May 12, 2017 | Uncategorized
Chase one of our Animal Ambassadors is a captive bred striped skunk that was born on May 9th, 2016. WINC staff just celebrated his 1st birthday yesterday! Happy Birthday, Chase! Wild striped skunks have a risk of carrying rabies and therefore cannot be rehabilitated in Wisconsin. Chase has been raised and cared for by our staff and he was descented at a young age, therefore he will live permanently at WINC. As a frequently misunderstood species, he is a very important addition to our education team. The striped skunk is a nocturnal mammal that can be found throughout Wisconsin and North America. The striped skunk is known for their black fur with a wide, white stripe that starts at their head, divides in half and stretches to their back end. Their tail is long, bushy, black and white. Their front feet are each equipped with long, curved claws that help them with their natural digging instincts. They have poor eye sight but their nose is powerful enough to smell below the surface of the ground. Skunks eat plant and animal foods during fall and winter and insects are their preferred food which make up the bulk of their diet in spring and summer. Skunks dig for grubs that would often otherwise kill crops and lawns. Skunks also eat mice, young rabbits, ground squirrels, voles, birds and bird eggs. Skunks are definitely a big help when it comes to pest control. Skunks are not true hibernators during the winter months but they prefer to keep warm inside den sites. Their breeding season begins in February and a single litter of... read more
Feb 2, 2017 | News, Uncategorized
January 12, 2017 It is with heavy hearts we want to share that last night we had to say goodbye to Waldo, our beloved educational Woodchuck. Waldo joined the Wildlife In Need Center staff back in the summer of 2008 as a young Woodchuck that had been raised by a couple who had found him orphaned. Unfortunately, having been raised alone by people, he became imprinted or too tame to be released into the wild so he found his forever home with us here at WINC. In his over 8 years with our center Waldo has reached over 200,000 people in the community. Throughout those years, Waldo has helped people gain an appreciation for their local herbivore wildlife neighbors, who have a positive impact on their environment and ecosystems. Waldo has also been the star of many Groundhog Day events, stealing the hearts of people of all ages! Back in September we found Waldo had a severe tooth infection, which is not uncommon with rodents of his age. He has been on medication to help fight the infection. Over the last couple of months Waldo began to show more signs of his old age including arthritis, so he was given more medication to keep him comfortable. Early yesterday Waldo had a trip to our vet scheduled (for a checkup) and we discovered that Waldo had developed pneumonia. We did not want Waldo to suffer with any respiratory distress, along with everything else that has been going on at his old age. As a staff we were all able to say good bye to Waldo last night, while he was... read more
