Page 19 - Sentinel March 2018

A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE past year, toting along toys and treats for the felines.
Susan Peters...

Spring – Really?...A Hawaii Fe-
ral Cat Solution...Baby Animal
Quiz...Short Takes

Celebrating Spring
In the Rockies, the celebration is
a bit difficult with snow still flying. But gradually the migra-
tory birds start returning, most notably the bluebirds first. April
brings the first of the flowers with the invasive, but very pretty
yellow toad flax appearing right before the return, of, wait for
it....Hummingbirds!!! It is difficult to believe that next month
the hummers begin showing from their warm, winter digs.
Twelve years ago, Kathy Carroll and her husband, transplants
to Lanai, began taking in feral cats when they observed many
of them going from restaurant to restaurant begging for grub. A
vet comes from Oahu, complete with a vet van to do surgeries
and X-rays, to neuter or spay them. Each cat receives a micro-
chip and monthly flea baths. The program is so successful that
Kathy has had to expand the facility. Visitors are encouraged to
either adopt a cat or adopt-in-place a cat for $20 per month to
cover their shelter and care.

Those Baby Animals
Spring heralds the emergence of all kinds of babies from birds
to bears. The mule deer fawns do not appear until June when
I had a jump on the season by popping down to Costa Rica (NO bushes are leafed out and provide better cover for them to
SNOW!) where I stayed a few days in the capital city of San hide.
Jose before moving to a very WARM beach area. In the morn-
ings at both locations, I was awoken by what I thought were Test your critter knowledge of the names of the offspring of
roosters crowing. On closer inspection they turned out to be these animals. It is fun to do as a team and is frequently played
DOVES that have learned how to mimic roosters! It could be at baby showers, or so I have heard at my stage of life. Answers
worse. They could be mimicking incredibly loud howler mon- are below.
keys who start their day at 5:30 a.m. That means that nearby 1. Bear 14. Whale
human residents also start their day then, since they can’t sleep 2. Beaver 15. Squirrel
through all the ruckus. I am reminded to not look a howler in 3. Butterfly 16. Shark
the eyes. It returns the favor by generating poop and throwing 4. Monkey 17. Porcupine
it in your face. Talk about a wakeup call! 5. Dolphin 18. Skunk
6. Duck 19. Hawks/Falcons
7. Eagle 20. Hippo
In the beach area, the Barcelo resort continues its macaw re-
lease program of both red macaws and blue-green macaws. It 8. Moose 21. Manatee
is beyond breathtaking to have a flock fly low over one’s head... 9. Pig 22. Zebra
where is an umbrella when you need one? 10. Raccoon 23. Alligator
11. Kola 24. Peacock
12. Mountain Lion 25. Fish
Here, Kitty Kitty
I have reported recently the feral cat dilemma in Hawaii and 13. Llama Bonus: A female donkey
Australia where feral cats are destroying native birds and, for Short Takes
Kauai, the endangered monk seals. Australia has gone ahead My recently purchased squirrel chair corn cob feeder is a suc-
with a euthanasia program, while in Hawaii, the crisis has land- cess! Except that the squirrels need to be trained to sit properly,
ed in the state courts. Euthanasia seems extreme, and a neuter- preferably on command.
ing/spaying program is too expensive.
A small flock of Evening Grosbeaks continue to cheer the dull-
One couple has a solution on the island of Lanai: a feral cat ness of winter with their vibrant colors. I assume that these are
sanctuary that now houses about 500 cats. You can put that on the same that came last summer, now with the young males,
your Hawaii vacation agenda to visit. In fact, the sanctuary has Continued on page 20
become a tourist hotspot. More than 1300 people visited this
Perry Park Sentinel March 20187 - Page 19