Ruby wins disputed Wildlife Center vote

And the winner is … well, more on that in a minute.

The big news with the online poll to name the newest environmental ambassador at the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro is that the effort was apparently hacked.

The votes – the legitimate ones, at least – eventually came down in favor of Ruby the Red-Tail. Ruby, a red-tailed hawk hit by a car in Dayton in February 2010, cannot return to the wild due to the severity of her injuries, and will travel with Wildlife Center staff to schools, libraries, and other public events and help share the steps that each of us can take to protect wildlife and the environment.

The Center in January asked local elementary schools to suggest a name, and came up with a list of 174 names that were later winnowed down to a final five. The polls opened online on Feb. 2 to pick the winner, but were closed on Feb. 19 after Center staff noticed irregularities, specifically robo-voting that cast more than 5,000 votes for the name Phoenix from a single overseas Internet service provider, including 3,021 in a six-hour period between midnight and 6 a.m. the morning of Feb. 19.

The purpose of the Center’s online contest was to seek the public’s views on the suggested names, especially from children, not to test computer hacking skills or the ability to rig an election. It’s unfortunate that someone takes pleasure from hacking into, and attempting to spoil, a contest in which so many schoolchildren and others have enjoyed participating,” Wildlife Center president and co-founder Ed Clark said.

Excluding the robo-votes, Ruby led the field with 35.3 percent of the legitimate votes cast, outpacing runner-up Twizzler, which received 25.6 percent.

Phoenix came in fourth with 15.3 percent once the robo-votes were discarded.

“The Wildlife Center is most grateful for the participation of local students and teachers and the more than 4,000 individuals who voted. And our appreciation is not diminished because a couple of people sought to cheat and spoil the contest,” Clark said.

Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.

Poll: Help the WIldlife Center name the hawk

The polls are now open in the Wildlife Center of Virginia’s campaign to name a red-tailed hawk – a non-releasable hawk that will soon be visiting schools as one of the Center’s environmental ambassadors.

The Center is taking online votes in this Name-the-Hawk contest through Monday, Feb. 21, and everyone is encouraged to participate. To vote, visit www.wildlifecenter.org/wp/vote-hawk-name.

In January, the Wildlife Center, a leading teaching and research wildlife hospital located in Waynesboro, contacted 39 area elementary schools to ask students to provide suggestions for a name for the red-tailed hawk (the schools are in Augusta and Rockingham Counties and in Harrisonburg, Staunton, and Waynesboro). Students from 21 schools suggested more than 170 names, and five were chosen for the contest:

• Cherry Tail, suggested by Samantha Glick, a third-grader in Mrs. Rainey’s class at McSwain Elementary in Staunton. “A cherry on the stem reminded me of the hawk’s one eye. That’s what made me think of Cherry Tail,” said Glick.
• Phoenix, suggested by Mrs. Fulk’s fourth-grade class at Peak View Elementary (Penn Laird). “We thought of Harry Potter and Professor Dumbledore’s pet bird that rose from the ashes and saves people in need,” the class said in its suggestion.
• Poppy, suggested by Andrew Winfield, a fourth-grader in Mrs. Heizer’s class in Stuarts Draft Elementary. “Because poppies are red, and she is a red-tailed hawk.”
• Ruby¸ suggested by Mrs. Phelps’ first-grade class at South River Elementary (Grottoes). “We are currently studying Ruby Bridges. The kids thought since Ruby was a brave girl who fought to have a better life and since rubies are red, this would be a good name for a female red-tailed-hawk who also fought for her life.”
• Twizzler, suggested by Vinny Leo, a fourth-grader in Mrs. Quick’s class at Hugh K. Cassell Elementary (Augusta County). “Vinny’s idea is that Twizzlers are red, like the hawk’s tail.”

In addition to bragging rights, the school that suggested the winning name will receive a special visit from the hawk and Center staff.

The hawk was hit by a car in Dayton in February 2010 and admitted as a patient to the Wildlife Center – one of 45 red-tailed hawks treated at the Center during 2010. Upon admission, the Center’s veterinary team found a fracture in her left wing as well as severe trauma to her right eye. While her wing healed, her eye had to be surgically removed. With limited vision, the bird cannot see well enough to be released into the wild. Since May 2010, Center staff have been working with the hawk to determine her suitability as an education ambassador – a bird that would accompany Center staff on trips to schools, county fairs, and other public events.

At the Wildlife Center, patients are assigned numbers, but education animals are given names.

“Our education animals help students better understand our state’s wildlife and the steps each of us can take to protect wildlife and the environment,” said Amanda Nicholson, the Center’s director of outreach. “It’s such a treat for students to get to see a hawk or an owl or an opossum up close. We’re delighted that area students and the general public will help us name this hawk, who will become another special teacher at the Wildlife Center.”

Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.

Help the Wildlife Center name its new hawk

The Wildlife Center of Virginia, a leading teaching and research hospital for wildlife, is enlisting the help of area elementary-school children in coming up with a name for a Red-tailed Hawk – an non-releasable hawk that will soon be visiting schools as one of the Center’s environmental ambassadors.

Earlier this month, the Wildlife Center contacted 39 area elementary schools to ask students to provide suggestions for a name for the Red-tailed Hawk [the schools are in Augusta and Rockingham Counties and in Harrisonburg, Staunton, and Waynesboro]. The hawk was hit by a car in Dayton, Virginia in February 2010 and admitted as a patient to the Wildlife Center. Upon admission, the Center’s veterinary team found a fracture in her left wing as well as severe trauma to her right eye. While her wing healed, her eye had to be surgically removed. With limited vision, the bird cannot see well enough to be released into the wild. Since May 2010, Center staff have been working with the hawk to determine her suitability as an education ambassador – a bird that would accompany Center staff on trips to schools, county fairs, and other public events.

At the Wildlife Center, patients are assigned numbers, but education animals (permanent residents) are given names. Thus far the Center has received several dozen entries from about 15 schools; the deadline for submission is January 31.

At the end of the month, Center staff will review the names suggested and winnow the list down to a few top choices. Those names will be posted on the Center’s website, and the winner will be determined by an on-line vote.

In addition to bragging rights, the winning school will also received a special visit from the hawk and Center staff.

“Our education animals help students better understand our state’s wildlife and the steps each of us can take to protect wildlife and the environment,” Amanda Nicholson, the Center’s director of outreach, said. “It’s such a treat for students to get to see a hawk or an owl or an opossum up close. We’re delighted that area students will help us name this hawk, who will become another special ‘teacher’ at the Wildlife Center.”

Additional information about the Red-tailed Hawk and this naming contest is available on the Center’s website at www.wildlifecenter.org.

The newly named hawk will join about two dozen hawks, owls, eagles, falcons, turtles and snakes that are part of the Center’s corps of education animals (permanent residents that, because of injuries or behavioral modifications, cannot be released back to the wild).

Other current members of this team of ambassadors are Scarlette (another Red-tailed Hawk); Junior (a Golden Eagle); Edie (an American Kestrel); and Wilson (an Eastern Box Turtle).

Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.

Busy 2010 at the Wildlife Center

The Wildlife Center of Virginia, an internationally acclaimed teaching and research hospital for wildlife and conservation medicine located in Waynesboro, admitted a total of 2,303 animals for treatment during 2010 – injured, ailing, and orphaned wildlife from all across Virginia.

During 2010, the Center treated:

• 1037 mammals, including 299 Eastern Cottontail Rabbits; 223 Eastern Gray Squirrels; and 205 Virginia Opossums. The Center also treated five different species of bats;
• 122 reptiles and amphibians, including six different species of turtles and six different species of snakes;
• 247 raptors [birds of prey], including 57 Eastern Screech-Owls;
• 636 passerines [perching birds], including 161 American Robins;
• 261 other birds, including 63 Mourning Doves.

Among the “notable” cases of 2010 were:

• Two Bald Eagles that were hit by planes [one at Dulles, one at Newport News], three that were likely struck by cars, and five that showed signs of lead poisoning;
• An American Alligator discovered during a drug raid in Staunton;
• An Eastern Painted Turtle that had swallowed a fish hook, and an Eastern Ratsnake that swallowed a wooden egg;
• The Ruby-throated Hummingbird coated in pine sap, and the Rock Pigeon covered in oil; and
• Patients admitted from 86 counties and municipalities from all over the Commonwealth, including a Canada Goose from the City of Arlington, a Gray Squirrel from Frederick County, an Eastern Screech-Owl from Buchanan County, a Peregrine Falcon from the City of Chesapeake – and a tiny Northern Ring-necked Snake rescued from the Center’s library.

During 2010, Center veterinarians treated more than 125 different species of animals. The busiest months were May, with 498 patients admitted, and June [484 patients admitted]. The busiest single day was June 28, with 36 patients admitted.

Most animals are brought to the Center by concerned citizens; others are brought in by animal control officers, other federal, state, and local officials, from humane societies, etc.

During 2010, a total of 242 animals – or one in 10 cases – were brought to the Center after they were attacked by free-roaming cats. Birds and other animals that survive an initial cat attack are still in danger; unless treated, infections from the toxic bacteria found in a cat’s mouth kill a significant number of animals.

During 2010, another 215 patients were classified as “kidnap” victims – a young animal brought to the Center that, in fact, needed no help from humans. These are animals still receiving care from their parents, or young animals ready to live on their own. “Despite our natural inclinations, the BEST chance of survival for a young uninjured animal is often to leave it in its parents’ care,” said Ed Clark, President and Co-founder of the Wildlife Center of Virginia.

Center staff work with citizens who find young animals to assess whether these animals really do need human intervention. [The Center’s website – www.wildlifecenter.org – includes a special "I Need Rescue Advice" section to help citizens assess the health-care needs of animals.] “The Center encourages those who care about wildlife to ask questions FIRST about the most appropriate course of action,” Clark added. The Center’s front desk is staffed seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; one of the Center’s veterinarians is on call 24 hours a day.

Since its founding in 1982, the nonprofit Wildlife Center has cared for more than 56,000 wild animals, representing 200 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.

The goal of the Center is to “treat to release” – to restore patients to health and return as many as possible to the wild. The Center provides state-of-the-art medical care for the sick and injured, and sustained, quality foster care so that animals may be returned to the wild with the ability to survive, and thrive, in their native habitats.

The Center trains veterinary and conservation professionals from all over the world, and wildlife rehabilitators across Virginia, and is actively involved in comprehensive wildlife health studies and the surveillance of emerging diseases.

Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.