March 20th is the first day of spring, and it can't come soon enough!

Dear Grace,

On the one-hand I'll be happy to see the winter of 2025 in my rear-view mirror, but on the other, spring means babies... hundreds and hundreds of orphaned and alone babies. Squirrels, cottontails, foxes, opossums, and songbirds are just some of the animals who'll be coming to us for help in the next couple of months.

We've already started stockpiling all the items we're going to need for the influx of spring babies and injured wild animals...

• Food for 200+ different species of animal

• Formula for 78 different species of mammal babies

• Medications

• Vitamins

• Medical supplies; feeding tubes, syringes, baby wipes, etc.

• Shelter supplies; bedding, enclosure enhancements, paper towels, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, etc.



But, despite all our best efforts, the sheer volume of animals WILL stretch our resources to the limit!

Last spring, 2,252 wild animals turned to us for help.

From mid-March to the end of June, our phones never stop ringing and our driveway is always full of finders.  On average, we will intake 40 – 60 animals in a day!  There are even days where over 100 animals find their way to us for help! Each and every animal needs to be assessed, fed, medicated and some even need surgeries.

Think of us as one of the busiest emergency rooms in Ontario.

It's a challenging time of the year for us AND for wildlife, but thankfully, we have you on our side.

Gail

Gail Lenters

Founder & Chief Animal-Lover

Getting the lead out:

Not as easy as it sounds!

How swans feed makes them particularly susceptible to lead exposure. They use their 2-foot-long necks to forage around the bottom of our lakes, rivers, and ponds for food, and they stir up whatever metal is resting there. 

They use their gizzards to grind down the plant material in their diet, and they often consume small rocks to aid in this process. Consequently, any lead that mingles with their food sources undergoes a similar grinding process, accelerating its absorption into the gastrointestinal tract and bloodstream.

The toxicity in just one lead sinker, or three lead pellets can kill an adult Trumpeter Swan. 

If caught early enough, lead poisoning can be treated successfully using Chelation and adjunct therapies. Chelators are drugs that bind to heavy metal ions (like lead), forming a stable, water-soluble complex that can be excreted in the swans's urine.

The duration of treatment depends on how much lead has been ingested and the overall health of the bird. Typically, a patient would receive 2 to 3 injections per day, for 10 days, followed by a 3-to-5 day rest period. The blood is then tested again and if the lead levels have fallen sufficiently, the bird will be moved into recovery. If the lead levels are still high, it will undergo another round of chelation.



Each injection costs $50. 

The daily tally for one swan is $150. 

Over 10 days of treatment, $1,500. 

And we’ve treated 30 birds in the last 14 months for a total of $45,000!

Is it expensive… yes. Is it worth it… yes! 

Lead would not be in their environment if it weren’t for us. We believe it’s our collective responsibility to do everything we can to save these beautiful and majestic birds.

There’s not much we can do to rid our waterways from the lead that’s already there, but we can spread the word to all our friends and family that fish or hunt to check their gear and be certain it’s lead-free. You can tell if shot or sinkers are made of lead by pressing your fingernail into the object. If it dents, it’s lead!

1 of 4 Long-tail ducks currently in care.