Film shows work at St. Francis Wildlife

The Tallahassee storm was a “frog strangler”. Gusts of wind hit 40 miles per hour and the rain was pouring in torrents. When the Flood subsided, a tiny baby river otter was washed away by its mother in a raging brook in Cascades Park.

A Tallahassee city worker spotted it alone and helpless. She picked it up and made her way to St. Francis Wildlife. After unsuccessful attempts to reunite the baby with its mother and two weeks of care at our wildlife hospital, we drove it to Homosassa Springs, where it could be raised and released with other orphaned otters.

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On her morning drive to Tallahassee on a rain-soaked Crawfordville Highway, a driver dodged to avoid a small bird. She rescued the very thin horned great crested grebe with badly bruised feet and took him to Northwood Animal Hospital. Later that morning, the bird arrived at St. Francis Wildlife, where it spent the next four days suckling shrimp and crickets while its feet healed.

Then our game rehabilitator drove the little bird to Panacea, carried it to the water and released it.

When St. Francis Wildlife received a call about an opossum trapped on the North Monroe Street flyover heading north, our rescue worker responded immediately and captured it. When it arrived at the wildlife hospital, our wildlife rehabilitation specialist treated the marsupial’s wounds and also examined the eight forgotten babies happily nursing in their pouch. After she was cured, Mama Opossum and all of her babies were released to a safe forest habitat.

Work to keep savages free

Scenarios like this are repeated several times a day at our local wildlife rehabilitation center. For 43 years, St. Francis Wildlife has advised our community on how to live in harmony with the wild animals that share our backyards and parks.

People leave injured, orphaned and sick wildlife for us at the Northwood and Allied Veterinary Hospital in Tallahassee. Some bring the animals straight to our Quincy Wildlife Hospital. And if necessary, we also send out our experienced rescuers.

Caring for all of these wild animals takes more than love and compassion. They don’t purr or lick your hand. They don’t want to be petted. Most consider us to be predators. This healthy fear of people is good; Your survival in the wild depends on it. You absolutely want to be free again, and that is also our goal.

Hence, we only treat our wild patients when there is a need to feed, meditate, treat and purify. We are silent during the treatment or keep our voices low. An animal in a cage feels particularly vulnerable. For this reason, the public is not permitted in our treatment areas and we do not conduct any tours of our facility.

Dream behind the scenes

However, St. Francis Wildlife receives so many inquiries from adults and children who would love to visit them and see what happens to the orphaned squirrel or injured owl that they brought to us.

To make this dream come true, Kris Petersen, VP of Digital Media Production at The Pod Advertising; Alan Hanstein, director of business development at Event Owl; and I worked on a rare behind-the-scenes video tour of our 36-acre wildlife hospital and sanctuary deep in the Gadsden County’s forests.

Taken over a period of a year, wildlife enthusiasts won’t want to miss this rare peak in North Florida’s sanctuary for injured, orphaned, and sick wildlife.

“It was an absolute honor to be asked to record this footage. I have seen how much care all SFW employees put into every rescue. They are really amazing and I am very happy that we have the opportunity to give everyone an insight into their work in this incredible wildlife hospital! ”Said Petersen.

“We are honored to be supporting St. Francis Wildlife and this 2021 virtual demonstration and fundraiser,” said Hanstein. “The Event Owl platform allows attendees to see never-before-seen behind-the-scenes videos of falcons and woodpeckers following.” in which they are released back into the wild. “

The virtual demonstration will only be available on request from December 9th to 12th. Registration is required to participate. It’s free to attend, but if you are encouraged to make a tax-deductible donation to St. Francis Wildlife it will certainly be appreciated.

Sandy Beck is the St. Francis Wildlife Education Director. Contact her at stfranciswildlife@comcast.net.

When you go

What: Premiere of St. Francis Wildlife’s Behind-the-Scenes Video Tour

When: Stream on-demand ads only from Thursday December 9th through Sunday December 12th.

Where: Event details, video trailer and registration link at stfranciswildlife.org/tour.html

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