Wildlife cases from ARCAS

One of our current cases is an armadillo who was confiscated from illegal animal trafficking. He was found in very rough shape and nutrient deficient. Armadillos naturally have a lower body temperature than most mammals and therefore need to be monitored often to ensure they do not become hypothermic. They are also one of the very few species that can contract leprosy systemically (Mycobacterium leprae for all you keeners) so we have to ensure were taking necessary precautions like washing our hands thoroughly to avoid the risk of transfer. 

Armadillos are nocturnal and we are responsible for giving 3 injections of dextrose per day to help raise his blood sugar levels. He is usually pretty sleepy for these which makes restraint pretty straightforward. They are subcutaneous injections and getting under the thick skin of an armadillo is challenging, definitely different from what we´re used to with cats and dogs! We give the injections on the inner thigh because covering the entire back of the armadillo is a bony plate with scutes (or scales) on top, similar anatomy to a turtles shell. Were hoping our little guy makes a speedy recovery, however it is always difficult to predict with wildlife. Often they are brought to ARCAS with little or no history, so the physical examination is very crucial to obtain any sort of information.

Another animal we are working closely with is the spoonbill. They are often confused with flamingoes; however their beak is in the shape of a spoon. They are quite goofy looking animals. Our spoonbill was brought to ARCAS with a broken wing and no history as usual. We are responsible for changing the bandage and monitoring him to ensure his wing stays in proper alignment. An important part of our spoonbills rehabilitation is ensuring he learns how to hunt for his food. He needs to practice every day to acquire skills that will promote his survival in the wild. Every day we go fishing by the dock and collect live fish of different sizes. We then place the spoonbill in an artificial pond in his enclosure and let the fish swim in the pond.

 

 

This is crucial to his eventual release and his fishing skills are improving every day. We also hand feed him fish that we fillet once we collect it from the local fishermen to ensure his crop is sufficiently full.

By Sabrina