Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Hanna from Sweden


Coonie story

Hello
I am Hanna. I am 9 years old.
My grandma knows a lady called Matzo cooniemum.
She has coonies that she looks after. When they are sick.
Have seen pictures of cooniebabies and watched a cooniecam where you can look at them.
We don't have coonies in sweden, they live where Matzo lives and on another place. Think it was Canada.
Very good that there is a cooniemum that takes care of them.
But they are not pets. When they get well they are going out and play later.
Maybe they will have new coonies. If they fall in love.
Grandma says that you can't touch wild animals.
I saw a roe deer baby.
Oh by the way coonies are racoon if you didn't know that..I love them.
I hope they will come here but I don't think they will.
They want to live in their homecountry.
And the sick goes to aunt Matzo so she can make them healthy.
I'm gonna learn english so I can ask auntie Matzo later.

Hugs to all coonies and Matzo

written by Hanna at Grandma's

Hanna lives in in Nacka - suburb to Stockholm Sweden. The pic is Hanna blowing me kisses because I threw her kisses on the CoonCam. What a wonderful story she has written for her class! Thanks Hanna!! Big coonie hugs to you from cooniemum.

Thank you Ewa for translating this to English for me!!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Eagle in Montana

These photos came in from an LBA member [thanks Deb] and it's simply something you should see.


Click on any one to see it larger, click the back button to come back to the blog.

Friday, February 20, 2009

And days just blurr into one sometimes

The day started out early as usual. Off to teach my newbies how to use computers at NWTC in Oconto Falls, roads pretty well plowed from the surprise snow we got. YouSoStanky anxiously waiting his trip to the forest that was delayed by the 6" of snow on top of the cages. He needs about 3 days of decent weather to find his way & new sleeping arrangements in the forest. And no wind. Coonies don't like wind. They don't like to be touched and they are really afraid to be touched by something they can't see or touch back. So they hide from high winds.

I have some wonderful students in my class. One happens to own Maple Valley Orchards in Maple Valley and was discussing the donation of apples to the food pantry there in the Falls, you know? A delivery date for them [another student helps at one of the local food pantries]. So asking what apples were not human edible, he donated many bushels of apples to the Wildlife Orphanage. What a special treat to be able to feed apples to the coonies with a foot of snow on the ground!! When the roads up that way are driveable we'll take the ghetto van and go get those apples. Maybe on YouSoStanky's release day, who knows?

Around 2 p.m. the Eagle Herald came to do an interview for the newspaper and take photos of the Coondo & inhabitants. The photographer [Rick Gebhard] was like a kid in a candy store. Writing notes on his notebook and holding them up to the CoonCam for all the viewers to see. He was so funny. His poor colleague [Don Williams -- whom I hear is retiring] wasn't quite dressed for the outside weather and kept going to warm up while the photographer & I played with Shazbot. lol. YouSoStanky & the LilDood couldn't even be seen. Seriously, I looked in the mini-coondo and couldn't see where they were hiding!! They never even peeked out. This is wonderful as it means they are avoiding strangers! Definitely what we want to see before release of a wild one. As soon as they left, the boys were right back out as was Hiway, but she was still pretty upset about visitors. The article should appear in the Eagle Herald next week. What a wonderful opportunity to tell the community that spring birthing season is upon us and to please check Dory & the Orphans website BEFORE you try to help any wild animal. Your help could kill them and they may not need help in the first place. Babies with mother not right there does NOT mean mother has abandoned them. She needs to eat to produce milk to feed them.

At approximately 7:44 pm central time news was received from a Missouri LBA member that his brother Keith William Nolan (43) had succumbed to lung, stomach and brain cancer. Keith was a nationally famous researcher, historian and author, he had one daughter Britt (9). Keith was a wonderful and kind man. He was a volunteer and worked with raccoons exclusively about 10 years ago at the old Ballwin shelter. Erik says "He really helped me with my coonie litter last summer, until his doctors told him not to interact with them because he was so ill." The photo is one of the last times Keith was able to hold a coonie. Our prayers are with you Erik and your family.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Koala saved from Australia's wildfires doing well

SYDNEY "Sam" the koala, the most famous furry survivor of Australia's worst-ever wildfires, is healing well thanks to the efforts of caretakers at a rescue shelter - and she even has a new boyfriend, "Bob."

Sam, who captured hearts around the world after she was photographed drinking from a firefighter's water bottle, has also won the affection of "Bob," another koala whose paws were scorched in the weekend's inferno, caretaker Lynn Raymond said Thursday.



"Bob is her protector - as soon as she is moved, he's on the move, too. It really looks like he's making sure she's OK," Raymond said from the Mountain Ash Wildlife Shelter in Rawson, 100 miles (170 kilometers) east of Melbourne in Victoria state, where the deadly fires continue to burn. "They're good company for each other."


Neither koala is likely to be healthy enough for release for at least four months, and are being comforted by caretakers who salve their scorched paws every few hours.

read more See the video of the firefighter rescuing this burned koala


By KRISTEN GELINEAU
Associated Press Writer

Monday, February 9, 2009

Australia's Record Heatwave


This was received from a fellow LBA member ..

"This is Australia... .......................!!!!! Victoria has just suffered a record heat wave and...

A friend of a friend lives at Maude. His wife sent him these photos of a little Koala which just walked into the back porch looking for a bit of heat relief. She filled up a bucket and this is what happened!"

See Photos



Thursday, February 5, 2009

Raccoons Invade White House Grounds

A small band of masked intruders has broken into the secure White House grounds and has evaded capture by agents of the new Obama administration, officials said today.


The National Park Service is in pursuit of one very large raccoon and several medium-sized raccoons, who have been spotted roaming the grounds around the Executive Mansion and the West Wing, a spokesman said.


"The idea of raccoons on the White House grounds give us great pause," spokesman Bill Burton said.


So far, the raccoons have evaded capture despite the presence of several "live traps," which are essentially cages with a one-way doors to keep the animals inside.


The traps are baited with apples, cat food and peanut butter, Burton said, but so far to little avail.


None of the raccoons have been seen in the past week, but officials said they still believe the wild animals are roaming the premises. The hunt continues, Burton said.


Click here to read more

Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 5, 2009; 10:46 AM

Monday, February 2, 2009

Happy Groundhog's Day 2009

In Memory of Winnie the woodchuck
As usual, the coonies in the Coondo have their own thoughts about what any groundhog around the Northwoods might think. Seems checking the archives? The coonies have been correct more often than the 'famous' groundhogs. At any rate? This morning the coonies in the Coondo [on the CoonCam] have predicted an early spring for the Northwoods.Last year's over winters didn't even peek out of the cubby on groundhog's day. Today's overwinters are ready to go dig and climb and explore. Probably to find mates if they could as well.

Males and females don't stay together after breeding season. Males aren't allowed to remain part of the litter after they reach approximately a year of age. They are chased off and form bachelor groups. The older boar males prefer to be loners. But many times the families will reunite to den up over winter if it's a particularly cold one. Didn't see that happening this winter, as most didn't even go into their psuedo-hibernation [called torpor].

There have also been way too many rescue calls for this time of year. Porcupines are abundant in the Northwoods right now. Enjoy your sunny day today and be kind to our wildlife. Watch for them when you drive, many don't see very well.