Wildlife M.D.

REHABILITATOR RESCUES ANIMALS

Baby opossums rest in the hands of wildlife rehabilitator Lynn Sciumbato. She’s been treating injured wildlife at Morning Star Wildlife Rehabilitation for 23 years.
Baby opossums rest in the hands of wildlife rehabilitator Lynn Sciumbato. She’s been treating injured wildlife at Morning Star Wildlife Rehabilitation for 23 years.

— The wee hours can be a hectic time in an emergency room, even if the patients have thumped their feathery noggins on a picture window or have bloodied their fur.

Those hours before dawn’s early light might find wildlife rehabilitator Lynn Sciumbato feeding an ailing bird, squirrel or groundhog. If it’s a critter with feathers or fur, Sciumbato has likely treated it at Morning Star Wildlife Rehabilitation, the treatment facility she operates near Centerton.

Spring is the busy season for Sciumbato, who’s been treating injured wildlife for 23 years.

That’s when wild animals bear their young.

During a visit two weeks ago, birds under her care chirped a cheery song near her kitchen.

A box of baby ducks sat on the floor. Outside, she cradled a pair of baby opossums in loving hands, then petted a young groundhog.

Her patients are only temporary guests. Sciumbato’s goal is to return each animal back to nature where it came from.

To Rescue Or Not

Critters find their way to Morning Star in several ways. Arkansas Game & Fish Commission wildlife officers chauffeur some to Sciuimbato.

Veterinarians and well-meaning citizens rush ailing wildlife to her.

But Sciumbato emphasized that just because an animal is alone or slightly injured, that doesn’t always mean it needs rescued.

“If you have to chase it down to catch it, it doesn’t need to be caught,” Sciumbato advised.

“Almost every baby bird leaves the nest before it can fly.

There’s no need to rescue it,” she continued.

White-tailed deer fawns that appear to be orphans are usually fine.

“The mother is almost always nearby. She’s not going to come back and pick up that baby until you leave,” Sciumbato noted.

Truly needy animals arein good hands. Sciumbato is licensed to do her work. There’s no pay and the hours can be long. Donations pay some of the expenses.

Sometimes her feathered or furry arrivals require a veterinarian’s care. She works with area veterinarian clinics,including New Hope Animal Hospital in Rogers. The treatment is most always gratis.

Dr. Lynn Life, a veterinarian at the clinic, has treated everything from armadillos to cardinals, then turned them over to Sciumbato for recovery and release.

“We have a little dove here and we just finished putting a splint on its wing,” Life said Wednesday.

Sciumbato will pick up the bird and determine when it’s well enough to fly on its own.

“We’ve done surgery on a cardinal’s head,” Life added. “It’s skin had been torn away by a predator or a window.”

Then there was the armadillo.

“It’s hard to draw blood from an armadillo but we managed,” said Life, who described Sciumbato’s work as fabulous.

Show Birds

The goal of returning each animal back to nature is a lofty one that is not always achieved. Sometimes a critter heals, but can’t fend for itselfin nature. These are used to wow the crowds at programs Sciumbato presents around the region. Venues range from schools to state parks.

There’s a barred owl named Joey that has been with Sciumbato for 21 years.Igor, a turkey vulture, is used to perching on its caretaker’s gloved wrist. The bird spreads its wings like Dracula and stares at the crowd with black, beady eyes, as if on cue.

There are other unreleasables in her menagerie, but Sciumbato would rather free each arrival. In her full-time job that comes with no pay, freeing an animal she’s treated is her well-earned reward.

Outdoor, Pages 6 on 05/27/2010

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