Fall 2023

118 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 3 SavingWild Lives Wildlife Rehabilitation Center Cares for Cr itter s of All Kinds B Y D I NA RU I Z PHOTOGRA PHY COURT E S Y OF S P C A MONT E R E Y COUNT Y I t might have a beak, whiskers, claws, fangs or fur, but it’ll be well cared for and likely returned to the wild if it’s taken to the SPCA Monterey County Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. The center, which is run under the umbrella of the greater SPCA, is a place where lives are saved and controlled chaos is a daily occurrence.The seasoned professionals there are used to it. Recently, a baby turkey with a fungal infection made it so the entire flock needed extra care. “We’re coordinating a treatment plan,” says Wildlife Center Manager Ciera Duits-Cavanaugh. “There are eight of them, so we have to grab eight turkeys, twice a day, to medicate them.Their bodies are about the size of a football.We have to clear up the Wild baby turkeys, known as “poults,” are able to leave the nest within 12 to 24 hours of hatching. This group of turkeys, and their entire flock of eight, required intervention and care due to a fungal infection in one of the poults.