April 22nd, 2011

As some of you may remember I received a Collared Aracari on February 9th at CASA from Belize Bird Rescue. This was my first encounter with a wild Toucan and it took me a few days worth of bleeding and yelling to get the hang of handling him properly. This little guy came in unable to use his legs and after an x-ray it was confirmed that he had a fractured pelvis. For over a month I had to work with him by designing a sling for him and having to put him in it for hours at a time each day.

   Right before I left CASA he was transferred into a small outdoor enclosure. A few weeks ago Dr. Isabelle took a look at him and then transferred him back to Belize Bird Rescue so he could go into a large outdoor enclosure. This morning he was finally released back into the wild!!! Yay!

    Our Pygmy Owl is also doing well. His wing is healing but very slowly since he refuses to keep a wing wrap on. He has also gained weight and is now a whopping 60 grams! I have given up on trying to find insects for him. Let's just say if I was a chicken I would have died long ago of starvation. 

               To get an idea of how small this little guy is just look at the roll of toilet paper behind him!

   We got in a Red-lored Parrot the other night who is also doing well. He wandered into someone's house and we think he is an escaped "pet." He is overweight which means he was probably on a diet of sunflower seeds and junk food and was probably kept in a small cage indoors for most of his life. He is currently in a large outdoor enclosure and is on a diet of fresh fruits and veggies. He is a very beautiful bird and loves to stretch out his wings so he can feel the breeze under them. Hopefully one day he will be released back out into the wild. (pics coming soon!)

          We also released the Wood Turtle that we rescued from the bleach tub a few weeks ago. He was a land tortoise that had been living in a small tub of water stacked two high with aquatic turtles. He had sores all over him and had been surviving on the occasional piece of grass. After we had picked him up we offered him a grape and he ate the whole thing while sitting on my lap. I have never seen a turtle so excited to see a piece of fresh produce! We released him on the property in the woods close to the creek. I wish him the best of luck in his second chance at being a normal wild turtle!