“If we don't rehab wildlife, if we don’t take care of them today, they won't have a tomorrow,” observes Sallysue Stein, as she releases a bobcat healed of burns suffered in the Camp Fire. Stein is the founder of Gold Country Wildlife Rescue in Auburn, a group responsible for helping wildlife fire victims. Although this one bobcat was saved, two other rescued animals have died and two foxes are still being treated more than 100 days after the fire broke out on Nov 8, 2018. The injured bobcat was found three weeks after the fire began, emaciated and weighing 6 pounds (normal weight is 15-40 pounds). Last Sunday, he was released in Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve just outside the wildfire scarred area.
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The bobcat patient was treated by Jaime Peyton at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, who has pioneered a method of dealing with wildlife burns.*
Peyton used an innovative technique of applying tilapia fish skin to the burns. Rich in collagen, the sterilized fish skin helps with healing and pain. The treatment has also been applied to several pets from the burned area — and Peyton hopes it can be applied to humans in the future.
The bobcat’s healing was expected to take 6 months but its skin grew back faster than expected. In addition to the fish skins, the treatment included cold laser therapy for antibacterial effects, pulse electromagnetic therapy for pain and a carefully orchestrated feeding process. But the bobcat will never have padded feet again.
Less than 11 weeks after admitting the cat, the shelter decided he was ready to re-enter the wild – in part because he’s angry.
“We take it as a really good sign if our patients hate us,” said Stein, who says volunteers do not bond with the animals to preserve their wild instincts. “He’s good and wild. He’s nice and fat and strong and I’m sure he’s going to live a nice long life.”
*I previously wrote about a bear Dr Peyton treated — Fish skins and acupuncture help heal wildlife burned in Thomas Fire.
Note that in the video, Stein says the Camp Fire destroyed Paradise. True, but it also destroyed several other communities, too: Pulga, Concow, Butte Creek canyon, and portions of Yankee Hill, Magalia, and Cherokee. Those other communities should not be overlooked. In Concow, the level of devastation was greater than in Paradise.
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