Wildlife in Westchester

One of the best things about living is Westchester is all the wonderful nature around us. There are parks, hiking trails, and reservoirs all brimming with wildlife. With the population (and I am talking humans here) explosion, we have pushed these natural habitats to smaller and smaller areas. Animals now have to adapt to new urban surroundings. This inevitably causes co-mingling, and gives us the opportunity to see more and more of them in our daily lives. Seeing a mama skunk and her babies crossing the street or a deer in the backyard is relatively common. Although cute and seemingly tame, these creatures are feral (wild) by nature. There are risks associated with interacting with wildlife. We get a lot of calls from people throughout the spring because they have found baby animals and assume that they need human help because the mother is nowhere in sight. Most people have very good intentions, however all too often human intervention can result in orphaned wildlife. You should avoid touching wildlife whenever possible, but if you must touch a wild animal, be sure to use a protective barrier, such as latex gloves. When baby wild animals need human help: Squirrels: If they fall from a tree being cut down, immediately cease cutting and leave the babies out for the mother to retrieve. If it is cold, put the squirrel on a heating pad on low (using an extension cord) and place a flannel shirt underneath the squirrels so they do not overheat. If the mother does not retrieve them by nightfall, contact a wildlife rehabilitator. Note: assume that any adult squirrels in attics right now are mothers with young. Fawns: It is normal for does to leave their fawn alone to avoid attracting predators with the mother's scent (the young are odorless, therefore safer without mom around). You should only be concerned and call a wildlife rehabilitator if the fawn is wandering and bleating constantly. Before touching the fawn, call the local police department to see if any deer have been killed. Baby rabbits: Similar to deer, baby bunnies are often left alone so that the mother's scent does not attract predators. Only if the babies have been attacked by an animal or injured by a lawnmower (or anything else), should you call a rehabilitator. Baby raccoons: Raccoon cubs are rarely left unsupervised, therefore, if you find a baby raccoon alone for more than a few hours outside, something may have happened to their mom and you should contact a wildlife rehabilitator. To avoid orphaning baby raccoons, do not use a trap. It may be tempting to set one for a garbage-raiding raccoon but you are likely to catch the mom and leave her babies orphaned. "Scrap the trap" and instead, put your garbage out the morning of trash collection instead of the night before and deal with the problem at its source. Do not touch the babies - please call a rehabber or the local Animal Control Officer. Rabies is a big concern in our area and there is always a risk of transmission. Baby skunks: Sometimes baby skunks get separated from their mothers due to poor eyesight. If you do find a nose-to-tail line of baby skunks running through your neighborhood, place a laundry basket over them, upside down, to hold them in place and give the mother a chance to find them. If she does not retrieve them by the next morning, then a rehabilitator should be called. Remember to move slowly around skunks. Even baby skunks can "spritz" if they perceive that something is attacking. Rabies is also endemic to the skunk population. Baby birds: It is a myth that if a baby bird is touched by humans, the parents will reject it. Birds have strong maternal instincts and the best thing to do if you find a fallen chick is to put it gently back in its nest. If the nest is inaccessible or destroyed, you can secure a nest-sized wicker basket close to the original nest. The parents should take over the new nest without a problem. Fledgling birds: You may think you see a bird with a broken wing, but many birds in June cannot fly yet because they are fledglings, i.e. birds who are in transition having left the nest but learning how to fly from the ground up. You can tell if their parents are still taking care of them by watching to see if adult birds fly over to feed them and by seeing if there are bird droppings on the ground. Birds poop after they are fed, so fecal material indicates that his parents are around and all is well. Hudson Vet will take all calls about local wildlife. Although we do not have a wildlife rehabilitator on staff, we know many people in the community who are rehabilitators, and we can contact them based on what condition the animal is in. Top 10 Reasons to Spay or Neuter Your Pet By: Dr. Carrie Poff Spaying your pets before their first heat prevents metastatic mammary cancer by 100%. Waiting to spay after the forth heat cycle does not prevent metastatic mammary cancer. Many behavioral problems such as marking, embarrassing humping, and dog aggression can be prevented or ceased by castrating dogs as young adults. Uterine infections called pyometras are not uncommon in older intact females. This infection occurs due to hormones and causes illness 3-5 weeks after a heat cycle and causes the uterus to fill with puss and infection. These dogs are extremely ill and frequently die if not diagnosed and treated promptly. The treatment is supportive care and spaying. Often these females are older and very ill due to the infection, therefore surgery and anesthesia are harder on them than if spayed when younger. Prostate and testicular infections are not uncommon in intact males. Certain infections, cancers, or trauma can lead to testicular torsion (twisting of testes within the scrotum). This cuts off the blood supply leading to severe pain and swelling, which, as you can imagine, is pretty darn painful. Testicular and uterine/ovarian cancer is prevented with castration and spaying. Unwanted mating can lead to overpopulation of dogs and cats. Many litters are put to sleep due to overcrowding. Outdoor cats that are not fixed can have many litters per year leading to feral kittens and overpopulation. This is a huge problem that responsible pet owners can help correct. Pets are more likely to wander or escape from your house or yard when they are in heat or intact and sense a potential partner near by. Male cats and dogs will travel for over a mile if they pick up pheromones from a female in heat. Miss-mating occurs and it is possible for a large male to mate with a small breed female. This often leads to dystocia (difficulty delivery). Some pups are just too large to pass through the birth canal and surgery is required to deliver the pups. The puppies can get lodged in the pelvic canal and cannot be delivered. The lodged pup usually dies. Intact male cats often show more aggression and fight over females in heat. These cats are more likely to get bite wound abscesses or contract Feline leukemia and AIDS. There are no cures for these viruses and they are often fatal. Feral colonies are more likely to carry these viruses and can pass them along to your outdoor cats. STD's occur in our furred friends as well. Brucellosis is an infection spread at time of mating and leads to abortion in females and testicular infections or prostatitis in males. It is a possible zoonotic disease, which means it can be passed to people through bodily fluids causing abortion in women. Transmissible Venereal Tumors are cancerous lesions that are spread during mating to the unaffected male or female. The tumors are usually located around the penis/vagina and are hemorrhagic and painful. Chemotherapy is the treatment of choice. So, there you have it. My top ten reasons to spay or neuter your pets. It is also worth mentioning to those sensitive pet owners, who are afraid their male dogs will hold grudges and miss there manliness, that I have never seen a pouty, or depressed male after neutering him! They do not get emotionally attached to their testes, and do not miss them. In my experience 90% or more do not even seem to notice they had a surgery. Dr. Poff's quote of the month: "A pet's love can cure more human ailments than all the pharmaceuticals in the world."