Wildlife Haven Waterloo

Here at WHW its not uncommon for Mourning Doves to come with toes that are black or missing. We often have them come in for unrelated issues and then quickly notice that they only have a few nubs. Mourning Doves have fleshy feet and are also expanding their year round range northerly due to the constant supply of food so as a result they end up getting frostbite and losing digits. It doesn't cause any life threatening issues, the toe will just go black and fall off, and since... they are a see eater they don’t need the nails, but why don’t all birds have this struggle? Well it's all thanks to the countercurrent heat exchange system they have. The majority of birds have adapted to have less junk in their legs, meaning there is little to no muscle and very few nerves and blood vessels. Eliminating the bulk of the fluid filled cells leaves the majority of the leg consisting of bone and tendon. So only a small amount of blood is needed to circulate down to the foot, the warm blood is pumped to the leg and as it reaches the foot it drops in temperature to just above freezing. Now the countercurrent heat exchange system kicks in to ensure that cold blood doesn't shoot back into the body and lower the body temperature past 38C. Since the veins carrying the cold blood from the foot are grouped so closely together with the warm arteries coming down from the body, a heat transfer occurs.This entanglement of veins and arteries is called rete mirabile which translates to wonderful net in Latin. The cold blood ends up getting warmed again before entering the temperature controlled body. So there is not loss of heat and they don't have a huge energetic cost trying to maintain the lower limbs at the same temperature as the core. Since the leg is all bone and tendon and is covered in scales in most songbirds as opposed to skin its able to withstand cold temperatures without the damage from frostbite.

From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank everyone who has shared and contributed to our gofundme fundraiser. Without our supporters, we would not be able to continue our work in rescuing wildlife in need. We are happy to announce that we have almost reached our halfway goal Please share or donate if you can. Every little bit makes a huge difference as we continue to take in and care for new and current furry patients ... Thank you for your continued kindness, generosity and support during challenging times. Sincerely, The Wildlife Haven Waterloo Team https://gf.me/u/y6xs4f

Did you know Turkey Vultures are very important to maintaining a healthy ecosystem, they are often called Nature's garbage disposers since they play an important role in keeping the area free of many contagious diseases. Since their stomach acid is so corrosive they have been known to scavenge leftovers are often infected with anthrax, botulinum toxins, rabies, and hog cholera that would kill other scavengers. They are often portrayed in a bad light and many come across sca...ry but they are the only scavengers that isn't capable of killing their prey, they have feet that resemble the feet of a chicken as opposed to a raptor and are only used for balance. This young Turkey Vulture came in fall of 2017 after being found dragging its wing, he had multiple kinds of fractures including a bad compound fracture near the joint. He wasn’t able to be repaired surgically and had to be euthanized. This was a tough case for everyone at WHW since he was a young healthy personable individual otherwise.

We have reached our halfway goal so far!!!!! THANK YOU to everyone far and wide who have generously contributed to our fundraiser to help continue our work this winter season in helping wildlife in need. As we continue to take in new patients, we will also be housing some of our furry/feathery friends this winter that cannot be released until the spring ... Please help us reach our fundraising goal by considering making a small donation or sharing our gofundme to help reach others that would like to help. Every little bit helps and means so much. Thank you again for your kindness and compassion towards animals https://gf.me/u/y6xs4f Sincerely, The Wildlife Haven Waterloo Team

Throw Back almost Thursday to this cute juvenile Red Squirrel that was way to excited awaiting her new cage

A concerned citizen called us about a little chipmunk that was on her deck not able to put nuts in his cheek pouches and seemed to have something around his neck. We promptly asked her to please try to live catch him and bring him in so we can try to determine what was going on. She successfully caught him and brought him to Wildlife Haven Waterloo shortly after. Upon intake it was easy to see he had some fine black line of some sort around his neck, but it was hard to determ...ine what exactly it was and how many times it was around him since it was so tight. Joy really had to feel around his neck to get it all off, and spent a great deal of time teasing it out from around his neck and around his arm. It took a great deal of time since it was so tough to see. After some time of cutting away at the strong fishing line like plastic it was clear that it was garden mesh, the type of fencing used in vegetable gardens. After some time we were able to get him free from the mesh and there were no other injuries to be found during the exam. He was given some food and water and was later released that day. See more

Please share!! With fall migration underway, Wildlife Haven Waterloo has received a great deal of calls and intakes regarding songbirds hitting windows. Window collisions threaten all bird species across Canada and, according to FLAP, more than 25 million migratory birds die as a direct result of bird-building collision fatalities. Imagine enduring the exhausting flight home though all weather conditions only to hit a high rise window and become grounded on a city street. If...Continue reading

Throw Back Thursday to flea bath season #baby #squirrel #babyseason #baths #TBT #spring

Hello WHW friends, Please consider donating to our gofundme to help us with current rescues that we are taking on at the moment. In the last year, we have seen an influx of intake of animals and we are becoming very short of resources. Your kindness and generosity can help make a true difference in the lives of wildlife who need our help. ... Every little bit makes such a huge difference https://www.gofundme.com/f/26hn2kb4qo

I’ll take a crow bite any day over a cardinal bite. Those beaks I tell ya. Plus one of our cute little house sparrows.

Please be advised, some people may find the content below graphic Inhumane rat traps can cause a great deal of suffering to unintended animals, including this eastern grey squirrel. Please consider ditching these inhumane methods for live traps, they often cause very slow and painful deaths. This squirrel, was found with a rat trap attached to his front right arm and paw, weighing 118g when the young squirrel only weighs 545g.The bones in his arm have been crushed into many s...mall pieces while the animal was still alive and conscious. He is a fighter and put up a fight for Joy, our Rehabilitator, running through thickets and bur bushes. He is currently resting on pain management and is awaiting veterinary guidance to determine if he’s able to thrive with only 3 legs. Please consider making a donation towards this young squirrel’s care, due to covid and the influx of intakes we are running into limited resources. See more

Can anyone guess who each of these feather and fur friends are?

Driver needed for a beautiful wood duck Pick up from the Haven and bring to Shades of Hope. Ideally this week in the afternoon. ... Please let me know if this would work for you Thank you

We are reaching out to ask for help financially to help offset all of the expenses for us daily. It take takes a lot of money to get all the injured animals to the vet, to feed all of them and to make sure we are raising them to be strong and healthy. If you can help in any way that will be very much appreciated. Here are some ways to help - grocery gift cards (for produce, meats and eggs) - cash donations to go towards Lysol wipes, aviary and enclosure maintenance, vet bil...ls, squirrel formula, other special diet foods for the animals. - Costco gift cards (for the pink box of the big garbage bags, canned cat food, paper towels, bleach, medical gloves, produce etc...) If you would like to help by making a cash donation an e transfer can be made to [email protected] Here is our amazon link but we don’t have too much on it at the moment. https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/3IAD9M411NFH2 Any help is appreciated and always remembered Thank you so very much for you continued support to help us help our wildlife.

Here is the release 3 of our Robins. Safe travels

Here is the release of the Northern Flicker woodpecker. He was being shy at first.

Today we released 5 birds and one sneaky adorable rat. Here is the release of the downy woodpecker. Don’t blink or your miss it lol

Someone just opened his eyes

This young lady wood duck came in about an hour ago and she is very off balance. We are still assessing what might be the problem. Did you know that wood ducks nests are 50ft high and when the ducklings are ready to come down they can’t fly yet so the tumble their long way down.

Our poor Beaver is still with us but not feeling wonderful. Tonight we flushed out his wounds and pulled a ton more maggots out. It looks like we got them all but we can only go so deep. Tomorrow he will be going to Shades of Hope to see their vet or if we can’t get him a lift tomorrow our vet will be open. Either way he is comfortable now.

Driver Needed for tomorrow (Tuesday September 8th) from Wildlife Haven Waterloo to Shades of Hope (87 Routley Ave, Pefferlaw, ON L0E 1N0) Only request is no dog in car and a normal sized car it totally fine for this size animal. Please comment on this post.

Juniper she doesn’t like like to be handled but she’s a crow and hopefully realizes that me catching her + meds = less pain. Hmmm not sure but they are very smart.