Perched on the shoulder of the one human he trusts, Zechariah the red-tailed hawk looks at us warily, giving us a few suspicious looks. The Animal Ark has been his home for 3 years, after he was found lying on the ground left for dead. His human friend Alex Worsley told us, "Zechariah here is actually very accustomed to his keepers, even though he was found roadside, covered in crop pesticide."
Alex can't forget the day, when Zechariah finally trusted him: "This was the first time I ever got to have a wild animal trustingly willingly come to me, and it was breathtaking watching him fly into my hand."
It just goes to show that living beings, even those that are not closely related, can help each other. Welcome to wildlife rehabilitation. As Worsley told us, "It's getting to see them recover, settle in, live good healthy lives…and you get to live in their world. I get to take a peek at their wild natures every day."
Zechariah is just one of countless wounded birds of prey and other wildlife that find their way into the good hands of this unique wildlife refuge north of Reno. That's part of what Animal Ark is all about, inspired by Noah's Ark and a love of animals since 1976. As co-founder Aaron Hiibel told us, “There's a lot to learn from them, and then we wanted to share it with kids and the visiting public."
Like 2 large tigers…one a veteran of movies, the other let go by a theme park. A mountain lion…an orphan after a rancher shot her mom, leaving her too young to hunt. A cheetah born at a breeding center in South Africa, that found a better life here. And so did the bear named LG, so named because they thought he was a little girl at first, until the vet told them differently. Aaron told us LG was "found frostbitten, his ears fell off. He weighed 14 pounds…a bear that old should have weighed 60 at that time. He was probably within hours of dying."
Like most wildlife rehabilitation facilities, Animal Ark depends upon donations, which is why they do events like today's cheetah race…to get people to come out and visit and pay the admission fees that help fund the work they do. Caring for wildlife is not a money-making adventure. It is one that requires a strong will, dedication and a big heart.
For Aaron Hiibel, it's more than rewarding: “When you see a kid come up and start smiling and laughing and seeing something like a cheetah run or a bear eating, you're hooked."
Animal Ark is always seeking donations, and promises some interesting work for new volunteers. For that, directions and the hours you can visit and enjoy this unique wildlife refuge, click the link below:
