. Louie loves the Tortoises and they do not mind when he stands on them.
Sandy the Pelican
We have rescued a pelican on the Rock River by Rockton.
With the aid of many, Craig, Cheryl, Donnie, Steven and Myself we were able to capture her and she is now at Hoo Haven.
As many of you know pelicans have a voracious appetite. If any of you are around the Angler Bait Shop on Riverside Blvd. in Loves Park, Hoo would appreciate it if you picked up 3 dozen fish to help us feed her. If you don’t want to buy fish your could send a check it is about $25.00.
We named her Sandy, and she seems to be about seven months old. I call her a girl, but I really do not know yet.
We have tried to integrate her with the other two pelicans, but it is a slow process.
We only have a place for two pelicans. We are trying to place her in Florida where we have had success in the past, but have no takers right now.
She had an injured wing, and was unable to fly. The wing is now healed.
Frosty the Eagle
Frosty the Eagle is doing great in his training.
As you all remember he is the Eagle that got both of his feet caught in a double leg hold trap in 20 below last December.
He has got a story to tell. He should be ready to do programs by November.
With good vet care, time a strong stamina, medicine and daily wrapping and meds his feet are now great, Thank You Jesus.
If you ever were not sure if leg hold traps were that bad, they are bad and worse.
HAPPENINGS
Denver is Having fun in the morning while we have our coffee.
Four Eagles in the Flight Pen
We now have Raleigh our new pelican. Raleigh was rescued from a pond where he had been for over 5 months with a broken wing. He has had surgery twice. We hope this time will be a charm.
For those who did not know “Broccoli” passed away in her sleep about a month ago. Marshmellow was very depressed. Then we got this call. God is trying to soften the blow and it seems to be working. Praise the Lord.
If anyone would like to help with live fish with the new pelican, it would be greatly appreciated.
This has been a very busy year with Eagles coming in and out.
This is the smallest baby owl we have ever taken in
Peanut the baby fox: She came in with 2 broken legs, She goes for a recheck this Monday
At the Ice Hogs Game
Up-Date March 2018
As usual our Owl Prowl at Starve Rock was a huge success. The weather was beautiful, programs full and everyone loved the new jewelry and the Hoodies.
Hope to see you all at our Pelican Wine Tasting where all the new items will be available. We appreciate all that come and support us at our events. Your show of support and giving means a lot to all the animals and volunteers at Hoo Haven.
Thank you,
Karen
January 23rd 2018
Maverick
I hope everyone is going to face book for the live videos and updates on Maverick.
I believe all the prayers that I asked everyone for are working.
Maverick now eats 7 jars of beef and turkey baby food a day and loves them.
His labs are getting drawn every 2 weeks and we just got them back again.
They are still abnormal but better. He is looking well and his surgery site is looking awesome.
When you do care like this it is a long journey and road, but we try to do our best.
Thank you to all for the monetary support, prayers and all the emails that you are all glad we are here.
God Bless
Karen -
Hoo
An Update on All
December 14th, 2017
Our 80th Eagle Maverick has a true Eagle Spirit. He came to us with an old compound fracture. 4 inches of his right wing were taken off and then he developed a respiratory infection. The vets have been coming out and seeing him and he is on 4 different kinds of medicine.
He eats like a horse (I am so glad), allows me to put ointment on his wing for healing and was on nebulizer treatments but we have stopped that. We just had a blood draw and that was sent to Miami for detailed results and quick turn around.
If you have been following on face book, or Eagle Go Fund Me you will have seen pictures. I will post some on the Web today.
Working on getting him well is going to run about $1500. All donations are greatly appreciated. We never turn an animal or bird down because of cost and this is where we depend on the very generous hearts of all individuals who love animals, Mother Earth and want to make a difference.
When the wind blows and the temperatures dip and you are warm, remember the animals.
God Bless and Merry Christmas.
Karen
Director
UPDATES ON OUR RECENT CELEBRITES
Snuggles
Snuggles at My Pet's Brace in Pennsylvania getting his custom-made brace. It took them 6 hours to custom make and fit the brace.
Snuggles working on recovering
Bower
As I sit on the floor hand feeding Bower, our sulcata tortoise of 22 ½ years old, I marvel at how far he has come. When he was first brought to us, he was in a critical state. Due to a severe calcium deficiency and malnutrition, he could only pull himself across the floor. His shell was deformed and caved in instead of being tall and rounded. He had a soft stomach, was severely underweight, and could not bend his neck. It was one of the most heart breaking scenes many of us had seen.
He was immediately taken to the University of Wisconsin where he was tested, given dietary supplements, and had a tube placed in his stomach. Bowser was fed through a tube for his first several months with us.
In his original home, he only had a small aquarium to move around. Here, he has over 1000 square feet of area to trek across and get exercise. Once he started to feel better, he was excited to get out and lie in front of the glass to absorb some sun.
Bowser became fast friends with our rescued African leopard tortoise, Carmella. He watched her eat and learned to love the lettuce, carrots, red peppers, and more that he’d never seen before. When we hand feed him, his face lights up and he gets so excited. Together, they enjoy the kind of life we want them to have filled with sunshine, good food, and a lot of love.
During those first few months, we did not know if Bowser would make it. But with love, hard work, good vet care and Bowser’s own determination, he pulled through.
Now, over a year and half later, he walks around the facility, in the house, and around his outdoor play area with Carmella. They love to follow each other around the facility and get their shells rubbed by volunteers. They also love to make obstacle courses of the facility, running around volunteers’ legs, food bins, and cages.
Bowser has proven himself a wonderful addition to our educational team. Everyone likes to see a success story, because we all know how it feels to struggle. They love to see him eat with enthusiasm and he is a favorite with his infectious smile and gentle nature.
Everyone and everything deserves a second chance and while not all make it the success stories are good for the heart and soul.
Give to Hoo so we can keep doing our work and make a difference. I can not image a world without animals or birds and the beauty and insight they give to all of us.
The next time you see an animal in need DO think of yourself
Indy:
We are excited to announce the newest addition to our educational team, Indy the Harris’s hawk! Harris’s hawks are native to the southwest in the desert. They live in family groups of up to six or seven birds, all of which can live in a single cactus. They hunt and live cooperatively, meaning that everything they do, they do as a family unit.
Indy came to us from another facility where she was trained. She’s already becoming a valued member of our family with her unique personality. She’s an extremely vocal bird and loves to sing and call to people as they pass by their pen, including tour groups. She’s also the only bird at the facility that will jump from handler to handler during programs, which we’re extremely excited about. Ask for Indy when you want a program!
Diva:
We’re currently in the process of training several new educational animals, including a red-tailed hawk named Diva. Diva came to us from another facility where she was raised. It turned out that she had imprinted on humans and could not be released. They sent her to us, and she began her training several months ago.
She has an exceptionally calm temperament and is perfectly suited to educational programs. She loves to be around people and just soaks up the attention whenever her trainers are working with her. Even though we’ve only had her for a short time, we’re excited to say that she should be ready for programs within the next few months!
Twinkle-toes
We are proud to say that Hoo Haven is home to the only educational crow in Illinois! Twinkle-toes came to us two years ago with a broken beak. We repaired her beak so that it’s functional, but it will never be strong enough to support her in the wild. She turned out to have a wonderful temperament, so we decided to work with her for educational purposes about a year and a half ago.
It’s been a trying year and a half for both crow and trainers, as crows are notoriously difficult to train. But, in just the past few months, Twinkle-toes has made breakthrough after breakthrough, revealing herself to be capable of becoming a valuable educational bird in our team. We’re hoping that she’ll be ready for programs by the end of the year, so please help us welcome Twinkle-toes to our team!
Digger:
Digger, our new surrogate fox, is visually impaired due to a cataract condition she’s had since birth. She’s currently under treatment, but will not regain her full sight. She was only a few weeks old when she was found wandering around alone and brought to us.
When she was just a baby, she would bump into everything around her and was always frightened by sudden noises or movements. Due to her disability, we make sure that everything in her enclosure remains exactly the same so as not to stress her.
Since she will never regain her full sight, we decided to make Digger a surrogate for other foxes in years to come. When she’s old enough, she’ll help teach younger foxes what they are and how to act. For the rest of her life, she’ll be a vital member of our recovery team, assisting young foxes in their road to recovery.
Releases:
Hoo Haven has just released over 60 animals in the past three weeks, including mallard ducks, wood ducks, geese, squirrels, opossums, woodchucks, barred owls, and pheasants. Releases are always bittersweet events. We love to finally see the animals we’ve spent hours working with get back into the wild, but it’s always hard to part with faces we’ve come to know.
Releases are like water through a sieve. For as many that go out, that many come in.
Sweet Pea
Wednesday morning "Sweet Pea" died. After a valiant 5 weeks caring for her babies still in her pouch, the Angels came down and took her. Sweet Pea was an unfortunate mamma opossum that met with someone who did not feel she deserve to live. While trying to get food out of a dumpster (like they were going to eat out of there) she place her unknowing foot in a 1800 bear trap. While pulling and trying to get away and trying to eat her own leg off, as animals often do that are caught in traps, she was blessedly rescued by the Winnebago Animal Control .
The officers called "Hoo" Haven Wildlife to ask if we thought we could help and take her. Of course we said yes. After getting her back to the facility, cleaning her massive wound and giving her injections and checking on the babies, we put her in an incubator to let her recover for a while. Over the next several weeks she was given good soft food , antibiotics and more so she could rest, but it was determined that the leg must come off. We had the leg surgically removed and left her with a stump for balance. Once again she was given medicine and pain medicine to make her comfortable while her babies continued to grow. Sweet Pea seemed to be doing well. She ate, sat up and seemed comfortable as that was our hope.
When the angels came to take her they knew her babies were OK as they came out of her pouch on their own and after resting comfortably they started eating soft food on their own.
How sad that some individuals do not know we are all connected. Someone once said what you do to animals you do to yourselves. One cannot decide what they want to feed or have in their yard. We all belong to God and are interwoven.
Opossums and Turkey Vultures are the best "Hoovers" for "Mother Earth>" They clean up by eating much of the carrion on earth so we do not have rotting decaying flesh all over that would bring disease.
To everyone who gives to "Hoo" Haven God Bless and Thank you. This is why we are here. There is no County or State funding, a lot of our funding comes from all individuals that are glad we are here.
Again Thank You and God Bless Sweet Pea.
Karen
Hoo Haven
A Loon swiming under water in the Hoo Haven Aquatic Pool befor being returned to the wild.
Eagle Up Date 10-2015
Angel our 61st Eagle passed on Friday morning before her second surgery. Dr. Mary and Hillcrest did a fantastic job. However when a 10 pound Eagle meets with 1000's of pounds it is not a good ending. There was so much to overcome between severe bruising and breaks.
Thank you for all the prayers and thoughts.
Karen
