Remember the Least Weasel we posted about earlier in the month? He is almost full grown, does not like to be picked up and will be learning how to hunt for his own food soon. He also enjoys running his wheel, as you can see. 🤣 – Fran
It was under seven (7) days old and it’s toes were still fused together. At first I thought he had been washed out of it’s den from all the rain. After inspecting the little guy, I found three small puncture holes. Two on the shoulder and one on its back hip, which indicates a predator,…
The oldest are ready for release just as soon as the weather clears up. ‘I like to have two good weather days when I release the animals so they have time to acclimate and find or build shelter’ – Fran Kitchen ABOUT OPOSSUMS: Many people have no lost love for opossum. They do, however, have…
These two baby Screech Owls were brought into Operation Orphan this week. They were found on a median strip and had possibly been blown from the nest in high winds during the storms we have had.  Approximately five weeks old, the larger one was not in as good condition as the smaller one. Copyright 2018…
I would like to give a shout out and thank you to Donzell’s Garden Center for all their support throughout the years.  It’s one of our favorite places to put on a display because we get so many people that come out, not only see the animals but to learn about how to co-exist with…
It is that time of year once again: BABY SEASON It is that time of year once again when may you see a baby animal in the wild all by itself, and your first thought may be that the baby is an orphan. However, at least 85% of baby animals seen by humans are not…
I received three bottles of Flys-Off and a bag of cracked corn over the weekend. Thank you Melissa Hornak–this is a BIG HELP! Without Flys-Off, it would be very easy to have a parasite problem. Flys-Off allows me to safely get parasites off of the mammals. Without it, the fleas would get out of control. …
My days normally begin between 4:00 and 4:30 a.m. My routine is to put the dogs out, get my first cup of coffee (if it is baby season I feed babies as I drink my first cup of coffee) and then let the dogs back in the house. I like, when able, to take that…
Almost everyone likes surprises—to some degree or another. On the other hand, some are better if they never happen. This type of surprise is true of the story I am about to tell. One November evening, I was doing a program at a local assisted living facility. When the program was completed, a couple of…
I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again: 85% of the baby animals picked up ARE NOT ORPHANED and should have been LEFT ALONE. Mom usually is not far away. Below are some of the most common things that people DO WRONG when they find an animal and what’s THE RIGHT thing…
I have made so many memories in all of my years of wildlife work. Some of those memories are good and some are not, but they are all a big part of my life and my biggest motivators.  For today’s Throwback Thursday I thought I would ramble a bit on some of those memories. My…
That’s what it is like here at Operation Orphan these days. Add some opossum and 25 baby squirrels that just came in this week. Did I mention that they all need to be handfed? Yes, folks, baby season is NOT over yet! With no time to write a TBT this week, I want to repost…
When it comes to parks, there are some important rules to follow. Many people don’t like to follow these rules; many times it’s because it is unclear to them why these rules exist. Or maybe they don’t even know these rules exist! Here are a couple of important rules that parks have in place to…
It was one of those crazy winter days that we had first been handed a lot of snow, only to be followed by at least three hours of freezing rain and then more snow. Two days later, a phone call came in about a beaver. The night before, the young man had come home and…
Rabies is a deadly virus that strikes the central nervous system of mammals and almost always results in death if not treated. The virus is spread through an infected animal’s saliva. People and pets do not have to be bitten in order to contract the disease; there only needs to be an open cut, scratch, pimple or…
Drum roll please… I’d like to introduce to you our newest education animals at Operation Orphan Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc., Thelma and Louise! These two opossum sisters came to us earlier in the week from The Ohio Wildlife Center in Columbus. Their center has a program at the local Marysville prison where inmates help to raise…
This week, I wanted to address an important upcoming event… BABY SEASON!!!! It will be here before I know it, especially with the unseasonably warm weather that we are having. Baby season is my busiest season by far and recently, that season has started earlier and lasted longer than ever. (That is a whole different…