New Mico Video!

Here is a funny little video of Mico discovering a hat in his enclosure...

Lab on Wheels Sent to Dominica!

Last week, RSCF sent an RV to the Caribbean island of Dominica for use as a mobile parrot lab.  The vehicle will be posted at the Parrot Research Centre in the Botanical Gardens and will be available for the Parrot Research Team.   RSCF will outfit the mobile lab with an incubator, brooder and basic lab equipment so the team can have an isolated, mobile space to work with the island's two endimc parrot species, the Imperial Amazon and the Red-Necked Amazon.   

RSCF would like to thank the Batchelor Foundation and Tropical Shipping for their continued support, we couldn't have done it without you!

Wild Things a WILD SUCCESS!

On Sunday, February 13, we held our fifth annual wildlife art show, called Wild Things. The show is hosted by Gisela and Howald Pferdekamper and brings artists together from around the country to show wildlife-inspired art in support of RSCF's conservation programs. This year we had several new artists, including mixed media artist Anthony Burkes and art photographer Melinda Moore. RSCF trustee Dr. Mark Davis screened a portion of his new film, Horns of Hope, about our efforts to save endangered black rhino in Zimbabwe. As you can see from the photos, we had a great time and the art was amazing! We partnered with Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, and the guests loved meeting the non-releasable rehab animals, including an alligator, crested cara cara, corn snake, and skunk!

For more information about the show, contact Karen McGovern.

 

Bouncing Baby Bongo

Finally! The newest addition to the bongo herd has arrived.

Iguanas Ready for the Cold!

Even though south Florida doesn't get too cold, sometimes it gets a little too cold for our scaly friends, the iguanas. Today we decided to clean out their hibernation box and get it all prepped and ready to go for the winter. Here are some snap shots of the staff helping out Sammie and Yoshi for the future cold snaps.

New Employees at RSCF!!

RSCF wants to welcome our new staff employees Uziel and Danielle! We put together a little bio on each of them to get to know them better.

Uziel was born and raised in Maywood, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago and recieved a Bachelor of Science in Biology. This was where his interest in the animal field began. From there he took internships at Cosley Zoo, Brookfield Zoo and volunteered at Willowbrook Wildlife Center. One of his favorite animals, that he's worked with thus far, are kangaroos. Uziel's animal dream would be to work with jaguars. At the moment he wants to continue working in the animal field and is open to where his future may lead him. Outside of working with a diverse group of animals he enjoys scuba diving, going to the beach and any other outdoor activities. At home he's got a sulcata tortoise, two sun conures, a peacock and miniture pincher.

Danielle was born in Japan but raised in Lake Worth, Florida. She is part of a navy family and was moved out of Japan when she was six months old. Danielle recieved her Bachelor of Science at the University of Florida in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. Her internships include sea turtle work in North Carolina and Juno Beach and has had the opportunity to work with manatees at Crystal River in Ocala. She would love to work with medium to large sized mammals and stay in the realm of conservation work. Danielle is interested in creating crafts out of recycled items, a regular wiz in transforming trash into treasure. Other interests include spending time with her dog, reading, and drawing. Her pets include two dogs and two lovebirds.

They both are looking forward to working with RSCF and seeing where their paths will go from here on out.

Dead Pine Removal

Here you see an old dead pine being taken down by Paul's ropes and tractor. We periodically take any dead pines down so we don't have a collapse on a fenceline, cages, or any expensive equipment. We first cleared the area with machetes so Paul had access to the tree which he then scaled with an extension ladder and tied a rope 3/4 of the way up to help pull it down and direct the fall. While the rest of us stood at a safe distance Paul used the chainsaw to carve out an angle out of the trunk and then made his way to the tractor where tension was put on the rope and, as you can see, the tree was retired. Hope the video is as enjoyable as it was for us to witness. Also, the tree made a nice heavy exhaling thud as it hit the earth.