Native Animal Rescue of Santa Cruz County

In 2020, for the first time in its 40 year history, NAR cared for over 3,000 native animals with the aim of returning them to life in the wild. This year, those 3,000 animals represented 124 species. And over the last 40 years, NAR has cared for over 250 species. Isn’t that amazing! Guest writer Katherine Montana has written a personal essay about the diversity of California wildlife and NAR’s role in protecting that diversity by rescuing, rehabbing, and releasing native wildlife back into the wild.

Our 40th Anniversary Celebration had a technical glitch! The ending was not included. 2020 strikes again! Here are new links with the ending: This link is for those who have watched the video but didn't catch the ending: https://youtu.be/R5e9aQVbvWQ?t=2099 And this one is for those who want to watch the video in its entirety:... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5e9aQVbvWQ

Today we emailed our most important (and fun) newsletter of the year. We set a new record for native animals cared for, 2,883 and still counting. We invite you to join us for an online celebration of NAR's 40th anniversary. We report on our most viral Facebook post ever, over 4,000,000 million views and 56,000 shares. We introduce you to our new Raptor Complex, paid for by your contributions to Giving Tuesday in 2018.... Take a look. We think you'll like what you see. https://nativeanimalrescue.dm.networkforgood.com//we-survi

We're thankful for the release of this Heermann's Gull that was received and cared for by Native Animal Rescue and then transferred to International Bird Rescue where it was in care for 44 days.

On October 3, an injured Brandt's Cormorant was rescued from a floating dock at the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf. Back at Native Animal Rescue, animal tech Zoe Egan removed two fishhooks from the cormorant's mouth. NAR transfers most injured seabirds to International Bird Rescue (IBR) where they receive expert care. The vet techs at IBR discovered a third fishing hook in the cormorant's stomach, and using a fascinating technique described in the attached post, they were able to remove the third fishhook.

In this article, SFGate reports on the plight of Santa Cruz Mountain wildlife following the recent fires. The little burned skunk we reported on a few weeks ago is the wild star of the article. The human stars are NAR volunteer rescuer/rehabbers Kathy St. John and Kevin Foster of Boulder Creek and NAR animal tech Amy Redfeather.

A recent video of an encounter between a mountain lion and a trail runner might leave viewers with misconceptions about the mountain lion’s behavior. The Mountain Lion Foundation aims to use this as a teaching moment for all of us who live in mountain lion country.

It's that scary time of the year again, when goblins, ghouls, and ghosts fly among us. Unfortunately, other wild creatures are ill-prepared to dodge the fake webs that pop up to celebrate Halloween. We encourage you to enjoy all sorts of decorations but to avoid the fake webs. And we approve this message.

Brown Pelican rescued by Native Animal Rescue continues to heal at International Bird Rescue.

In a complicated rescue, NAR’s premier wildlife rescuer Bill Snell and an employee of Pinto Lake City Park, removed a Great Egret entangled in fishing line 25 feet up a tree. If that wasn't challenging enough, the tree was on a small island in the middle of the lake. After motorboating to the island, the employee, who was younger and smaller than Bill, climbed a skinny tree, cut the fishing line, and brought the bird down to Bill who placed the bird into a kennel and boated back to shore. Bill brought the egret to NAR where Zoe and Bill cut the fishhook from the bird's wing. The fishing line had cut off the circulation to part of the injured wing for an unknown amount of time. We transported the bird to the International Bird Rescue Center (IBRC) in Fairfield where it will receive expert care.

The BEST news! Governor Newsom signed AB-1788, the new law that prohibits the use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (aka rat poison). These horrible poisons injure and kill mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, hawks, owls, and other wildlife that have consumed rodents that digested the poisons. This is a win for wildlife.

Way up in Boulder Creek lives one of Native Animal Rescue's most active, skillful, and generous volunteers, renowned for her understanding and knowledge of fawns and baby raccoons. During the recent wildfires, Kathy and her husband Ian evacuated not only themselves and their domestic pets, but also two rescue horses, and two fawns and a batch of orphaned raccoons they were rehabbing for Native Animal Rescue. Ian also happens to be a historian and archaeologist at Stanford University and one helluva great writer. This may be one of the best reports of life and deliverance during the wildfires and even includes a mention of Native Animal Rescue. https://www.newyorker.com//how-we-escaped-the-worst-of-the

NAR's First Fire Victim Last week, a Boulder Creek resident contacted Native Animal Rescue to report a skunk with burned front paws. A NAR rescuer transported the injured young male skunk to NAR’s skunk expert who immediately provided first aid including wound cleansing, antibiotics, rehydration, and nutrition. The next day, she took the injured skunk to a local vet who helps NAR with difficult cases. According to the vet, the swelling of the front paws indicates that healing is taking place. We are hopeful that this calm and patient youngster will recover and, in time, can be released back in Boulder Creek.

Brown Pelican at Native Animal Rescue. Read the story below.

IT WAS 40 YEARS AGO... It all began in the late 1970s when a group of volunteers and veterinarians were spurred to action by the awareness that injured wild animals brought to the Santa Cruz SPCA were usually euthanized because they weren’t equipped to care for them. The three founders of Native Animal Rescue--Lisa Leask, Michele Oka, and Ann Brice--decided to establish a program to aid injured and debilitated wild animals and work to return them to the wild. After two yea...rs of preparation, NAR opened its doors in the summer of 1980. We are delighted to bring you the interesting story of NAR's history. https://nativeanimalrescue.dm.networkforgood.com//it-was-4

Hallelujah! On Monday, the California Legislature approved Assembly Bill 1788, which bans, with few exceptions, the use of what are known as second generation anticoagulant rodenticides until state pesticide regulators develop plans to ensure they’re not harmful to wildlife. Currently, Nine in every 10 dead mountain lions state scientists test have the toxins in their livers.

Our first evacuees from the CZU Lightning Complex fire arrived a few days ago. When the families that were rehabbing native animals for Native Animal Rescue evacuated their homes, they transported these animals to NAR. Luckily, now that baby season is over, we have space to temporarily house the two families of juvenile raccoons and a Western Grey Squirrel. After the thousands of evacuated residents return to their homes, we expect and are preparing to receive animals injured in the fire.

If you live in Santa Cruz County, Monterey County, or Santa Clara County, please be aware that wild animals are fleeing the fires, and they may show up in your neighborhoods and yards. We urge you to bring domestic animals in at night and to let the wild ones pass through. Please put out buckets of water for themthey are scared, exhausted, and have lost their homesthey need to rest and refuel. We love our wildlife...please spread the word.