Every rehabilitation center has a cemetery. Some deaths are inevitable. Others deaths are the result of human error...a rehabilitator or veterinarian may not have sufficient experience with one of the many species they encounter. All deaths are grieved.
We lost a beautiful, fully fledged owl that came to us with severe metabolic bone disease after being kept on an inappropriate diet by whomever found her. She couldn't stand. Her death was merciful, and if I had it to do over again I would have had her euthanized humanely upon admission. As it was we both gave it our best, and both suffered unnecessarily.
I also lost a newborn howler monkey who came to us so young her umbilical cord was still attached. She died a week later after several difficult days. It's possible that there was nothing I could have done differently, but I believe a more experienced rehabilitator might have saved her.
We lost a beautiful, fully fledged owl that came to us with severe metabolic bone disease after being kept on an inappropriate diet by whomever found her. She couldn't stand. Her death was merciful, and if I had it to do over again I would have had her euthanized humanely upon admission. As it was we both gave it our best, and both suffered unnecessarily.
I also lost a newborn howler monkey who came to us so young her umbilical cord was still attached. She died a week later after several difficult days. It's possible that there was nothing I could have done differently, but I believe a more experienced rehabilitator might have saved her.
Venecia with Martha. Enter Venecia, an orphaned howler monkey named after the town in Costa Rica she's from. She has a scar over one eye and scabs across an upper arm, and I was told she was found on the road. (People aren't always honest, though. Adults are sometimes hunted for bush meat, or killed to capture babies for the illegal pet trade, and I don't know if the mother was found at the scene. Not that it matters now.)
I brought Venecia home yesterday and considered waiting a week or two to post...in case she died. But her life has value, however long it lasts. Here's hoping it's a healthy, wild life, and I can share her release and motherhood stories.
(Note: It's difficult to determine the sex of young howler monkeys with certainty. Should Venecia develop "huevos," we'll call her Venecio.)
I brought Venecia home yesterday and considered waiting a week or two to post...in case she died. But her life has value, however long it lasts. Here's hoping it's a healthy, wild life, and I can share her release and motherhood stories.
(Note: It's difficult to determine the sex of young howler monkeys with certainty. Should Venecia develop "huevos," we'll call her Venecio.)
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