Evelyn's Wildlife Refuge

It’s the quiet season at the refuge through the winter.  There are only a handful of animals being helped here at the refuge right now.  I stay busy though, every day I find new toys to play with or new areas to explore.  Evelyn opens up the door to my cage so I can wander the garage and when it’s nice outside she leaves the doors open so I can go outside.  Recently, it’s been freezing all the time so I prefer to stay inside where it’s warm and dry.  I am learning to climb and crawl around pretty comfortably though I know I don’t walk like a regular raccoon. 

I get a bath sometimes to keep my fur clean and keep bugs off.  I don’t mind because Evelyn gives me a special treat like a Starburst or a Candy Cane.  I spend the whole bath chewing it as she scrubs my fur clean and makes sure I’m all dried and brushed.  I always feel good afterward, I jsut love those candy canes. 

Currently, there is a rabbit staying in the cage next to me.  He was hit by a car and his head just hangs, he looks silly but he sure eats like a pig.  He is quiet and when people see him for the first time they assume he might be dead.  Really, he just can’t lift his head up yet.  Evelyn says he will get his strength back and will be able to be released in a few weeks at least. 

My neighbor to the other side is a Purple Martin.  He is a really pretty bird who came in with a broken wing.  He spent a good long time in bandages healing up.  He no longer needs the bandages but he isn’t able to fly far so he has to stay a while longer.

There is also a Virginia opossum.  He came in as a late season orphan and he isn’t friendly at all.  He is growing fast and should be free to move to an outdoor cage as soon as the weather gets better.  He sleeps all day and is active at night.

The cutest animals here, besides me, are a pair of flying squirrels, or ‘flyers’ as they’re called.  They’ve been around since they were orphaned as very tiny babies.  They weren’t prepared to be moved to an outdoor cage and released before it grew cold outside so they are wintering at the refuge.  They stay quiet all day just like the opossum.  But when it grows dark, they start jumping and flying all around their cage.  I don’t let them keep me up though, I play all day and get loads of exercise so I sleep like a baby all night. 

…Dreaming of candy canes and starburst!