Organization seeks permanent sanctuary

With more than 100 members, local nonprofit All Things Wild Rehabilitation is fund-raising to exchange its current system of treating wild animals in participants' homes for a permanent Central Texas sanctuary.

The idea for the Lakeway-based organization began almost a decade ago. A small group of local licensed wildlife rehabilitators met for lunch a few times each year to share resources as well as stories of treating injured or abandoned wild animals, President Tonie Harrison said.

Harrison, a retired teacher and principal, volunteered with wildlife rehabilitators and veterinarians before becoming permitted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to rehabilitate and teach others how to rehabilitate wild animals, she said.

In fall 2012, Harrison said her group received a cash donation allowing it to organize, obtain nonprofit corporation status and help more animals. Today the group has 12 licensed wildlife rehabilitators, she said.

All Things Wild is coordinating events and programs to raise money to purchase and maintain a permanent wildlife sanctuary, Treasurer Helen Laughlin said.

Although many rehabilitated animals are able to be released back into their natural habitat, some are too physically or mentally limited to hunt or live in the wild, she said. To provide an area for these animals, the nonprofit's officers have discussed the possibility of a land donation or lease agreement with the Lakeway Municipal Utility District, she said.

Laughlin estimates that All Things Wild cares for about 1,000 animals annually but could help five or seven times that number with a dedicated sanctuary. She said the group also takes in abused domestic animals, including dogs and cats, and works with a network to find permanent homes for healthy pets.

"There is a huge need [for wildlife rehabilitation] in this area because we're being overgrown [by new construction]," said Harrison, who cares for a 2-year-old bobcat in her home.

The bobcat, Kitty, was found by a construction worker after he bulldozed over her den, she said. The newborn bobcat was taken in by the contractor's family and lived in their home with two toddlers, she said. After being alerted that the animal was sick from an inappropriate diet, Harrison said she retrieved the bobcat and nursed her back to health.

However, Kitty is unable to hunt, be outside for extended periods of time and has lost many of the natural instincts a bobcat needs to survive in the wild. Harrison said Kitty will be used to educate others on the pitfalls of having a wild animal as a pet.

All Things Wild member Ed Sones cares for raptors—birds such as owls and hawks—on his 2-acre Cedar Park homestead and said he rehabilitates about 150 to 200 raptors annually.

"There are only two of us in Austin who have raptor licenses," he said. "We need more rehabilitators all over the state."

Former Lakeway Councilman Dennis Wallace said he supports the local group.

"Wildlife is one of the things that makes Lakeway, as a community, different from other places," he said. "There are indigenous and exotic birds—blue heron shorebirds—that return every year to the golf course lakes. The wildlife here adds a lot, and it's an amenity we need to protect."

All Things Wild also provides advice and help for area residents who find injured or abandoned wild animals. For more information, visit www.allthingswildrehab.org.

Bats: Setting the record straight

Dianne Odegard and Lee Mackenzie are licensed bat rehabilitators who care for the mammals in their Austin home.

"There are an awful lot of myths circulating about bats," said Odegard, who is also a member of Bat Conservation International Inc., a Westlake-area nonprofit organization that conducts and supports bat conservation efforts.

Popular misinformation about bats

• Bats are blind. False—all bats see very well and have echolocation to see with their ears as well as eyes.
• Bats will fly into someone's hair. False—bats are insect-eaters and in the summer may chase bugs flying around a person's head.
• All bats have rabies. Like all mammals, bats can get rabies. When they do contract the illness, they die from it. The vast majority of bats do not have rabies, but a person should never try to handle a bat.

"Just simply left alone, bats are harmless and highly beneficial," Mackenzie said. "They are among some of the most fascinating animals on the planet."

All Things Wild Rehabilitation, P.O. Box 342071, Lakeway, TX 78734, 512-897-0806, www.allthingswildrehab.org