Incubator babies

Incubators for Wildlife Babies

In the aftermath of a very successful fundraising campaign, Friends of Cape Wildlife delivered a Brinsea incubator to Jennifer Taylor, Animal Care Coordinator, and Stephanie Ellis, Executive Director, at Wild Care in Orleans this spring 2018. The staff and volunteers were excited to receive the new unit.  Jennifer was especially happy about the design of the incubator, saying that due to the height they could create double decker housing, adding a second shelf to accommodate twice as many animals during the heavy baby season.

A second incubator was delivered to rehabber Mary Morelli who wrote “I am one of the lucky ones to receive a new incubator. It is sooooo nice. The old unit I had didn’t work well, and I couldn’t trust it to leave it for any length of time.  The new one is so easy, and I don’t have to worry about the little darlings roasting or freezing. The litter of five squirrels are comfortable now with more room.”
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Coyote Killing Contests on Cape Cod

Like many of your Cape neighbors, you may have been outraged and dismayed when the Powderhorn Outfitters Gun Shop in Hyannis sponsored a several months’ long coyote killing contest in 2017 and 2018.

Friends of Cape Wildlife firmly believes that killing contests are unjustified, ecologically damaging, unsporting and cruel. Our members support a ban on killing contests. We advocate for greatly shortened seasons; a bag limit of one per hunter; prohibiting baiting, night hunting, and use of electronic calls; and establishing wildlife refuges within local, state and federal parks and forests.
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2017 Recap and looking ahead for 2018

Friends of Cape Wildlife is delighted to be celebrating our first birthday! We had an extremely successful year due to compassionate and visionary people like you. The groundswell of public support has inspired us to launch the next steps: expanding our support to wildlife rehabilitators, education to the public and opening our organization to membership.

In 2017, with our initial goal to keep Cape Wildlife Center from closing its doors, FWC provided over $12,000 of direct operational necessities and our fundraising activities raised an additional $65,000 for the center. These contributions were instrumental in the successful operation of the center in 2017.
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Science Matters! Learn About The Eastern Coyote

When: Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018
Time: 12:00 to 1:30 PM
Where: Hyannis Library, 401 Main Street
Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Ecology: Myths vs. Facts
With Dr. Jon Way 

Are you on the fence about coyotes? Don’t know who to believe? Do coyotes pose a threat to humans? What about dogs and cats? Where did coyotes come from, are they invasive? What do they eat? Where do they live? You may find it hard to discriminate facts from fiction. You may be surprised to learn that people are exponentially more likely to be attacked by a dog than a coyote, that coyotes are monogamous, and they often mate for life. Wildlife laws do little to protect them and scientists are deeply concerned about gratuitous, indiscriminate killing of carnivores and consider “carnivore cleansing” whether in contests or trophy hunting as ecologically destructive practices.
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The Pelican’s Story

A very unusual visitor to Cape Cod!   During Hurricane Sandy this beautiful brown pelican was storm blown and ended up on Nantucket.  He was found at the Nantucket Transfer Station eating garbage and was transported to the Cape Wildlife Center for treatment for exhaustion and a wing droop.   The staff and volunteers all enjoyed taking care of this unusual patient and the pelican definitely enjoyed the TLC he received, especially the ‘flying fish’ delivery!  After a couple of weeks of rehabilitation, he was transferred to the Rhode Island Wildlife Center because they also had a storm blown brown pelican and the pair were ultimately flown back to Florida where they were released back into the wild.

Video and photos by Heather Fone Ⓒ 2018

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Cape Wildlife Logo
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Call for volunteers at the Cape Wildlife Center this fall

Would you like to be involved in helping wildlife on Cape Cod?

Come to the new volunteer orientation being offered this fall.

Cape Wildlife Center

Saturday October 14 1-3pm

4011 Main Street, Barnstable

Cape Wildlife Center’s mission is to protect wildlife through rescue, rehabilitation, and education. Each year Cape Wildlife Center receives nearly 2,000 patients and answers thousands of wildlife calls from the public. Cape Wildlife center receives only sick, injured and orphaned wildlife. No domestic or feral species are received or treated.
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The Osprey’s Story

by Caryn Ritchie

Mike Kochelin is the son in law of my neighbor Carol. I have known him and his family for about 15 years.  He is an avid wildlife photographer, and a recently retired engineer.  He is very much an advocate of all forms of wildlife but he especially loves birds.

A few years back he helped me rescue a swan with fishing line in his neck.  Thanksgiving night we were together having a drink and he asked what he could do to help Cape Wildlife Center and I kiddingly suggested he buy the facility and run it.

He wasn’t ready to do that and asked if there was anything else he could do to help.  I told him we needed to get an osprey, whose nest hit power lines and caught on fire, to Florida ASAP as the weather was getting too cold up here and it needed further rehabilitation.  He volunteered to drive it there nonstop.  The next day I checked with him again when neither of us was drinking, and he was still willing and excited to do this.

Cape Wildlife’s Center Dr. Lynn Miller cleared it with HSUS and plans were set in motion for the transport.  Mike rented a brand new suburban for the trip, while we prepared the bird for travel.  The morning of the trip the osprey was fed well, given subcutaneous fluids, and nestled in his deluxe carrier.  Mike took along some capelin in case of hunger, set his GPS and headed south.

While at South Florida Wildlife Center, the osprey recently underwent an imping procedure. SFWC’s Dr. Renata Schneider performed the imping, in which the osprey’s damaged feathers were repaired by carefully matching and attaching feathers which came from another bird of the same species. This gave the recovering osprey the feather structure he needed to fly well as his new feathers grow in. The surgery was a success.

On February 4th the osprey was set free.

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Release into the Wild was Otter this World

by Katy Ward

WELLFLEET – A pair of orphaned North American river otters were released on Friday at the Herring River tidal gate on Chequessett Neck Road after being cared for and raised by volunteers at the Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable. “The release was so joyful,” Cape Wildlife Center Director Lynn Miller said on Tuesday. “Watching them recover from orphanage and grow healthy and strong is very rewarding. We were pretty confident they were going to be OK. It was time for them to head out on their own.”


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A Baby Possum Story

This Sweet Girl is a Fighter

by Caryn Ritchie

This sweet girl arrived as an orphan baby opossum. She was given to a home wildlife rehabilitator who specializes in animal husbandry of opossums. It was discovered that this baby had a severe eye injury and no sight in that eye. Other than that injury, she was in good health.

The decision was made for her to undergo surgery to remove her eye. I was there for her surgery, and it was very successful. She spent some postoperative time at the clinic to recover before returning to complete her rehabilitation.

Unfortunately she developed an infection and numerous abscesses. The outlook was looking grim, but she had other ideas.

She fought the infection, healed beautifully and returned to her rehabilitation. There she was taught how to be a wild opossum and was prepared for release as a wild animal.

Don’t you love a happy ending?

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Volunteer Training February 4 2017

Thirty-two volunteers attended a refresher seminar at the Cape Wildlife Center given by Dr. Lynn Miller. This was held for existing CWC volunteers to have an opportunity to learn about new techniques in wildlife care and rehabilitation, and to practice some of their old skills. There was a lecture component on physical assessment, triage skills, including fluids and medication administration, and splinting of broken bones. Dr. Miller reviewed proper techniques to avoid spreading disease to other patients and to our selves. She also discussed general husbandry. This was followed by a hands -on session where these skills were practiced on cadaver animals.

The level of commitment and skill of these volunteers was impressive. We thank them for wanting to learn as much as possible and for giving up an entire Saturday of their own time to do so. Thank you also to Dr. Miller for sharing her time and her vast store of knowledge.

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