We didn't get to see the rehab/release area, but apparently there are lots and lots of skunks there. Just like we're dealing with lots of orphaned/injured winged babies now at Liberty, Southwest is dealing with the same thing there, only with 4-pawed critters. They really need volunteers and donations, especially during the summer. Start with a tour; I highly recommend it. It was 2 hours long and outside, so dress appropriately and bring water (although they provide free water there).