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BY MELISSA MENDONCA
Wild Untamed •AND•
BORN TO BE
Photo courtesy of Dye Creek Wildlife Rescue
d l i w
DY E C R E E K WILDLIFE RESCUE NATALIE PETERSON DIDN’T let her nest stay empty too long after her youngest child moved out. In fact, her response was quite literal. “Emma says I took it a little too far,” she says of her daughter’s response to filling her childhood home with an assortment of wildlife in need of rescue. Peterson, founder of Dye Creek Wildlife Rescue in Los Molinos, has become the Tehama County haven for not only nesting birds, but a range of critters who need support before heading back to their homes in the wild. “I am taking in a little of everything,” says Peterson. “A lot of people specialize, but because there isn’t anyone else in Tehama County, I’m doing it all. I am considered home care, a satellite location for mainly Shasta Wildlife Rescue and Rehab.” She’s awaiting her state and federal licenses from the corresponding Fish and Wildlife departments – a lengthy process – to become an independent entity. While none of the animals has taken over Emma’s old bedroom, there has been a skunk welcomed into Peterson’s farm house. “Everybody needs to have a skunk in their dining room!” she says. The striped skunk arrived at her place from Oroville at just three weeks old, found by a young girl out on a walk who noticed it along the side of the road, its mother run over nearby. At such a young age, the skunk does not release scent. It was joined by two baby gray squirrels, two ravens and an oak titmouse. “They aren’t pets,” emphasizes Peterson. “They’ve got to stay wild and be successful at being released.” Spring and summer are the busiest times at any wildlife rescue, with babies being born and things going wrong. “A lot of what I get are due to people interactions,” says Peterson. “There are a lot of car strikes, interactions with people’s pets.” There are also well-intentioned though misinformed people who come across babies in nests by themselves and assume they’ve been abandoned. “The education piece is really important to me,” she adds, encouraging others to leave the babies alone by understanding that their parents are likely out searching for food.4 continued on page 40
JULY 2020
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