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New Year’s Day was a shock to the system for Toni and Puddle as I moved them out to the Millie Block! They had both become very proficient swimmers which hopefully you will see from the pictures below. I had by now given them almost a couple of hours play time around the kitchen morning and evening as they were becoming more energetic. New Years Eve there was a refusal to return to the cubby hole so I gave up and they spent their last night charging around the kitchen while we slept!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pen that Toni and Puddle are now in gives them water available to them all the time. There is a drying area ( with fresh towels every day!) under the heat lamp as they still squirm themselves dry. They have a log pile and a tunnel to play in and two sleeping chambers – one full of hay and the other with not quite so much hay but a heat lamp hanging over it with a connecting tunnel. Despite the cold weather they both seem very happy and sleep curled up in the hay box so once the weather breaks they can probably go into an outside pen. ( I’m glad they aren’t in one at the moment).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other two otters are still swimming in their pool. I left the lights on as usual on Monday evening and you could see them both sliding around on the ice and swimming underneath it when they managed to get into the water by the tunnels that keep the ice thin due to movement. They don’t seem to even notice the cold weather! They definitely eat more so it’s a good job that we have some large fish for Hope and Ozzy to keep up their energy levels. 

We have had several casualties due to the cold weather. A very sad fox with mange is in at the moment and I think is very grateful to be curled up in a warm duvet with a heat lamp. I think he will be with us for quite a while to get him back to good health – still he is eating well.

 

Simon, Lorrie and Judith went out in the snow this afternoon to a swan with an injured wing. They needed to take the Kayak out to get him up on the land. Some of the ice was so thick in areas that there were ice skaters out there. Must admit that seems a bit dangerous to me. I worried enough over the rescue but the swan was captured and brought back with three very cold but jubilant members of staff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had some interesting information with regards to the badger digging that took place last Monday at Gold Corner, East Huntspill. It’s so good when people ring in with snippets of information that sometimes may seem unimportant but it can very often be the last piece of the jigsaw that the police are looking for. Please, pick up that phone if any of you think you may know someone or a vehicle that may be involved in wildlife crime. We will always pass information on to the Wildlife Crime Unit.

 Lisa, our Animal Care Manager has now left and in fact has already stated her journey and has arrived in Thailand, her first stop before a year out in Australia. We all wish her well and are thinking of her. There will therefore be a new team facing what will no doubt be another busy year at Secret World.

Happy New Year and may 2010 be a healthy and peaceful one for you and PLEASE keep supporting us – we need you !

STOP PRESS>>>>>

I was just finishing my blog when Marie who is on duty radioed me to tell me a dead fox had been dumped by the front door with it’s tail cut off. If they think it’s going to stop us trying to make people realise the cruelty that goes on in our countryside, they’ve got another think coming.  My only regret is that they used a beautiful animal in good condition to make their point. Such sad people.

We have had some unusual casualties over the past few weeks. This started on our last open weekend in November when a bearded dragon was handed in having been found in a garden in Burnham on Sea. It’s a good job that we can find out through contacts, how to look after these animals that suddenly descend upon us !

Luckily having been given a clean bill of health, it looks like it will be able to go to Bristol Zoo which will be fantastic. It is a female so maybe she will have a friend to be with.

Only a few days after that, a King Snake was found in another garden locally and has still not been claimed. Do people really turn out pets when they don’t want them? It’s so cruel, especially in this cold weather that we have been having.

Another unusual call out was in the middle of the night when we were asked to attend a police raid that had found a Spotted Eagle Owl in unsuitable conditions. Lisa was on duty that night and finally got home around 4 a.m. The owl has been signed over to us now by the owner and its jessies held on by nuts and bolts have been replaced by proper leather fittings.

He is very quiet and it is hoped that in time, he will join our other birds that go out to talks. One of our volunteers is going to have him in her own aviary so that she can give him more time. He certainly is a very spectacular bird that, we hope, will be happy in his new home.

Another middle of the night call was the police that collected a young swan sitting on the hard shoulder of the M5, around junction 27. The swan had probably been confused with all the ice and snow. He was due to be taken back to the canal near there last Sunday but after travelling all the way down there, it was found the canal was still frozen so he had to come back! We’ll try again once the mild weather is with us again.

Two separate incidents involving ducks were brought in over Christmas, both having been shot. One sadly had to be put to sleep because of its injuries but the other one is looking a lot better. A hedgehog that came in on Boxing Day had a horrendous wound to its back and I just gave it pain relief after cleaning the wound. It looked very deep so I did not do too much to it. It went to the vets so that it could be treated under anaesthetic but the wound was found to be right down to the spinal chord it was beyond help.

It has been the first Christmas for me to have orphans in the kitchen. Toni has been getting better at swimming and Boxing Day was the first time that I trusted them to be together. Puddle is so much bigger but Toni can now give as good as she can get!! From the shy cub too small to go swimming, to a shy cub grasping the shower hose she is now as adept as Puddle in under water swimming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next week they should be out in the Millie block with water available to them all the time and the cubby hole will fall quiet until the next casualties arrive.

 

 

They’re not the only ones swimming over Christmas as we made our Winter Warmer Dip in the Sea on Sunday December 27^th  at Lyme Regis. We had a lovely crowd cheering on as 5 brave souls ( including a dog ) made a dash for the sea. The sun may have been shining but it was definitely freezing in the water!

On December 28^th, Simon was called out to a badger digging incident. Details below. I cannot believe that people can find any sort of enjoyment from this sport. Sadly legislation does not stop these criminals. We do all that we can to protect our wildlife but sometimes it just does not feel enough. 

May 2010 be a happy and healthy one for you. With your help, we hope that we shall stop as much suffering as we can to our wildlife in 2010.

Less than 2 weeks to go to Christmas and we are receiving some lovely Christmas cards from many of our supporters. With a very wet Christmas Fayre at the end of November, the decorations are already up and we are getting into the Christmas Spirit.

Some of our long term casualties have been released which is always brilliant. A buzzard rescued by one of our response drivers came in on November 16^th. The buzzard was suffering from concussion and had gone blind but we were hoping that the sight would come back. After several days we were worrying that he was still unable to see and Lisa, our vet nurse, noticed that the pupils of his eyes were dilating with the change of light. We all crossed our fingers – and within 2 days his sight was back. He had a couple of weeks in an aviary to build up muscle and finally went for release about a week ago.

We also had a badger in for several weeks, again suffering from concussion. He had arrived during the night, was put on a drip and for many days seemed completely out of it. After a few days of not eating, he was tube fed with honey, complain and egg which he took very well and he was soon on the road to recovery. Again, he was released last week so hopefully will be with his family for Christmas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lisa, our vet nurse, is buzzing around with so much going on in the last few days that she will be with us. She is off to Australia for at least a year and we are all going to miss her. I’m sure she will have great time down under but we hope she won’t forget us – qualified veterinary nurses with so much wildlife knowledge are hard to find.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The otter cubs are doing well. Tiny Toni is also learning to swim but she gets to bath on her own as Puddle is too full of energy. She’s swimming a bit like I do with her head held high above the water (!) but each day she becomes more confident. Puddle is full of it and the water often slops over the side of the bath where she moves so fast now chasing toys and retrieving shells. Bath time ends when she pulls the plug out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t think Tiny Toni much enjoyed having a wet bed mate after Puddle’s baths but now they both go in and so they squirm together in the towel to get dry. This is usually followed by playtime until it’s time for a sleep.

 

Tonight is the first time the lights will be on in the otter enclosure so hopefully you should be able to see Hope and Ozzy playing in their pond on Web cam 4.

 

Puddle has been joined by a small otter cub that was rescued near to Nailsea. This is the third cub in three weeks so there must be many otter cubs that have been washed out of their holts with the rising river levels.

 Tiny Toni, as she has been nicknamed, is standing her ground very well. Although about three weeks younger than Puddle, they are fine together. Otter cubs are like badger cubs – they play hard but I would soon know from the noises if the play was too rough! Tiny Toni has a small bottle of milk before her fish which she basically manages to eat with her few teeth by chewing hard and ragging it around the floor.

 

Puddle is now enjoying her baths but Tiny Toni will have to wait a while as she is still very fluffy.

 Clinton Rogers came and did some filming today for BBC’s regional news so I’m sure people will find them enchanting. Tiny Toni makes the most of Puddle as a super soft mattress!

It’s been a long day today trying to get everything done for the Christmas Fayre this weekend. It’s a lot to do on top of the auction and ball last weekend. Hopefully the weather will stay kind for us tomorrow evening for our carol service.

An RTA deer came in late last night around 11.30 p.m. Some kind people travelled all the way here from near Bath having found it in the middle of the road. It does not have any broken bones but Lisa thinks it may be an old deer so we will have to see how it goes.

My little otter has got a name – Puddle – which she seems quite happy with. Puddle is certainly making up for the food she has missed as she is tucking into the small trout that we have for her and fresh mince. Two ladies came in yesterday with a baby otter that they had found and it was the same size as Puddle. We thought we had managed to get a friend for her very quickly but sadly she had been found too late and despite Lisa working hard on her, she died just a few hours after coming in. She had obviously been without food for quite some time and was very dehydrated.

The badger from last week is getting stronger and enjoying the heat from his infra red light. Crusty, the little hedgehog with ring worm is starting to grow his prickles back and does not look quite so like a rat! Still lots of underweight hedgehogs coming in every day. It looks like it is going to be another busy winter.