MARCH 2018
Colorado Wolf AND WILDLIFE CENTER
CERTIFIED BY THE
The Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization certified by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). Look for this logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you, and a better future for all living things. The contents of the material we include in our newsletter does not necessarily reflect the views of Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. We collect information from sources that are from other organizations, the web, news feeds, and/or other sources. We choose articles that are in the related field of education and conservation.
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asey C the love of my life Fourteen years ago, I was in Pet Smart to buy some fish food. It was on a Saturday in the summer and it was also the same day a pet adoption fair was being held. As I as standing in the checkout line behind a few people, it gave me time to glance at the puppies next to me in a small gated circle. Puppies were being puppies playing and chewing on each other except for one who sat in the corner and looked up at me with the cutest little blue eye. The girl who was the adopter of the puppies, saw me smile at the puppies and she said to me, “They are all so cute, aren’t they?” I told her yes especially the one with the little blue eye. She then picked up this little 3 month old puppy and handed her to me. I told her that I did not need another dog and then I looked at this sweet baby and decided that I would make her mine. I named her Casey although her nickname was Casey Pie because she was so sweet in every way. Every animal lover has had a connection with their pets, however sometimes one will come along that is special in a way that your hearts are bonded. That one is not like any other, and that one is your everything. That was my Casey. There are not enough words to tell you how much I loved and forever will love her. I cannot tell you the joy she brought into my life and the lives of so many around her. She was perfect in every way. I lost my Casey to death unexpectedly while I was gone out of country. Prior to me leaving, I thought and even made comment to people how healthy she was for her age. I had a complete physical done just a couple weeks before I left. She would run up the hill at 9,000’ and could jump on the sofa with ease. She was physically remarkable except that she was hard of hearing. That was it. I knew she would be sad, but I knew that I would be back in 14 days. I told my sister and people at work that the hardest thing about leaving, was leaving my Casey. Little did I know it would be my last time to kiss her good bye. Six days into my trip ,she was rushed to emergency at 5am in the morning as she fell off of my bed and collapsed to the floor. Catherine, who was staying at the house called my sister Suzanne and they both rushed her down the mountain pass to the emergency hospital. I was called as they were enroute. I felt so helpless, and all I could do was wait to be updated. We believe that there was a rupture of a cyst on her spleen. The team of doctors
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and assistants worked on her as her blood pressure was dropping from internal bleeding. A blood transfusion was given and then the final was CPR for 10 minutes where she died. I was so sick mentally and even my body developed a rash. I cried deeply for hours. My world just collapsed. Catherine drove back as my sister had Casey’s body on her lap in the back seat and never let her hand be off of her sweet body. We are unfortunately, still questioning about the procedure that was administrated because additional medical opinions were given that the team did not move quickly enough in that situation when her BP was dropping. When I heard of the news, I was shattered. I was in disbelief. I felt every emotion that you could feel in a repeated
array of deep sadness, anger, guilt, and numbness of my spirit. My Casey died two days ago on March 4th. I will never be the same. Part of me contemplated giving up everything. I will not go into details of how I feel and how I am trying to cope. All I can tell you is I am shattered. I lost my best friend. I lost the love of my life. And I am lost right now, and will be for a long time. I will heal with thoughts of her and the life we shared. We never had a bad day together. And as long as my heart beats, she will be with me. When my heart ceases to beat, we will find each other in the stars and she will look at me with her little blue eye again with love. – Darlene
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Interior Department packs wildlife advisory panel with trophy hunters, firearms lobbyists Kitty Block: A Humane Nation Had the Department of the Interior appointed Ted Nugent and Phil and Si from Duck Dynasty to its International Wildlife Conservation Council (IWCC), we might at least have been able to laugh a little. As things stand, however, it’s a crying shame. Formed in November 2017, the council is little more than a trophy hunting trade association masquerading as a public panel. The IWCC is loaded with officials from Safari Club International, the firearms and ammunition lobby, and professional and celebrity hunters who are bad news for wildlife wherever they go. These council members have one thing on their minds when it comes to threatened animals, and it’s not conservation. It’s killing, and they seek to use the Department of the Interior to destroy any and all barriers to international trophy hunting and the import of trophy heads and parts by U.S. citizens. By its own admission, the Department of the Interior formed the council to educate the public about the benefits of global trophy hunting; to promote resumption in the legal trade and import of trophy hunted animals; to recommend actions to expedite the processing of import permits for trophy heads and parts; and to advise the agency on the inclusion of foreign listed species under the Endangered Species Act. None of this is needed by our government and there is not one of these people — not one — who deserves a role in guiding the Interior Department’s global wildlife policy. They are for the most part direct beneficiaries of trophy hunting as an industry, with a commercial interest in loosening restrictions on hunting wildlife in Africa and elsewhere. They have personal, financial, or other vested interests, which render them unfit for service. The IWCC held its first meeting recently, several weeks after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is part of the Department of the Interior, lifted existing bans on the import of elephant and lion trophies from certain African countries. Given President Trump’s November tweet expressing his distaste for trophy hunting (he called it “a horror show”) and his public remarks doubting the conservation value of trophy hunting, some journalists now worry that he has turned a blind eye. We hope that they’re wrong. Still others have been giving voice to the trophy hunters’ | 4 | COLORADO WOLF AND WILDLIFE CENTER
claim that trophy hunting has conservation and economic value in the nations where it occurs. We know that they are wrong. This is an old argument once again gaining currency in some quarters, but it is a counterfeit one. In fact, trophy hunting is poorly regulated, fueled by corruption, and biologically unsustainable. It’s also a major factor in driving species to extinction. In Zimbabwe, the country from which most elephant trophies imported to the United States originate, wildlife management is so poor that the country has lost six percent of its elephants since 2001. Scientific studies have demonstrated that elephant hunting is unsustainable, as documented by the decreasing size of tusks on hunted elephants. Sadly, too, corrupt government officials in Zimbabwe have long been lining their pockets with money generated by trophy hunting. Last month, the entire board of Zimbabwe’s national wildlife authority was fired by the minister of the environment due to corruption. Last year, the director of the wildlife agency was fired for his alleged involvement in the disappearance of rhino horns worth $3 million from a government facility. Compared to wildlife-related tourism, trophy hunting has low economic value for the nations where it occurs. A 2017 study by Economists at Large found that tourism is worth between 2.8 percent and 5.1 percent of GDP in the eight countries assessed, while the total economic contribution of trophy hunting is at most about 0.03 percent of GDP. Foreign trophy hunters make up less than 0.1 percent of tourists on average and they contribute 0.78 percent or less of the $17 billion in overall tourism spending in the studied countries. Trophy hunting tourism employment is only 0.76 percent or less of average direct tourism employment in study countries. For these and other reasons, African nations would be wise to focus on wildlife-based tourism rather than trophy hunting, which fails to offer long-term and sustainable income for communities. In an era of dire threat to the world’s wildlife, the Department of the Interior should strengthen its vigilance against wildlife trafficking, poaching, habitat destruction, unsustainable and illegal trophy hunting, and related conservation crimes. Instead, it’s sponsoring a caucus for trophy hunters.
“Grandpa Wolf” came out to visit his stepchildren and made not only a new fun toy for the fox, but a memorial for all of the animals that we have lost. This piece was all hand made and took countless hours to create the beautiful candle spiral with the founder wolves (Chinook and Nikita) at the top. This piece will be used for ceremonies that are held here at the Center. Thank you John for the dedication and love that you have given these animals for so many years.
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Every 4-6 months, CWWC has a wellness clinic in Costa Rica where we do a variety of things to help these animals. Some are basic overall checkups on teeth, skin issues, ear infections, removal of ticks and fleas, heartworm testing, and gift certificates to people who have dogs/cats and are willing to get them spay and neutered.
We treated 69 pets on this particular visit. (8 cats and 61 dogs).
We did a release of a raccoon while in Costa Rica This raccoon was rescued by the Kids Saving The Rainforest.
42 canines were tested for heartworm, 21 canines tested positive. Out of the 69 animals there were 18 castrated, 46 whole, 45 with castration coupons and 5 with no information. DARLENE AND THE VETS
Getting ready for the release of a raccoon to his new home.
PUPPIES FIRST HEALTH CHECK
NOT HAPPY
Many thanks to:
ANOTHER NEEDING TREATMENT
Can you spot him? Forever happy with no predators, tons of food and new friends.
email Hi Darlene and staff,
Jewels Johnson here from Madison, WI. I’ve come to “dance with the wolves” over the last few years and will come back again soon. I just wanted to thank Darlene for her research about Sakara’s PRP treatment for her chronic Achilles tendon problem. When I read that this process is used on athletic injuries for some chronic issues, I was excited to share this with my ortho doc to see if she’s heard of this procedure, as I have chronic patellar tendonitis. So I’m waiting to hear back from her. And thanks for that information on that fish that changes sexes! That was so interesting. I’ve missed visiting you the last couple of years, but tell Darlene hello (I hope she remembers me) and that I will return for more photo shoots with her in my fav wolf enclosures.....and maybe even the foxes too :-) I’m now going to read the February newsletter. Thank you for all you do. Jewels Johnson
ONE OF THE SEVERE ISSUES
· Sarah Miles DMV and her staff, Pricilla Castro Mejias DVM and Daniela Gutierrez DVM · Rick Silverberg - CWWC · Iris Olivares - CWWC · PAWS of Costa Rica · TCRAS of Woodland Park, Colorado for collars and leashes · Mikes Natural Pet Market in Colorado Springs for dog toys and supplies · The Animal Clinic of Woodland Park, Colorado for discounted heartworm and many other vet supplies | 6 | COLORADO WOLF AND WILDLIFE CENTER
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Axolotl Shelby Harvey - CWWC Volunteer
www.iucnredlist.org/details/1095/0 · globalpressjournal.com/americas/mexico/saving-axolotl-mexicos-walking-fish-requires-creative-efforts/ www.edgeofexistence.org/amphibians/species_info.php?id=552 · photo from Reddit
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Axolotlis are just as fascinating in appearance as the spelling of their name. Axolotls are believed to be named by the Aztecs, possessing a combination of the words ‘water’ and ‘monster’ in the language. Known as a species of ‘mole salamander,’ (named so due to the shared ability to create burrows for shelter) the Axolotl lives entirely in water. Axolotl are a very unique species of salamander in that they never grow adult features, instead retaining the majority of their larvae physical characteristics. This critically endangered species is only estimated to contain only approximately 800 individuals in the wild, maybe even less. The Axolotl is found in very sparse regions in central Mexico. The Axolotl is one of the very many examples of well-meaning people that really hurt wildlife populations. The very well known image of a white Axolotl is actually a captive constructed breed of this species. The wild coloring of this species is brown or tan. Unfortunately, since they are quite cute little Amphibians, they have been highly trafficked. Therefore in part to them being marketed as great aquarium pets, this has made their wildlife populations very small. The main conservation concerns with the Axolotl are the pet industry, water pollution, and industrial growth. Amphibians are a ‘great’ indicator of pollution, due to the role they play in their ecosystem, and how they can intake pollutants in a water environment very quickly. Industrial growth and water pollution have had a very critical role in the diminishing wild populations of Axolotlis, and the pet trade has not been a significant help in conserving these species. If you want to help, please contact CIBAC, and reference Luis Zambrano, who has done amazing work for this species.
VOTE AMAROK FOR MAYOR VOTE TODAY! ENDS APRIL 9TH $1 per vote ~ all proceeds go to support TCRAS! www.tcrascolorado.org/ COLORADO WOLF AND WILDLIFE CENTER | 9 |
ADOPTION CORNER
ADOPTION CORNER
Available from TCRAS · Teller County Regional Animal Shelter
Available from San Luis Valley Animal Welfare Society
tcrascolorado.com · 719.686.7707 · NO-KILL shelter in Divide, Colorado
slvaws.org · 719.587.woof (9663) · Non-Profit NO-KILL Shelter
JOE COOL AGE: 14 y 1 m 15 d SEX: Male/Neutered Black/White Boxer/Terrier, American Pit Bull
This sweet face frosted muzzle needs a home to call his own. For his age, he sure does have a lot of energy and a bunch of love. Please open your heart and home to this amazing dog. A very nice lady has sponsored Joe to help him find his forever home.
MARLA
AGE: 7 y 1 m 12 d SEX: Female/Spayed Grey/Cream Domestic Shorthair/Mix Hello. My name is Marla. I am a pretty girl looking to share a home with my new family. I love to explore and would be more than happy to settle in your lap. Please come and meet me as I know we will be great friends in no time.
MAXIMUS
Poor Maximus. Back to the shelter. Maximus is a 4 year old Neopolitan Mastiff. He had a cherry eye surgery and now needs entropic eye surgery before he can get his TPLO (tibialplateau-leveling-osteotomy) surgery on his back knee! He has been waiting for the TPLO for 1 1/2 years because he does not have a foster/ rehabilitator or permanent home/ rehabilitator after the surgery. This would be 12 week of rehabilitation. Only the first couple weeks would be more intensive and then limited exercise the rest of the time. He might be best as an only dog. He was with a wonderful foster family for several months. He got along with a dominant female. Their male dog did not like him, attacked him, but Maximus just rolled over onto his back, not fighting back. They returned him because they were worried their male dog might injury him after the surgery. He is great with children and loves attention. He weighs about 120 lbs. He needs a new home badly!
ADOPTION FAIR Saturdays 11am-5pm at the Petco in Colorado Springs at 5020 N. Nevada
Mother’s Day with the
WOLVES! May 13th 9-11am
· Wolf Tour · A Flower for Moms · Snacks $30 adults $15 kids 12 & under Prepay Event
Reservations 719.687.9742
Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center