With the mild weather settling in and the weight of the two seal pups now at the recommended release level the GSPCA are planning to get Jethou Bumblebee and Hanois back to the wild next week.
Jethou Bumblebee who was rescued from Jethou towards the end of last year and Hanois who was rescued from Pleinmont back in January would have both perished if it had not been for caring public reporting them to the Animal Shelter and the quick response in rescuing them.
Winnie, a male Kestrel arrived at the GSPCA on 3rd October hungry and totally exhausted. He didn’t seem to have any physical injuries and so, after just over a weeks rest, warmth and good food, he was able to be returned to the wild.
The GSPCA is about to release it’s first hedgehogs of 2012 this evening and we are asking if you spot one to please let us know.
The Shelter has had up to 70 hedgehogs at any one time and many are now healthy and heavy enough to be released back into the wild.
The first four that are going have been acclimatising in our soft release pens that were recently built over the last couple of weeks. The Shelter has been waiting for the right weather conditions to let this first group go.
The GSPCA starts this spring on a good foot after a kind donation from the Friends of Wildlife.
£500 was donated earlier this year and the GSPCA has used the funds to put up two soft release runs for the wildlife that we have in our care. The outside pens will be used to rehabilitate the many wild animals and birds it has brought in that are found sick or injured around Guernsey.
After they are cared for, healthy and of a good weight the animals are placed in the mesh runs to get use to the elements so it is not a shock when they are finally released.
Only a day after her release the lesser black back gull Shelter staff named Lady Ga Ga was seen at Chouet and looking well. The staff would like to thank Paul Veron for the picture and the update (Lady Ga Ga is the bird on the right).
If you missed Lady Ga Ga's story then read below -
On the 20th April the Shelter had a call to collect a Gull near the Chouet Lanfill site. ACO Geoff George attended to find the bird covered in some sort of pink building filler. The poor bird had it all over its body and feathers. She was in a field near the site with her wing stuck to her body and unable to fly. Geoff managed to catch her and she was brought to the Shelter for some immediate first aid.
We are pleased to report that the first of the 8 gulls we saved have been released back into the wild where they belong.
GSPCA staff were joined by a large group of the press to celebrate their release after 4 weeks of care of the 12 surviving birds. They were released on the west coast and all quickly took to the air and flew into the horizon as a flock.
Yvonne Chauvel GSPCA animal care assistant said ‘This is what we do the job for’ ‘To help animals and see them returned to the wild makes it all worth while’
After more than 4 weeks and over 50 gulls affected that we know the first group of gulls will soon be released. The GSPCA has been very busy with very sick gulls with what we believe has been an outbreak of botchilism.
Over the last 4 weeks we had over 40 reports of gulls that had died or were too weak to make it after being brought in to our care. But 12 of the gulls, mostly herring but one black backed are nearly complete with their rehabilitation.
