THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 26, 1996 TAG: 9606250134
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY MARY REID BARROW, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 143 lines
WHEN WAVERLEY Traylor went out on his first wildlife rescue a couple of years ago as a volunteer for a wildlife rehabilitation group, he pulled a raccoon with a broken leg from the bushes where the animal was hiding and carried it - with his hands - to a carrying cage.
``It was a full grown, injured male that didn't want anything to do with people,'' Traylor said. ``I just reached in and grabbed him by the neck and had the full wrath of a very mad male raccoon turned on me.
``That was a form of stupidity, and I decided at that point if I was ever going to do that again, I needed more equipment,'' he said.
It was beginner's luck that Traylor was able to carry off the rescue without a net, a catch pole or any aid.
But it would never happen again.
The incident became the catalyst for Wildlife Care, a volunteer wildlife rescue effort, complete with truck and rescue gear. Operated solely by Traylor and his wife, Margaret, Wildlife Care has been responsible for the rescue or treatment of close to 700 injured, ill or orphaned animals in just 1 1/2 years.
``After that, every time we did a rescue, we'd say this would be easier if we had . . . and we'd go and get it,'' Traylor said. ``We got to the point where we were the best-equipped wildlife rescue truck in Eastern Virginia and North Carolina and that includes Animal Control.''
Although much of the Traylors' equipment was stolen last summer while they were on a rescue in the Dismal Swamp, they are building back again. But you would never think they were low on rescue gear to see their van with the Wildlife Care sign on the side and the HELPN YLF license plate.
For starters, a canoe and a 20-foot extension ladder are strapped on top. Communications gear inside includes a two-way radio, car phone and pager. Nets of all sizes are in the back. One, a Mighty Net, has a huge bowl, suitable for plucking ducks from the air.
``I used that net to dip a red-tailed hawk out of the Elizabeth River recently,'' Traylor said.
First aid kits, snake chaps, snake hook, catch pole, bolt cutters, flashlights and a satchel with coveralls and boots so Traylor can go on a rescue straight from the office also are stowed in the van. Along with the nets, a tree pruner with an extension handle is an often-used rescue tool.
``We get a lot of calls where birds are hung up on tree limbs and fishing lines,'' Traylor said.
As if to prove his point, a call came in that afternoon seeking help for a purple grackle. The bird was trapped in a sweet gum tree by kite string, which was wrapped around its leg and snarled in the tree's leafy canopy. Flapping pitifully, the grackle had been hanging upside down for 24 hours way out of reach - 30 to 40 feet high.
The secret to this rescue was a saw with a rope, the Traylors' most recent acquisition. By tossing the weighted end of the rope up over the main stem of the branch to which the bird was tethered, Traylor was able to haul the saw up over the branch also. As little bits of sawdust drifted down from the tree, Traylor pulled the ropes connected to the saw up and down, up and down, until the branch was severed.
When the limb fell, it caught on another branch lower down, to the sound of dismayed groans from neighbors who had gathered to watch.
Traylor, sweating and winded by this time, knew exactly what to do. He unloaded the extension ladder from the top of the truck and leaned it against the lowest branch on the tree.
After climbing the shaky ladder with Margaret holding it tight, Traylor managed to reach up with his long-handled pruner and lop off the smaller branch where the bird was trapped. Then with one of his long-handled nets, he agilely caught the branch, bird and all, as it fell.
A cheer went up from the crowd.
Margaret Traylor jumped into action, quickly giving the grackle an oral dose of glucose with a syringe. ``It's shocky,'' she said.
Then also using the syringe, she squirted a couple of drinks of water down the traumatized bird's throat and it gulped the water thirstily. She wrapped it in a towel and let it rest in a carrying cage. The next day, the couple returned to the neighborhood off 17th Street and released the recovered bird.
Another successful rescue for Wildlife Care.
Three-fourths of the animals they come in contact with are rescues. The others are brought into them by residents from all over the area. Although many rescued creatures are transported to other rehabilitators, 57 animals were in the Traylors' care on the day of the grackle rescue.
Rehabilitators are overwhelmed with calls this time of year when baby birds are fledging and the young of other animals also are running into the trappings of civilization, like dogs, cats, lawn mowers and new construction. Even with 57 animals needing care, it's hard for the Traylors to say ``no'' to a critter in trouble.
``Anyone who has ever successfully rescued an animal and sees it released forms a physical addiction,'' Traylor explained. ``It's really addictive. You can't say no. How can you say no?
``We rescued 21 animals yesterday, which was a Monday,'' Traylor said. ``One was a duck call where all these panicky babies were out on the lake with no mother.
``Another call was a big ol' male possum that got in a tangle with a dog. We worked on him for an hour,'' he went on. ``He had bites, ticks and one whole side was skinned. I held him and Margaret worked on him.''
All this and the Traylors, both 48, have careers, too. A freelance wildlife photographer and writer, Waverley also has a 9 to 5 job, writing manuals for a government contractor. Margaret is a teacher at Kings Grant Day School.
``When I came home from work today, I came home with 11 birds,'' said Traylor, whose job is flexible enough that he can leave the office to carry out a rescue.
The birds, babies orphaned when a resident decided to cut down some backyard trees, were just the beginning of Tuesday's wildlife count. A woman and her children brought in a baby robin with puncture wounds and a mangled leg from a run-in with a cat. Another family arrived at the same time with a starving baby raccoon separated from its mother by a construction project.
Margaret arrived home from work that day at 5 p.m. with a baby blue jay that she had taken to school with her to make sure it got the number of feedings it needed throughout the day.
The Traylors initially learned how to care for wildlife by working with vets and experienced animal rehabilitators. Licensed rehabilitators on both the state and federal level, they also have attended courses taught by the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council and the Wildlife Center of Virginia.
Although the couple's work is strictly voluntary, strictly their own thing, their demeanor is as professional as their van. When they go out on rescues, they wear khaki pants or shorts with shirts that have ``Wildlife Care'' printed on the front.
The Traylors have printed several educational brochures on wildlife care for the public. They also go out to schools in the winter with a variety of wildlife programs. Although they get occasional donations from the public, they basically fund Wildlife Care themselves.
``We are incorporated and our nonprofit status is pending,'' Traylor said. ``The $150 application fee is what's pending.'' MEMO: Wildlife Care can be reached at 463-8218. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos, including color cover, by D. KEVIN
ELLIOTT
Waverley Traylor has a friend for life in this squirrel found half
frozen in January. The squirrel, which may have suffered brain
damage, can't jump.
Baby blue jays cry to be fed in the Traylor's basement. Wildlife
Care and other rehabilitators are overwhelmed with calls this time
of year, particularly with fledgling birds.
ABOVE: Margaret and Waverley Traylor have full-time jobs in addition
to their volunteer rescue work. ``It's really addictive,'' Waverly
says of the rescues. ``You can't say no. How can you say no?''
RIGHT: Margaret Traylor cuddles a rabbit someone turned loose at
Mount Trashmore. It would be turned over to House Rabbit Society. by CNB