Saving baby animals

CYNTHIA RAMSAY

Even the hardest of hearts must melt a little when they see a baby animal, even when that animal is a garbage-picking and at-times aggressive raccoon.

Last weekend, Critter Care Wildlife Society had its 10th annual open house fundraising event. Along with a concession tent, marketplace, live entertainment and other attractions, guests were able to take a guided tour through the society's facility, which is located on three acres in Campbell Valley Regional Park in Langley.

The Critter Care Wildlife Society's mandate is manifold. Basically, it "provides short- and long-term care to native mammal species and, through rehabilitation and public education, helps prevent the suffering of injured and orphaned wildlife." As the only facility that specializes in mammals, the society gets animals from all over the province.

The open house tour took guests through the triage centre, a restored house, where there were several baby animals being treated. According to Critter Care's website, about 75-80 per cent of its work is with the babies, with the society's busy time being from mid-March to September. There are many reasons why a baby animal will end up at Critter Care, including mothers that have been hit by a car or otherwise killed and people who thought a wild animal would make a good pet. The animals are received from the general public, the SPCA, pest control companies, wildlife organizations or conservation departments. With very few exceptions, the animals are released to the general area in which they were found, whether that was Vancouver Island or northern British Columbia.

On the open house tour, there were many raccoons, a few fawns, otters, a beaver, a baby coyote and a bobcat that remained well hidden from the day's heat. According to one of the tour guides, the society had 13 bears last winter, but is now looking after only three.

Critter Care doesn't receive any government funding and is entirely volunteer and donation driven. One tour guide said it costs thousands of dollars just for the milk for all the babies. According to Critter Care's website, "a single raccoon, while in care, can eat its way through $500 worth of food. Construction materials for a 'coondominium' (a large cage designed to house a group of raccoons over the winter) can cost $2,000. Added to this is the expense of heating pads, syringes for feeding, bedding, medicines, laundry and special food."

Unfortunately, the open house only happens one weekend a year. If people want to see the animals before next July, there are two possible ways of doing so: interning or volunteering. There is information about both options at www.crittercarewildlife.org but, in a nutshell, the site explains that eight-week (or longer) internships are offered all year long to interested and hard-working individuals and that interns are expected to be involved in all aspects of the shelter, including feeding, food preparation, cleaning, laundry, administering treatment, participating in building projects, painting, etc. Volunteers are needed to help with fundraising, care giving, education programming, construction, maintenance, special events, etc. There are also various ways of donating, including sponsoring an orphaned animal. For more information, call 604-530-2064.

If you become a volunteer, or find yourself out in Langley for other reasons, you must have lunch at Estrella's, #5932-200th St. It's open Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and has a Montreal smoked meat sandwich that may be better than you'd get in Montreal. You'll likely end up ordering more meat, as well as some garlic dill pickles, to go.

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