It takes a team to help a javelina. Just a few days ago the Hotline received a call about a javelina running through a neighborhood in the Hayden and 76th Street vicinity. Now that is a fairly urbanized area, but it is adorned by a wonderful wash…the corridor of many wildlife species who have been forced into the only remaining wild area by our vastly encroaching civilization.
The teamwork began with the first call from a caring soul who saw this poor animal running amok with two large metal darts sticking out of her….one between the neck and shoulder and one in the hind hip/flank area. Missi and Denise drove over to the area to appraise the situation and reported that they agreed that it needed capturing. The second team sprung into action including Jan, Missi and Eddy. The javelina already having had one bad experience with the human dart shooter took a quick hike into the wash and eluded the rescuers.
No sooner had they returned before a second call came in from another caring person who reported the javelina with darts was in an adjoining neighborhood and was catchable. The team took off again including Missi, Denise, Jan and now Tony who had originally taken the call on the Hotline (hmmmmm…doubling as Hotline and Rescue Transport, now that is a dedicated soul). This time with the help of Tony’s capture net and the ability to corner the poor girl, the javelina was theirs. Missi quickly retrieved the carrier and the javelina was backed into the carrier in which she was transported to Liberty Wildlife.
Oddly enough two Game and Fish representatives had dropped by looking for some information on a Cooper’s hawk and stuck around to see what was up with the javelina. They identified that the darts were illegal, and among other things it wasn’t hunting season, and it was in the city limits. How much creepier could the mad darter be?
Dr. Orr stepped in to add to the team effort. She checked out the unfortunate animal, found her to be healthy and feisty and other than being used for someone’s dark cushion was ready to be re-released back to her territory. Using a pole syringe she darted the critter through the carrier with a slow release antibiotic…just in case and deemed her ready to go.
It was a quick turn-around making you wonder what the javelina thought had happened to her before she was returned to her home territory and herd. It is a bad idea to just take one to a suitable habitat because it is undoubtedly some other herd’s home. They are very scent oriented and would have attacked her to drive her out….no, she needed to go home.
We can only hope that she has learned where to stay away from….the turf of the mad darter!
There might not always be a team like she saw in action that day last week…great job All!
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