{"id":7520,"date":"2019-12-14T05:58:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-14T10:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?p=7520"},"modified":"2020-01-09T13:46:20","modified_gmt":"2020-01-09T18:46:20","slug":"caring-for-orphaned-wildlife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/2019\/12\/14\/caring-for-orphaned-wildlife\/","title":{"rendered":"Caring for Orphaned Wildlife"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"339\" src=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-1.jpg 650w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-1-315x164.jpg 315w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-1-550x287.jpg 550w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-1-100x52.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Georgia Southern Interns Learn the Ways of the Wild<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Rescuing a baby raccoon from a trash can turned Alexis Neal into a wildlife rescue advocate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A junior health science major on the Armstrong Campus, Neal saw a photo that someone had posted online of a baby raccoon in the Gamble Hall trash can.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI was like, oh my goodness, somebody needs to do something,\u201d said Neal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So she called the Savannah Wildlife Rescue Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jeanne Paddison, founder and executive director of the center, explained how to safely capture the baby raccoon, get it into a box and bring it to them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen I was dropping the baby raccoon off, I asked if it would be possible for me to volunteer and Jeanne said she&#8217;d be glad to have me on board,\u201d said Neal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neal is now part of a growing group of Georgia Southern students volunteering with baby wildlife at the center.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Savannah Wildlife Rescue Center is a certified wildlife rehab facility exclusively specializing in small mammals. Paddison relies on interns and relishes teaching them about wildlife care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe rescue, raise or rehabilitate and release orphaned baby wildlife,\u201d said Paddison. \u201cSo the Georgia Southern interns are caring for, cleaning, feeding, medicating, treating and socializing all the wild animals that come through the front door. When they are ready, the animals return to the wild.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last year was the first year the internships were offered to Georgia Southern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI presented this to Georgia Southern and they just loved it,\u201d said Paddison. \u201cThey put it out there to the kids and my phone began ringing off the hook.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-2-400x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7527\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-2.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?attachment_id=7527\" class=\"wp-image-7527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-2-400x600.jpg 400w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-2-315x473.jpg 315w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-2-67x100.jpg 67w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-2.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\"><em>Caitlin Putnam<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"493\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-3-493x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7528\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-3.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?attachment_id=7528\" class=\"wp-image-7528\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-3-493x600.jpg 493w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-3-315x384.jpg 315w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-3-82x100.jpg 82w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-3.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 493px) 100vw, 493px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Arriana Sykes<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7529\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-4.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?attachment_id=7529\" class=\"wp-image-7529\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-4.jpg 500w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-4-315x210.jpg 315w, https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/orphan-wildlife-4-100x67.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Morgan Myers<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learning So Much<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The interns are learning wound management, vaccination, hydration protocol, nutritional maintenance and parasite control, among other skills. Many of the interns are biology majors studying pre-med or pre-vet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI can honestly say that it&#8217;s a different experience,\u201d said senior biology major Arianna Sykes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sykes plans to become a veterinarian, and she thinks this internship puts animal care in a whole new light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou know it&#8217;s different from what&#8217;s normal in treating domesticated animals or farm animals. And the babies are so cute,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI have learned so much,\u201d said Morgan Myers, another biology major planning to become a veterinarian. \u201cJust learning how to handle them. Not to be afraid of them just because they&#8217;re wild animals. And definitely patience. It takes a lot of patience.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Caitlin Putnam is a senior biology major on the Armstrong Campus. She feels that as long as she\u2019s living in Savannah she would love to keep interning at the center because of the environment and the learning opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI have learned a lot generally about the nature of wild animals,\u201d said Putnam. \u201cWhether it&#8217;s cleaning their cages, giving vaccinations, how to approach a wild animal, how to properly clean and dress wounds and things like that. And that is all translating into experience. I would love to work for the National Park Service or Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and I think this is all working toward that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neal recently learned how to feed a baby opossum, a very difficult and meticulous process.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf something gets knocked in the wrong place, then you could potentially kill the \u2018possum,\u201d said Neal. \u201cSo things like that made me focus on attention to detail, to be careful with what you&#8217;re doing and always ask questions. Health science is also very meticulous, and what you are doing could possibly mean life or death for someone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Future Connections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Ashlyn Waite, a recent outdoor recreation graduate, eventually wants to go into wildlife management. She eagerly learned about the importance of raccoons and opossums and how they interact with the environment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA lot of people see \u2018possums and raccoons as vermin,\u201d said Waite. \u201cBut they actually provide a lot of positive impact for our environment by eating insects and ticks. Jeanie is really wise in her field and she&#8217;s certified through the DNR. Because I want to go into wildlife management, just having that connection provides a lot of positive things for my future. Now I work with Best Friends Animal Society in Atlanta. My clinic experience with Jeanie helped me get the job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And when you ask Paddison what she thinks about her Georgia Southern interns, she is full of compliments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey are just wonderful, because they have such a great work ethic,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it&#8217;s important that they get recognition for the hard work that they&#8217;re doing. They are truly an asset to our community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\">\u2014 <em>Liz Walker<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">To learn more about Georgia Southern&#8217;s pre-health <br>programs, visit: <a href=\"https:\/\/cosm.georgiasouthern.edu\/prehealth\/\">cosm.GeorgiaSouthern.edu\/prehealth<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Georgia Southern Interns Learn the Ways of the Wild Rescuing a baby raccoon from a trash can turned Alexis Neal into a wildlife rescue advocate. A junior health science major on the Armstrong Campus, Neal saw a photo that someone had posted online of a baby raccoon in the Gamble Hall trash can.&nbsp; \u201cI was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":7526,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[62],"class_list":["post-7520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-fall-2019"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}