Procyon Wildlife

Article and images by Jen Howard
Approximate read time: 3 minutes

More and more development is happening around us every day. Habitat is disappearing. This brings more and more wildlife into our yards, even our homes. In terms of our homes, it’s important that we fix those gaps that an unwelcome wild animal could squeeze into. This must be done before baby season. They know no different. They just want a home to have their wee ones or to spend winter in safety and comfort. 

Never trap and relocate, it’s a death sentence. We can give you tips on how to get mom to move her family safely on her own. This year has been very un-nerving in that people are using very inhumane ways to evict wildlife. Education is key here. Glue traps, rodenticides, rat traps, leg hold traps, snares, and humane traps not used properly. Chipmunks and bats caught in glue traps which also catch snakes and birds and many other animals. This is so cruel. Skunks and raccoons etc. getting caught in rat traps and leg hold traps, and snares. They are losing limbs and even life. Improper use of a humane trap can even cause injury or death as well. Also, don’t forget, people’s cats that run free can get caught in these cruel traps and so could a curious child.

We have seen it all this summer. Rodenticides poison everything that eats that poisoned rodent. All the way up the food chain it goes. Thing is, it’s the predators that keep the balance of the rodents. That’s the way mother nature intended it to be. And it works – if we let it. Take away the predators, we will be overrun with the rodents who can carry disease.  Mother nature is like a fine-tuned machine. Don’t mess with it and it works, mess with it in the wrong way and it conks out.  Let the predators do their job. Their survival depends on it. If we poison their food we are killing the foxes, coyotes, wolves, owls, hawks, eagles, and songbirds. And eventually we will end up being overrun with rodents.

Mess with mother nature and things can go very wrong – for us too. Instead of spraying for spiders or mosquitoes, get a citrus mosquito plant and rub it on yourself, use natural sprays. When you spray you’re killing food. Hummingbird populations have declined 24% in the last 2 years according to the Breeding Bird Atlas, a 5-year study by many volunteers of Birds Canada. Pesticides poison the tiny insects many birds and bats eat and feed to their young, which are critical to their survival. Dragonflies eat mosquitos. I’ve welcomed many sitting on my shoulder or snapping mosquitos from around my head on a hike. STOP! Each and every life whether we like it or not is food for another. Take it away and we are starving these other beautiful creatures that make and keep that important critical balance. Migration has started; insects are what fuel these birds to carry on safely on their long dangerous journeys. 

Learning how to coexist is really not that hard. Keeping garbage stored properly and clean under bird feeders. Planting native gardens and fruit trees. Keeping it safe for them is keeping it safe for us as well. Keeping that balance in this world is very important to all life. Ending the cruelty, making a better world. Together, we CAN make it work.

Jen Howard

Procyon is thrilled to have received a generous grant from the Brampton and Caledon Community Foundation.  These funds are dedicated to our ongoing builds for permanent homes for our newest educational ambassadors – Apple, the porcupine and Miss Skully, the Virginia Opossum.    

The funds were given out at the annual Pearl Luncheon that the Foundation hosts annually to celebrate the impact that their funding creates. And we were so blessed to be a part of it. 

“Like a pearl, lasting impact is shaped over time through care, collaboration, and dedication. The annual Pearl luncheon brings together grant recipients, fundholders, and partners to celebrate the programs and people making a meaningful difference across Brampton, Caledon and beyond.”  

by Debra Spilar

Approximate read time: 2 minutes

A special thank you to the Brampton Caledon Community Foundation and GFL Environmental for helping make Miss Scully’s new outdoor enclosure a reality. Their generous support helped us create a beautiful and enriching space for one of our most special residents.

Meet Miss Scully, one of Procyon Wildlife’s Educational Ambassadors!

We are thrilled to share that Miss Scully’s beautiful new outdoor enclosure is now complete.

Miss Scully’s story is one of determination and resilience. She arrived at Procyon Wildlife as a tiny orphaned opossum after suffering a severe attack that caused significant skull trauma. Her condition was so critical that we weren’t sure she would survive the night. Thanks to medications, treatments, and around-the-clock monitoring, Miss Scully pulled through.

While she survived, her injuries left her with permanent challenges. She is completely deaf, partially blind, and occasionally experiences a slight tremor. Because of these lasting effects, she cannot be released back into the wild. Instead, she has found an important new role helping us educate children and adults about the incredible benefits of opossums.

Did you know opossums help reduce fleas and ticks in our environment, including ticks that can carry Lyme disease? Their low body temperature makes rabies extremely rare, and they are highly resistant to venom from many snake species. They also help clean up carrion, playing an important role in keeping ecosystems healthy. In many ways, they are one of nature’s cleanup crews.

Through our educational programs, Miss Scully will help teach the next generation about wildlife, conservation, and how we can peacefully coexist with the animals that share our communities.

We are so proud of this remarkable little survivor and can’t wait for her to inspire thousands of people in the years ahead.

If you are interested in contributing toward the care of Miss Scully or other wildlife in our care, please consider our sponsorship program. https://www.procyonwildlife.com/sponsorship-programs-help-is-in-your-hands/

Look closely at the first photo…can you spot the little one?

A finder from Georgetown noticed this tiny opossum curled up in the corner of her garden beside her front steps. She has been named Nelly because she was found nestled among a Clematis ‘Nelly Moser.’

Nelly is one of our newest patients. She has received warm fluids, is nicely hydrated, and has already had a big pee and poop-all great signs. She is now resting comfortably in a warm incubator and quickly drifted off to sleep.

If you find a baby opossum that measures less than seven inches from nose to rump (not including the tail), it is considered orphaned and cannot survive on its own without its mother.

Please contact us right away at 905-729-0033. In the meantime, safely contain the baby, keep it warm and quiet, and do not feed it.