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She opened the cage and I followed her in. The raptor had posted himself into the corner of the enclosure two days ago and according to Jim, hadn’t moved since. Dana cautiously stepped closer. “Do you have any treats?”
I nodded, pulling a small tin of fish out of my pocket and popping the top. The Harrier perked up, eyes focusing on me rather than fixed on the forest behind us.
Dana reached over my shoulder, taking out a piece of fish and throwing it out in front of us. Before the fish hit the ground, the bird launched itself off its perch, swooping low to scoop up the treat and launching up into a tree behind us.
I guess he’s fine,” Dana said with a laugh. “I’ll diagnose him with boredom.”
I nodded, tossing another fish in his direction. “I’ll have Jim change up his food. He won’t be with us for much longer, anyway.”
“Well, let’s hope our next patient is also a quick study so we can get inside.” Dana rubbed her gloved hands together. “It’s freezing.”
I followed her out of the enclosure, keeping one eye on the bird as he clawed the ground to pick up any bits of fish he missed.
“Does that happen often? Animals getting bored?” Dana asked.
“Occasionally. Especially the ones who get stuck here over the winter. Thankfully, most only need a few weeks to recuperate and they’re back in the wild,” I said. “The lifers, well, we find other ways of keeping them occupied.”
The raptor had taken an errant shot from a hunter in the middle of grouse hunting season. I suspected it had been a case of mistaken identity, but I didn’t push the man too hard about the specifics of the injury. With their protected status, most people would have left the poor thing to die. But I’d worked hard to establish a no-questions-asked approach to taking in injured animals.
Unfortunately, he’d taken the shot mid-migration, forcing me to keep him through the worst of the winter.
We stopped in front of the moose enclosure. Unlike the pasture behind City Hall, the moose enclosure at the rescue had a tall metal fence and sturdy locked gate. I didn’t trust an animal that could grow to six feet tall and over one-thousand pounds being held back by something as flimsy as an electric fence or barbed wire.
“How many are in there now?” Dana asked, a worried look on her face as she scanned the enclosure.
“Just the one. I moved Mrs. Marple into the pen behind City Hall.”
“Behind City Hall? I assumed that pen was for horses or goats or something. They let you stash wild animals in there?”
“It’s a long story. And I only put the docile ones. Since Mrs. Marple is a lifer, she gets the prime digs when I need the space.”
I spotted the bull moose on the opposite side of the field. “Did you want to go in or round the fence?”
She shifted on her feet before nodding. “Go in. It’ll be easier.”
She kept close to the fence as I let us in. I latched the gate behind me, taking the lead toward the animal.
“Have you examined him before?” I asked, keeping my voice low, but loud enough to alert him to our presence.
The moose stopped chewing, turning to face us.
“No. Not him. The other moose, Mrs. Marple. Jim wanted to make sure I knew how to approach them.”
Rather than walking straight toward him, I walked toward a grove of trees to the left of the entrance. While the moose didn’t appear aggressive, I wanted something to hide behind in case he charged.
“He’s enormous,” Dana said, her voice nearly at my arm and high-pitched.
“He’s a baby. A big baby, but still a kid. Other than Mrs. Marple, we don’t take adults. Just calves.”
“Why not adults?” Her voice shook, and I glanced back at her.
“Too dangerous,” I answered calmly. “Now, according to Jim, this guy doesn’t seem to have broken anything. Good thing as I don't know how we’d get a brace on him but he has a nasty gash on his front right leg. Jim is worried it’s going to get infected.”
I glanced back at Dana. Her hands shook and her eyes were wide.
“Are you sure you want to approach him? We could try to get on the other side of the fence and check him from there. If you still think we need to go in, we could sedate him first.”
Whitney had no fear when it came to the animals, for better or worse. I’d gotten used to how she operated, fast and confidently. I shouldn’t have assumed Dana would work in the same way. Certainly not in her first week.
