has anyone ever kept ?

[squeek]

i wondered if anyone here has ever kept a wild creature ?
and how well this worked for you and your new pet ?
or would you consider doing this at all ?

i myself wouldnt capture one and keep it unless i was told it couldnt survive on the outside and would have to be destroyed

[Susie]

I have collected threatened wild butterfly eggs and kept them until the adult butterflies flew so they could repopulate the surrounding area. It was successful.

[Johnny Redgate]

Originally Posted by Susie

I have collected threatened wild butterfly eggs and kept them until the adult butterflies flew so they could repopulate the surrounding area. It was successful.

Hi Susie

I'd be interested to know what you did. I worked on the Chequered Skipper re-intro project for some time doing something similar.

John

[Susie]

Originally Posted by Johnny Redgate

Hi Susie

I'd be interested to know what you did. I worked on the Chequered Skipper re-intro project for some time doing something similar.

John

Nothing that dramatic, Johnny. That must have been a really exciting project, well done.

Details of what I did are here, you will need to scroll down a bit. Brown hairstreak butterflies

[Fritillary]

My first animal I helped to survive was a baby mouse. I was about 8 y o. The roof where I lived as a child had mice and one day one baby fall down. The head was like a triangle (the impact of the fail) naked and the eyes were still closed. I fed with cow milk in secret. If my parents knew they would be angry and the little mouse survived .
I have nourrished several babies: Kittens, swifts, caterpillars, etc etc. hurt animals etc etc. I always take a hurt animal and i will do the best to recover. If not, I have learned for the next time.

12 years ago, I had a similar species of Magpie, I found it as a chick that had fallen from the nest. However I was moving of the country, and I left the chick with my parents in a big cage ( I made it specially for him). I left a mirror inside in order he could recognise his relatives with the idea of leaving him free when it would be old enough. Sadly my parents did nt and he lived about 10 years in the cage.

I dont care about what "experts" said. Generally they know about the animals but they dont have idea of what to do to help them. They are very pesimists about wild animals. With the swift chick, they told me I couldnt do anything for him. They were amazed when I told them I had already been feeding him by 2 weeks. Yes giving food every 2 hours, every day can be difficult because of jobs, but it is quite satisfying see them grow and finally flying away. And thanks to him, I learned a lot about swifts and the migratory journey. Now each year I see them flying around and I wonder if one of them is the one I had

[Fritillary]

About the graph here, I wonder why are there too many people that have say NO. I had thought that if you are in a fauna and flora forum, it is because you like nature and consequentely, you had had any animal at least once in your life.

[squeek]

hmm i dont know.

anyway i have on a few occassions tried to save birds.
i'd never keep one as a pet.

if i see an injured animal or bird in my garden i will try to help it.
we had an injured pheasant last year, thought we may have to catch him to help, but instead we fed him specially and he gained strength and repaired.
we were constantly watching for him. he only had one leg on the ground.
he recovered well. and he suffered no stress from being caught.
now we have a mixi rabbit, i was advised by 2 contacts to put him down, but he didnt look like he was dying, so i read up on the net and found that wild rabbits have developed an immunity to the disease and now 50% of them now survive.
well nearly 5 weeks now and he is still with us, eating washing and hopping all around the garden. he even spotted a cat from the other side and ran from him, so his eye site must be repairing too. im so glad we did not take the drastic action of putting him down.

[Elean0r]

We rescued a little hedgehog from the road outside our house one November. We kept it overnight, in the bath with a pile of leaves and a dish of cat food. We took it to a proper rescue centre the next day.

Originally Posted by Fritillary

I wonder why are there too many people that have say NO. I had thought that if you are in a fauna and flora forum, it is because you like nature and consequentely, you had had any animal at least once in your life.

I think that if you like nature you want things to live as naturally as possible, and that means trying to make sure wild creatures stay wild, as well as knowing your own shortcomings. I wouldn't know how to look after an injured animal, and might end up killing it through ignorance, which would be terrible.

[cara pace]

I see what you mean Fritillery. Thanks to people like you and many others on here who give up their time and devotion, we can make a difference. These people who are willing to learn and try to make that difference are the real 'experts'(whether or not they undertake the care themselves or pass that animal on for help).

[Fritillary]

Eleanor
<<I think that if you like nature you want things to live as naturally as possible, and that means trying to make sure wild creatures stay wild,...I wouldn't know how to look after an injured animal, and might end up killing it through ignorance, which would be terrible.>>

Yes I understand what you say, but it depends of the person and if he/she feels suited for the responsability that this situation may be.
For me I dont think if the animal is going to die, if it was going to die anyway, what can be lost if it dies with me? Even I have learnt things about this creature and that it is something positive . It is true that not everybody can do things right, generally people take wild animals like they were pets.

One thing that bother me is in zoos (since I have watched some tv programs) where it is shown that vets there give sweets and cokes to monkeys (why do they give them this rubbish??) It is supposed they are with wild animals not pets (even you must not give to your pets any sugar things)

Sometimes I had taken bad hurt dogs to the vet to put them down. This is another way to help but it is very hard decision.

[cara pace]

Originally Posted by Fritillary

My first animal I helped to survive was a baby mouse. I was about 8 y o. The roof where I lived as a child had mice and one day one baby fall down. The head was like a triangle (the impact of the fail) naked and the eyes were still closed. I fed with cow milk in secret. If my parents knew they would be angry and the little mouse survived .
I have nourrished several babies: Kittens, swifts, caterpillars, etc etc. hurt animals etc etc. I always take a hurt animal and i will do the best to recover. If not, I have learned for the next time.

12 years ago, I had a similar species of Magpie, I found it as a chick that had fallen from the nest. However I was moving of the country, and I left the chick with my parents in a big cage ( I made it specially for him). I left a mirror inside in order he could recognise his relatives with the idea of leaving him free when it would be old enough. Sadly my parents did nt and he lived about 10 years in the cage.

I dont care about what "experts" said. Generally they know about the animals but they dont have idea of what to do to help them. They are very pesimists about wild animals. With the swift chick, they told me I couldnt do anything for him. They were amazed when I told them I had already been feeding him by 2 weeks. Yes giving food every 2 hours, every day can be difficult because of jobs, but it is quite satisfying see them grow and finally flying away. And thanks to him, I learned a lot about swifts and the migratory journey. Now each year I see them flying around and I wonder if one of them is the one I had

I like the story about the little mouse!
I have rescued and tried to rehabilitate many wild animals over the years including,
6 two day old baby rabbits their mother had tried to cannibalise because the breeder just couldn't resist picking them up! Sadly, the mortality rate is very high in these cases, but I had to try.
The year before last I had 7 hedgehogs in the space of 2 months (it was a very bad year)
Successfully rescued a goldfish(not a wild animal - but came from a neighbours pond, so I thought I'd include it) a cat brought to my doorstep!
Many little field mice
2 myxomatosis wild rabbits (both at separate times, and both died)
A snapping turtle from a local pond - the poor thing had swallowed a fishing hook
Too many birds to remember (the nicer ones of this year are the 2 baby blackbirds and a starling which I hand reared - all of which were then taken on to a sanctuary to be acquainted with normal bird behaviour and other birds, before they were released into the wild)
Luckily I work at a vets, so have access to all the medication and advice that I need, but that hasn't always been the case. I am sorry to hear, Fritillary, that you have had some bad experiences but there are many wildlife centres, vets and rehabilitation keepers out there who are only happy to help and advise - don't be put off!

[Fritillary]

You are right cara pace (funny name ). I think I should aclare somethings. By one way, I have wide experience with little animals and also I am from Mexico. There, 30 years ago, there were not all these centres to help wild animals as all you have here. I remember that as a child vets were to cure cows and horses and mistakes on dogs and cats were more or less frequents. I remember one day that a vet gave an overdoses to one of my cats and almost died.

Also I am biologist so I have some criteria about what sort of food animals should have, what to do to avoid the animal be too much close to humans in order to survive in nature, etc. Of course, I am open to listen what can be done but I analise the information given .

And when I say experts, well in France there were people for saying, knowing a lot about birds (identification, migrations, giving talks to public about these subjects, etc), however, they knew nothing about how to help a bird if it was hurt. And like that, instead of saying humbly "I dont know", they gave a negative view... "nothing can be done for baby birds, they die..".
Now in UK, I heard the same commentary of a scientist that study bird behaviour of tits and she said the best it is leaving chicken to die than collect them. I disagree completely. Of course there are species that can manage to feed their youngs from ground but just leaving to die, I dont agree.. If I had never taken any little animal with me, I had never learnt all what I know now about them. With the little swift, I kissed him at the end when he left because before meeting him, I did not know their cycle of life of these wonderful birds.

[Beekeeper]

Hi Squeek, i kept a Tawney Owl once but only for a few days, I was driving along a local road and the Tawney just fell out of a tree overhanging the road, it bounced off the roof of the car in front and landed on the grass verge, i stopped and picked it up, took it home as it was obviously unwell.

I checked with the RSPB on how to feed it and did have some success and the bird seemed to be perking up, he would sit quite happily on my arm with claws grasping my wrist which was a bit painful but he seemed quite ok about being handled, eventually, i found someone locally who cared for injured birds of prey and took it to him, he immediately diagnosed a dislocated wing and fixed that in minutes and then put him in a cage, Sadly, a few days later he died and the chap thought he had been suffering from poisoning.

BK

[Merrow]

I used keep caterpillars etc too but more recently we've taken in a rescued hedgehog (which sadly died) and an exhausted little auk one winter (which just needed a bit of peace and quiet and flew off happily the next day)

[Jenny W]

I've reared and released numerous insect larvae of various taxa. If done properly causes no harm at all to either the individual or population as a whole and fantastic for study purposes

[Kayleigh]

I used to go fishing and caught a rud the poor fish had been caught that many times its lip was torn right up close to its eye.
I thought if I put it back it probably would not survive the ordeal of being caught again so it went into a plastic bag and put into my fish tank at home it eventually got used to eating flake fish food and then it ended up in my brothers pond where it lived happily ever after never to be caught by an anglers hook again..

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

I used to go fishing and caught a rud the poor fish had been caught that many times its lip was torn right up close to its eye.
I thought if I put it back it probably would not survive the ordeal of being caught again so it went into a plastic bag and put into my fish tank at home it eventually got used to eating flake fish food and then it ended up in my brothers pond where it lived happily ever after never to be caught by an anglers hook again..

LOL! That's rather amusing Kayleigh. Not all fisherman have such a big heart!

I've often had injured/rescued birds/animals for a few days before passing onto to rescue centres and we all raised butterflies from captured caterpillars along with keeping newts as kids BUT

Given the wording of the original question, it's well worth stressing on this thread that it is an offence under the WCA to 'capture' and 'keep' many wild animals/insects now and the list is amended/grows each year as more and more species become protected, so if one has 'rescued', 'captured' a wild animal, it's always worth checking first what the Law says! With injured birds, one should seek professional advice first and then pass the rescued bird to a licensed rehabber/rescue centre. No wild animal should be kept as a pet once rescued but passed on to a suitable wildlife rescue organisation where it can be cared for in captivity in a manner to keep it as 'wild' as possible in company with members of it's own species. If one has rescued and 'kept' an injured animal, it should never be released straight back into the wild unless one is absolutely sure it will be able to immediately fend for itself, conversely, it is against the Law to keep it and tame it, once it is well again - again one should always seek professional advice first.

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Picidae

LOL! That's rather amusing Kayleigh. Not all fisherman have such a big heart!

I've often had injured/rescued birds/animals for a few days before passing onto to rescue centres and we all raised butterflies from captured caterpillars along with keeping newts as kids BUT

Given the wording of the original question, it's well worth stressing on this thread that it is an offence under the WCA to 'capture' and 'keep' many wild animals/insects now and the list is amended/grows each year as more and more species become protected, so if one has 'rescued', 'captured' a wild animal, it's always worth checking first what the Law says! With injured birds, one should seek professional advice first and then pass the rescued bird to a licensed rehabber/rescue centre. No wild animal should be kept as a pet once rescued but passed on to a suitable wildlife rescue organisation where it can be cared for in captivity in a manner to keep it as 'wild' as possible in company with members of it's own species. If one has rescued and 'kept' an injured animal, it should never be released straight back into the wild unless one is absolutely sure it will be able to immediately fend for itself, conversely, it is against the Law to keep it and tame it, once it is well again - again one should always seek professional advice first.

good advice Picidae...

The poor fish while it was in the tank swam hard into the side and floated to the top going round in circles..
I thought it was a gonner but after about an hour it came round and made a full recovery the daft thing knocked itself out...
this is true believe it or not..

[Hedera]

I kept a baby wild rabbit which one of our cats brought: she hadn't injured it and carried it like a kitten. This was in 1940! We had lots of rabbits, kept for meat. Little Jim lived until he was 8 years old and was very tame. We fed him with a rag dipped in milk and water and honey until he was old enough to eat for himself. He never grew very large. He would come in the house and lie down with the cat, I think she thought he was her kitten.

[squeek]

Originally Posted by Hedera

I kept a baby wild rabbit which one of our cats brought: she hadn't injured it and carried it like a kitten. This was in 1940! We had lots of rabbits, kept for meat. Little Jim lived until he was 8 years old and was very tame. We fed him with a rag dipped in milk and water and honey until he was old enough to eat for himself. He never grew very large. He would come in the house and lie down with the cat, I think she thought he was her kitten.

lucky bunny , its cute how he bonded with the cat

[ChrisR]

I just kept a few bush-crickets and house spiders when I was a kid ... I am sure it fed my enthusiasm for entomology though - I think it's really important for children to experience wildlife, rather than just see it on TV or online.

[Dutchess]

As a child my favourite wild "pet" was snails. I just loved 'em. I never kept them securely enough that they couldn't escape if needs be....and of course they always snuk out of their super duper "des res" as fast as their little foot could carry them. Looking back, this to me is a perfect pocket example of the calling of the wild. Even something as basic as a snail needed to wander of it's own accord and be free (no matter how delightful my child-mind thought it's new home was, lol! )

[gleditsa]

i had a jackdaw, which was rescued after the old tree that the nest was in blew down, killing 3 of the 4 youngsters,
he became almost one of the family, and would sit on your shoulder and take a keen interest in whatever you were doing, sometimes much to my fathers annoyance when he was repairing something on his workbench, as he would suddenly jump down and fly off with one of the components to one of his secret stashes,

one alarming habit he had was to jump into the coal fire and sit on the bars Phoenix fashion, many a time he had to be pulled of the fire as his feathers smoked, but he never seemed to suffer any burns, even to his feet, just a few singed feathers
he had to be shut outside at mealtimes as he was quite adept at swooping onto the table and flying off with whatever he fancied

still have fond memories of "Jacky" all these years later,

j.

[squeek]

Originally Posted by Picidae

LOL! That's rather amusing Kayleigh. Not all fisherman have such a big heart!

I've often had injured/rescued birds/animals for a few days before passing onto to rescue centres and we all raised butterflies from captured caterpillars along with keeping newts as kids BUT

Given the wording of the original question, it's well worth stressing on this thread that it is an offence under the WCA to 'capture' and 'keep' many wild animals/insects now and the list is amended/grows each year as more and more species become protected, so if one has 'rescued', 'captured' a wild animal, it's always worth checking first what the Law says! With injured birds, one should seek professional advice first and then pass the rescued bird to a licensed rehabber/rescue centre. No wild animal should be kept as a pet once rescued but passed on to a suitable wildlife rescue organisation where it can be cared for in captivity in a manner to keep it as 'wild' as possible in company with members of it's own species. If one has rescued and 'kept' an injured animal, it should never be released straight back into the wild unless one is absolutely sure it will be able to immediately fend for itself, conversely, it is against the Law to keep it and tame it, once it is well again - again one should always seek professional advice first.

thanks for this interesting post sometimes my threads arent very clear and im affraid i left this info out .

[Enogs]

We also rescued a jackdaw squab which then stayed with us and often roosted in the conservatory. The cock bird stayed round us though we stopped feeding him (he fed at the bird feeders,) until one spring he found a mate and after rearing a brood of 3 the whole lot moved out never to be seen again.
Enogs: