Special Thank you to everyone who appreciates Hope the Squirrel, our Education Ambassador squirrel who was born with Cerebellar Hypoplasia. Here are a few photos of her other job. When she is not enriching and educating humans, she is cuddling scared orphaned baby squirrels – a truly invaluable service of compassion. She bring light to our world.
This year we received a coyote pup who has lost his mama. We also received a bobcat found on a trail at Jewel Lake. We want to thank our rescue partner Sonoma County Wildlife Center for adding this coyote pup to their coyote pup pack, and also adding Jewel, the Bobcat Kit to grow up with other kittens her same age. It takes a village.
Thank you to all our rescue partners at local Animal Care Agencies! We word closely with SFACC, OAS, BACS, Alameda Animal Control, and even as far as Hayward Animal Control! Working together to make sure wildlife gets a chance at a normal life.
Bring in 2025 with a donation gift from Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue! Reserve your Calendar Now!
“Wildlife Rehabilitation” : (v) an attempt to mitigate the human impact on our natural environment by rescuing orphaned and/or injured wildlife animals and raising them with the expressed purpose of being released back into the wild, giving them a second chance at a normal life.
2023 Director’s Letter
Wildlife rehabilitation is more complex than most people realize. There are federal, state, and local laws to comply with. There are disease outbreaks and quarantines to navigate. There are diagnostic mysteries to solve, and sometimes euthanasia to perform when all treatments fail. There are the emotions of the human finders to soothe, as well as the emotions of our volunteers to gently manage when we lose a longtime beloved ambassador (or any wildlife patient, really). And there are my own emotions to ride out too; and those of my family, who are dragged along on this adventure by being my support system. But most importantly, and at the forefront of everything we do, there is the health, safety, welfare, and needs of the individualanimal that we are privileged to be able to help. They cannot tell us what they most need or want, so we have to listen and watch, and do our best to help them. Sometimes it is easy to juggle all these factors and have a successful outcome. Sometimes it is more difficult and we cannot make everyone happy. But at the end of the day, it is always the welfare of the individual animal that is our highest priority.
2023 was an interesting year. We faced the usual challenges of wildlife rehabilitation; not having enough volunteers, supplies, or support, but somehow making it through anyways. We started on the legislative process, in partnership with CA Department of Fish & Wildlife, of rewriting the regulatory guidelines for wildlife rehabilitation in the state of California – a tricky, monumental task that is well overdue. We faced a facilities crisis, which we are still in the midst of (If anyone knows a contractor who loves wildlife PLEASE give them our number). We developed a plan to improve and enlarge our outdoor pre-release enclosures and hope to impliment this project this winter! (Again, any carpenters in our readers?) We are so proud of our volunteer team, and that together in 2023 we were able to rescue, rehabilitate and release 764 wildlife patients – and the year isn’t over yet! Last night we received a hit by car tree squirrel who is receiving care for a broken collarbone. The day before it was a waterlogged Hummingbird who just needed a warm dry respite from the rainstorms. Who knows what animals may need our help over these next final 3 days of 2023!
Thank you for your support, your time, and your love of wildlife. Thank you for walking this path with me, and with Yggdrasil Wildlife.
Happy New Year to you from all of us at Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue.
Sincerely,
Lila Travis, Founder/Director
Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue
Our organization is still 100% volunteer-run and donation-funded after 20+ years. We are a grassroots 501(c)3 non profit and all donations are tax- deductible.
Please remember us this holiday season!
Making a donation in honor of someone is a wonderful gift.
Do you have friends with green space in the North Bay, South Bay, San Francisco, San Mateo County, or other areas in Eastern Gray Tree Squirrel territory? We need more Eastern Gray soft-release sites in various Bay Area locations, as we’re required to release squirrels within 10 miles of where they were rescued. Please contact Lara if you can help! lara@yuwr.org
Do you live near a forest or a creek, far from cars and dogs? We need support stations where we can set up soft-release locations for some of our older adult opossums who need a little extra support when being released into the wild. If you can help, please contact Lila: lila@yuwr.org. Thanks!
1. (C) Squirrels see in Full Color Vision. In fact, they do not open their eyes until they are 5 weeks old because it takes their eyes longer to develop. Compare that to cats and dogs, who open their eyes in the first 2 weeks of age.
2. (D) Opossums have a normal body temperature of 92-95 degrees. The rabies virus, which can infect any mammal, needs to have a body temperature of 98 degrees in order to survive. The rare times that an opossum has become infected with rabies has been because the opossum had a fever that raised its body temperature to the necessary 98 degrees! Remember that although opossums drool, it is because they are scared of you and their defense mechanism is to look unappealing. They are actually very beneficial to our environment- eating mice, rats, slugs, ticks, and snails.
3. (B) Skunks are extremely near-sighted and can only see 12 inches in front of their noses! Because of this, they tend to get startled, which causes them to spray. A skunk has a limited amount of spray and they need to save it for life-threatening situations. If you see a skunk about to cross your path, make some noise to let it know that you are there. It won’t be eager to spray you – it will actually just turn around and go another way. The same is true for when you let your dog into your yard at night. To avoid your dog getting sprayed, turn on the lights and make some noise before letting your dog out. The skunk – and your dog – will thank you for the warning.
Also, remember that tomato juice was BUSTED by Mythbusters years ago as being INEFFECTIVE in removing skunk spray. You need to neutralize the chemical reaction that is making the smell. To do this, use this recipe:
1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide 1/4 cup baking soda 1 teaspoon dawn dish soap
We started the year with urgent calls from the Tenderloin in San Francisco.
Tenderloin residents and police officers alike found themselves falling in love with a magnificent bird who needed their help. On Jan 23rd, officers from the Tenderloin Police Station worked together with local residents to help a juvenile red tail hawk who had crash-landed at Taylor and Eddy. With help from the residents, officers were able to drive the hawk to our San Francisco intake center in the middle of the night. The officers recounted how residents had come together to protect the bird, even offering the carnivore bread from the corner store (it’s the thought that counts). One local had bravely and safely placed the bird in an appropriately sized cardboard box for the officers! The hawk was affectionately named Eddy by both SFPD and local residents involved in the rescue.
It is important for birds to not damage their feathers during capture, restraint, and captivity, as this can seriously delay or forestall their release. Eddy spent the night resting on a perch, after receiving subcutaneous rehydration fluids. The next morning, Eddy was transferred to Peninsula Humane Society in Burlingame. PHS has rooftop aviaries to provide the specialized care that hawks and other large birds need in order to be rehabilitated.
Turns out, after a news article about Eddy, the general public had fallen in love with him too! Yggdrasil was flooded with inquiries on Facebook about the bird. PHS confirmed our diagnosis of head trauma from hitting a window, and let us know that Eddy was actually a female (Edwina) and had recovered enough to be placed in one of PHS’s outdoor aviaries to practice flight. We are thrilled by the positive outcome and how fiercely this bird brought together a community not always associated with love and compassion.
Special Thanks to Sylvie for her great work doing emergency intake! And to our Transport Team for getting help for Edwina in the middle of the night and the next day!
Here are just a few photos of the 721 animals we rescued, rehabilitated and released in 2022:
“Wildlife Rehabilitation” : (v) an attempt to mitigate the human impact on our natural environment by rescuing orphaned wildlife animals and raising them with the expressed purpose of being released back into the wild, giving them a second chance at a normal life.
2021 Director’s Letter
What an odd year we have had, both globally, and as a species. Every time I feel like we have found our new balance, I find myself having to readjust. But just when things get to be the darkest, something amazing will happen to renew my hope. I feel like 2021 has been that kind of year for our wildlife center.
What has renewed me, is the inevitable kindness and compassion from people who stop their lives to call our hotline and make sure that wildlife get help in their moment of great need. I spoke with so many kind souls this year whose quick action saved the lives of wild animals. Whether it was a baby fawn wandering around along a busy highway after mama was hit by a car, an owl caught in basketball hoop netting, or the hundreds of orphaned squirrels and opossums who sought-out help from passersby because they couldn’t survive on their own. All these stories told to me by people who stopped to help, have renewed me, and made me so grateful for your support and care for the world around us. Regardless of what is happening in our very human world.
Please enjoy some Rescue Tales from 2021. If you have the time and ability, consider joining our volunteer team and making a last-minute tax deductible end-of-year donation to help wildlife in 2022. Above all, be safe, and be kind to each other, and yourself too.
Happy New Year to you from all of us at Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue.
Sincerely,
Lila Travis
Our organization is still 100% volunteer-run & donation-funded after 20 years. We are a grassroots 501(c)3 Non profit. All donations are Tax Deductible. Please remember us this holiday season! Making a donation to help wildlife is a wonderful gift. DONATE
Rescue Tails….
Boudica was an ancient warrior queen who fought a hopeless battle against all odds and was, for a time, victorious. She has since become a symbol of strength and perseverance against the odds.
In 2021 we met Boudica, the opossum. She was found in Oakland covered in blood and staggering. Animal control thought she was suffering so started the process of humanely euthanizing her. However, when she was unconscious on the table, about to have the euthanasia fluid administered, the officer saw movement from her pouch.
Opossums are North America’s only marsupial. This means they are non-placental mammals and their babies are born as embryos and develop in a pouch outside their bodies. Kangaroos are famous marsupial examples.
When the officer saw her pouch move, he investigated and found it to be heavy and full of baby opossums! He stopped the procedure and contacted our wildlife center, asking if we would accept this opossum into care. We agreed and arranged urgent transport to Yggdrasil for the still sedated opossum. She was given a bath to wash away the blood, and examined. Much to my surprise, she had no wounds! The “blood” making her body pink was flea dirt from a severe infestation. During the bath, another significant discovery was made. Boudica only had 3 legs! Not from a recent accident or trauma, but rather from a birth defect or early pouch injury. Boudica was not injured and was only staggering because the weight of her pouch full of babies was making it hard for her to walk with only one rear leg.
Against all odds, Boudica was able to raise her babies, who were eventually released back into the wild, after enjoying the care and attention from YUWR volunteers.
Issam Has a Bad Day
I’m Issam. I’m a great horned owl, which is usually pretty great (as the name states). But let me tell you about my worst day ever. So, I’m flying around, being great, wind blowing through my horns, being an owl. Out of NOWHERE, this web of strings attacks me. I’m like, “Whoa! Where do you get off buddy?!” The thing’s wrapped around my head and neck, we’re fighting, I’m flying, I can’t shake this thing! So like in Top Gun, I go, “Fine, you wanna ride? Let’s go, we’ll see how long you can hold on, but we’re going up!” And before I can reach the Kàrmàn Line, out of NOWHERE, this tree branch grabs onto the string web! So now all three of us are fighting. I tell the tree “Hey, I can fight my own battles, just leaf!”, but it won’t let go. And neither will the string guy. After a while, we’re all tired, I’m completely tangled by the string web, tangled in the branch- it’s like Shelob’s lair!
Here’s where it gets really embarrassing. Normally, I go to my hideout during the day, but I’m stuck. So the next day, these humans, they’re hanging out, and they spot me. They all gather around on the ground, staring up at me like they’ve never seen a Great Horned Owl just hanging around. They call the Fuzz! I’m like, “Great, let everyone know! Why don’cha take a picture, it’ll last longer.” But then they do, so I shut my beak.
They’re down there, chatting it up, until two of the humans start climbing up the tree. I’m like “Yes, what I really need is more people giving me trouble today!” So these two guys, they get up to my level, about 40 ft. up. Turns out they climb mountains normally, not trees. So they end up beating up the branch that’s holding onto the string web. I get pretty excited at this point, thinking they’re on my side. But then I realize “Hey, if the branch lets go, I still got this string”. And then “CRACK”. I’m on the ground and the Fuzz is swaddling me with a towel and attacking me and the string web! I’m like, “He started it, I was just flying around”. She separates the two of us, but instead of letting me go, she loads me up in her paddy wagon and bird-naps me.
The Fuzz hands me off to these two humans who live in a huge box. They cover my cage and put me in solitary. That’s when I start to really worry. And let me tell you, these are some sick people. They took me out of my cage, grabbed me by the ankles, and injected me with some kind of fluid. I swear, I didn’t tell ‘em nothing, but they meant business. Then back into the covered cage in the dark room for the night. The floor was nice and warm… I will give them that.
The rest is your usual hostage story. I was taken to another place, they also tried to get me to talk with the fluids (but at least they had some decent food). After about a week, I was returned back to the site of that crazy tree and released. The Fuzz lady and the two climbers, and a bunch of their friends showed up. They seemed real pleased with themselves and kept calling me Issam. I think it has a nice ring to it, and is better than what my buddies call me, which is “Hey! Watch where ya goin’!!!”
I’ll never understand what the string web, that branch, and all those weird humans wanted with me; but never underestimate a GREAT HORNED OWL. I’m a tough bird.
HELP WANTED:
Yggdrasil has the following volunteer positions available:
Intake Team – vet-tech experience is helpful, but we will train!
Opossum Team Lead – experience rehabilitating opossums is required for consideration for team leadership.
Opossum Foster-To-Forest ReWild Team – no experience required.
Squirrel Infant Foster Care – no experience required, but always appreciated!
Squirrel Foster-To-Forest ReWild Team – no experience required.
Build Team – help construct and repair outdoor wildlife pre-release enclosures.
Transport Team – help save lives by driving animals and supplies around the Bay Area!
We were designated as an essential service, because wild animals are essential. They need your support more than ever.
In April, we received over 500 requests for assistance with sick, injured and orphaned wild animals — over three times our average number of calls. COVID-19 has had a major impact on our rescue work because so many more people are home, in nature, and coming into contact with wildlife.
Unfortunately, at the same time the need to rescue animals has grown dramatically, COVID-19 has led to our county grant funding to be cut in half and our regular source for donated food and supplies to indefinitely suspend in-kind donations.
We need your help!
Our goal is to raise an emergency $5,000 to offset the donations we’ve lost because of this public health crisis. This will cover food and supplies for the increased number of animals in our care.
