CROW finishes building four new rehab enclosures
Patients treated at the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife’s hospital now have new redesigned quarters where they can further improve in preparation for a hopeful release back into the wild.
CROW recently completed construction on four enclosures to replace existing ones.
“What we did was replace the old enclosures with news ones and then basically made some modifications so they were exactly what the rehab staff needed to take care of the animals,” Executive Director Alison Charney Hussey said, noting that the upgrades also improved patient safety.
“The original enclosures had been there for several years. When I say several, some had even been there for decades,” she added. “You can make repairs, but at some point you just have to start anew.”
After treatment at the hospital, animals are moved to the structures for rehabilitation.
“They’re really taking that next step of healing and or growth,” Hussey said, noting that the best conditions are vital. “We want them to thrive in these enclosures so that release is possible.”
CROW first began fundraising for the new enclosures in January 2020 with its Wild About CROW event. With the arrival of the pandemic, the original timeline for the project was delayed. It started to refocus on the plan halfway through last year, raising more funding at its virtual Southern Comfort.
Additional project funds included grants from the L.A.T. Foundation, Knopf Foundation and Andrea Waitt Carlton Family Foundation, along with donations from the Estate of Ball, Jack Claypool in memory of Paul Paglia, and anonymous donors.
“We could not have done it without the support of the local community and our donors and our foundation who have historically supported us and continue to do so,” she said.
Using contractor Liberty Aluminum, the project cost just under $400,000 and included constructing a new Small Flight Enclosure, Squirrel Enclosure, Osprey Enclosure and Burrowing Owl Enclosure.
The new structures were completed in late June.
Hussey noted that staff were able to work closely with Liberty Aluminum on design.
“They’ve done work for us in the past,” she said. “We walked through each of the old enclosures as it previously stood and pointed out things that were good and things that needed to change. Because they were so willing to provide exactly what the animals needed, when it was up it was full-on ready to go.”
Hussey added that no retrofitting or changes were required.
“It was perfect,” she said, offering her thanks to the contractor. “The staff is thrilled.”
The Small Flight Enclosure underwent the biggest changes.
“We actually elevated the roof and installed a mesh roofing to protect the smaller raptors while they’re getting their wings again and practicing their flight skills,” Hussey said, noting that the old structure had a wire roof. “With the soft mesh — if they hit it, they can bump off it without hurting their wings.”
The original Squirrel Enclosure was two separate sections.
“We now redesigned it with three separate sections,” she said. “Because of that, we can actually house well beyond squirrels in it, like songbirds, woodpeckers and small mammals.”
Hussey explained that the new Osprey Enclosure is very similar to the old structure.
“But we are thrilled that as part of that update, we have put a different substrate down,” she said. “So it’s more efficient for cleaning, and it more accurately represents their natural habitat.”
The last new structure offers more flexibility.
“The Burrowing Owl Enclosure was designed with capabilities to either maximum the entire space or divide it, depending on the animals in there,” Hussey said.
Not only efficient and eye-appealing, the structures were built to hurricane-grade guidelines.
“We know these new enclosures will be here for a long time,” she said.
Hussey noted that CROW has a total of 12 rehabilitation enclosures on its property.
“It is our hope — now that we’ve seen how wonderful this has turned out — to work perhaps on an annual basis to update all of our enclosures,” she said.
In addition to the project donors and contractor, Hussey extended her appreciation to all of CROW’s rehabilitators, Facilities and Grounds Manager Randy Rainbolt, and the city’s permitting office.
For more information about CROW, visit http://www.crowclinic.org/ or call 239-472-3644.
The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife is at 3883 Sanibel-Captiva Road, Sanibel.