November 2005

Total amount of visitors this month:  04                                  (total this year: 832)

GENERAL NEWS:

November 1^st:  brought to their hibernation-place 6 bigger Tortoises: 1 born in 2001 with us, 1 came in with severe shell-injuries in 2001, 3 from 2003 [ one with injuries on both front-legs; one with facial injuries and one T. Marginata from Páros] and our eldest T. Marginata [from before 1995]. Of those at least 3 can be released next spring. Around midday an elderly Greek woman with a cat > should have skin-problems. Nothing was to be found. We have given good advices about food etc. (but if she will follow the advices ??) and treated the cat against internal parasites. Not in the statistics. After the siesta 3 visitors from Skoutáros: the teacher who has phoned, with wife and child. Appointments were made for next spring.

November 2^nd:  today we discovered that the Quail (05-211; September ’05 from our village > cat-bite > wing-fracture) is a male > the black line on the throat is good visible. In the afternoon 2 Canary-birds were taken-in > mauled by rats.

November 3^rd:  around midday a phone-call from a Vet from Mytiléne >  she is sending by coach a pigeon (?), injured on the eye & wing > is picked-up.

November 4^th:  the Collared Dove (05-233; October 26^th ’05 from our village; bill- & throat-problems) is transferred to the Aviary, awaiting the end of the hunting-season.

November 5^th:  on request of some Vets in Mytiléne we have been busy translating our leaflet in Greek as well. 

November 6^th:  the Greek version of our leaflet was finished today and is already printed. A young female cat was brought-in > has some problems with relieve o.s. > a little bit of olive-oil was given and showed how to do this again > not in the statistics. Around 5 p.m. a Little Grebe was taken-in.

November 7^th:  because rats were causing huge problems in the Sick-bat, we had placed in the loft over there some bait with rat-glue > unfortunately a Weasel got stuck in the glue and we couldn’t approach him properly (covered with glue and bloody aggressive) > we had to stop the suffering by shooting him.

November 8^th:  busy with preparing the Annual Report 2005 in English, but as well in Dutch. In the siesta a phone-call from Mytiléne about a (so to hear quite small) Baby-Hedge-hog > will be brought (when everything is going as planned) tomorrow. They had our phone-number from the Police in Mytiléne !

November 9^th:  just before 12 a.m. the Hedge-hog arrived. Around 1 p.m. a Greek visitor from Lisvóri. In the evening a phone-call about just-born puppies > should be put down ! They don’t dare to go with the mother to the Vet, because so many dogs don’t survive the surgery at his place !!

November 10^th:  cleaning the tortoise-terrarium we discovered one being dead. Was hatched in 2004 in the Tortoise-pen in the Wildpark. The woman, who came Nov. 1^st with the cat with skin-problems, came again today. The cat was treated for the 2^nd time against internal parasites and we could reassure her. Again not in the statistics. Four puppies to euthanize.

November 11^th:   in the siesta a couple from the Ukraine with a real fantastic Persian Tom-cat > referred to the Agrotikí Stégi for the yearly vaccination and cleaning of the ears, because this wasn’t an “emergency-case”.

November 12^th:  nothing special for this day.

November 13^th:  at 8 a.m. there was a power-cut, so we were without central heating !! Only at 1 p.m. power was restored, and at that time we were able to control the cable of the night-lights in the Sick-Bay: that cable was destroyed by a rat, stuck in the rat-glue. The cable was already repaired, but the control we could only do wíth the power connected again.

November 14^th:  in the morning a phone-call from Mólivos about a huge dog > was poisoned. Advices were given about the kind of medicines and the doses which should be injected. At 6.30 p.m. again a call from Mólivos: the dog was OK. As appeared from our records, it was the dog “Max”, we had treated for the same reasons over here April 17^th ’05 (05-055).

November 15^th:  did we receive already, after the arrival of the “de-fathered Tom-cat” Cherry in Holland (October 24^th), by  phone the compliments from a Dutch Vet about our treatment over here of this animal, today we received an e-mail from the new owner, from which we won’t keep away from you the following:

By the way, thank you again for calling us with the compliments of the Dutch Vet! That was nice to hear!  

I am just back from the Vet, and the cat has received a new cure of antibiotics and nasal-drops. It’s now wait and see if it’s working, and if not, the sniffy nose is a fact. Yes, the Vet was very content with your info and methods. They scanned the whole paper you gave to me and saved it as a medical-record. So if necessary, they can find it back again quickly. So this compliment was nice to tell you.

So this is a counterbalance for the negative advertisement, some wretches are making in Holland and abroad for us and our work (see as well October 15^th > “MijLa”).

Unfortunately a member of the SHREW-family got stuck in our rat-glue-trap > first time we had seen one.

November 16^th:  we discovered this morning the Collared Dove (05-057; April ’05 from our village > wing-fracture) quite lethargic sitting > at 12.15 p.m. he/she was gasping for breath. Showed to have an over-filled crop with a huge stinking mass inside. So has eaten himself to death.

November 17^th:  due to the expected (and it came !!) heavy-weather we have taken-in last night the blind Rook and the 2 “crumpled-up” Jackdaws.  No unnecessary luxury, because we couldn’t see anymore the “table-mountain” at the other side of the house !!

November 18^th:  the weather had improved in such a way, we could bring the 3 “Crumpled-up” birds out again.

We heard on our Bank that we must have first a new Board, before we’re allowed to withdraw any money.

November 19^th:  due to a heavy thunderstorm we had to take the 3 birds in again.

November 20^th:  and of course at exactly 8 a.m. there was a power-cut > so no central heating and of course neither heating with the tortoises and hedge-hog, nor running water in the aviary. Luckily it was restored without causing a lot of troubles and/or damage.

November 21^st:   in Greek Macedonia the first snow has fallen already. We’re trying keeping it as comfortable as possible for us and for the animals. We have all the candidates for the new board.

November 22^nd:  and the ice was thick on the windscreens of the car early in the morning.

November 23^rd:  it’s unpleasant shit-weather with lots of ice-cold rain > the 3 birds couldn’t get out again. The tops of the Olympus-mountain-range (in the south) are covered with snow.

November 24^th:  the little white cat (050234; October 29^th ’05) isn’t doing well: whatever kind of food we’re offering, she has constantly diarrhea. And in spite of a complete antibiotics-treatment, the sniveling nose remains. By the way, her name is now “Silky” because of her fur. We are ready with all the announcements for the elections (in 3 languages) > were send by e-mail today (127 e-mails). At 1.15 p.m. a phone-call from Chíos: they are sending an injured bird-of-prey (Buzzard ??) by ferry > only our car is broke-down so we can’t pick him up by our selves. All our acquaintances with a car have problems as well (!!) so at last we called in the help of the village-cab-driver. After all was arranged, we received at 1.45 p.m. a call that the ferry had  (temporary) no permit to leave the harbor (due to the weather ??). So now it’s wait and see.

November 25^th:  the bad weather did quite a lot of damage to our house & the house-next-door: shutters twisted and/or they came loose and lots of damage caused by incoming rain. Later that morning the bad weather became really worse: we couldn’t see anymore the hills opposite our home and everywhere the water came-in under windows & doors. Even on the ground-floor the water passed through the walls (the Storage-room in our house and the work-room in the house-next-door). On the local radio we heard programs in which Mayors were complaining about the nuisance and damage by the rain !! And of course there was a power-cut for several hours !! In our bedroom the rain passed through a 50 cm thick wall and made a wardrobe with clothes quite a bit “unfit for use”. In Kallonís the school-children were evacuated by the Fire-Brigade & the Army > so much water there was around the school !! This even appeared on the National TV !! The last 2 days there has fallen more rain than normally in the whole month of November !!

November 26^th:  the bad weather of yesterday took the life of only 2 birds (Zebra-finches) > so it might have been worse ! The garagist was this morning able to pick-up our car for repair > yesterday that was impossible because he was complete over flooded as well !! The Hedge-hog is transferred from the terrarium (with heating) to a bigger cage (without heating) > now he has more space for walking. We didn’t hear anything anymore about the Buzzard (see the 24^th). At 12.15 p.m. we had the car repaired back for only Euro 50.=. In the afternoon the water-pressure failed, so we were without water again.

November 27^th:  early in the morning water was restored; in the air as well > it was raining cats and dogs. Our blind Rook (02-018; January ’02 from Sallónica) is eating worse by the day > is already quite old. Later this day the 3 members of the Crow-family could taste a bit of fresh air again.

November 28^th:  today our Director (read: Ineke) went to the secondary grammar school in our village to undersign a declaration that the L.W.H. is participating in a environmental-educational program for those kind of schools on the island. 

November 29^th:  nothing special happened.

November 30^th: at 12.30 p.m. a phone-call from Pétra (from the Vet  Panagióta)  about a “young Koukouvágia” (properly speaking that’s a Little Owl, but who cares). Young Owls are quite rare around this time of the year, so . . . . She is coming to the Shell-station to bring the bird. Picked-up over there > was no juvenile, but an adult Scop’s Owl.

No further news about the Bird Flu.

Kinds of animals who are mentioned like this were for the first time in treatment in the L.W.H.   

Amount of kilometers (Animal-Ambulance) for bringing-in/releasing animals this month 29 (total this year 3524 kilometers)

Total amount of intakes this month: 10 [wild ones: 04; others 06], (total this year 283 > : wild ones 161, others 122; total since the start of registration in 1996: 3237),  of which:

CANARY-BIRD (Serinus canaria dom.): Two (1-1) from our village; both birds severe mauled by rats. The female “only” an open fracture of the left leg; the male ditto, but also the left wing at the shoulder severe bitten. The legs are splinted and the wing-injury is covered with Hansaplast-spray. Both birds were injected with anti-biotics. However, the prognosis is . . . . ?? Both birds died within 2 hours after intake.

ROCK-DOVE (Columba livia): 1 adult from/via Mytiléne > delivered by a Vet over there. The left wing should be treated already . . . . Only there was an open fracture of the upper-arm. Just above the elbow, and the under-arm was splinted, while nothing was done to the wound. Further injured on the hand-part of that wing and huge hemorrhages over the whole wing. Also injured on the left side of the head > here some stitches. Injuries were treated & fracture was splinted. The 8^th the stitches in the head were removed. The 16^th was the situation of the wing as follows: fracture is healed (only a small dislocation). Can be transferred to the Pigeon-cage in “The Keep” as soon as sufficient new feathers are grown. Transferred to “The Keep” November 17^th.

LITTLE GREBE (Tachybaptus ruficollis): 1 from Ágia Paraskeví > was discovered in the village and given to children as a TOY !! Luckily there was a woman who discovered this and who came to bring the bird > doesn’t seem to be injured. So observation.

Is after being fed extra well, released the next day in the morning in the Tsianás-river (“East-river”) close to the Gulf of Kallonís > was behaving at once quite normal.

EASTERN HEDGE-HOG (Erinaceus concolor roum.): 1 juvenile male from Mytiléne > body-weight was only 110 gram (so shouldn’t have survived the winter > they should be at least 500 gram before hibernation). Is temporarily lodged in the huge terrarium.

He hadn’t  eaten at all next morning and had lost 2 gram. Later that morning we were able force-feeding him a bit. He has a hypothermia as well, so we put-on the heater in the terrarium. Later we discovered, force-feeding the little fellow, that there is a huge “blue spot” under the skin in the belly > should can be an internal bleeding. By the way, even force-feeding is difficult. And the next morning it seemed, he has eaten by himself: body-weight was 114 gram ! In the course of that morning we met him eating: the food is a mixture of small pieces of brown bread, pieces apple & pear, a little bit of “Pallas-food”, some very tiny pieces of cheese and the whole is made “tasteful” with the juice from tin-food for cats. Just before nightfall the 120 gram was reached !! This remained till next morning. The morning hereafter 127 gram was reached. And again one day later (the 14^th) the body-weight was 138 gram. Hereafter he started to grow really fast: the next morning he was 154 gram !! From now on we’ll mention on this site only once a week his body-weight. Sunday November 20^th he was 267 gram !! Two weeks after intake (the 23^rd) he was 342 gram > so more than tripled ! The last day of the month early in the morning he was 515 gram.

PUPPIES (Canis familiaris): four (2-2) from our village; born the 10^th. We had to put them down. (for the reason why: see November 10^th)

SCOP’S OWL (Otus scops): 1 adult female (=94 gram) from Skoutáros; delivered by the Vet from Pétra as a “young Little Owl”. Observation > nothing seems wrong with the bird.