April 20th, 2005
The Lint Trap
by Kevin Mack, PAWS Wildlife Naturalist
Occasionally, the PAWS Wildlife Department receives a wild animal that
has been transported hundreds of miles to arrive in our care. The
animal may have endured amazing hardships, and survived incredibly
traumatic injuries, and it may have passed through many different hands
before finally arriving at our door. Once in our care, the animal may
undergo days, weeks, or even months of intensive rehabilitation in an
effort to restore the animal to full health and function. Dozens of
staff members and volunteers may be involved in the rehabilitation
process; all of them focused on the goal of restoring this one
individual wild life.
The story of the animal's injury and eventual restoration can be
inspiring to read, and may help raise awareness of the struggles that
wild creatures must endure in a human dominated world. Then again,
sometimes an animal finds itself in an unusual situation locally. They
don't travel far to arrive at our center, and their struggles are the
result of seemingly unremarkable events, but their lives are threatened
none-the-less. They only spend a short time in care, and it's possible
that only one or two people are involved in their rehabilitation
process. Although not exactly epic, these stories can illustrate that
even seemingly benign things can pose a very real threat to wildlife.
This is one such story.
Completely encased in lint, the Long-toed
Salamander soaks in pond water.
At 8:15 am on April 8th, Wildlife Rehabilitator Corrie Hines entered my
office with a washcloth in her hands. Corrie asked, "What is this, and
why was it in our basement?" Upon first glance, I saw what appeared to
be a small, fuzzy tail sticking out of the washcloth, and for a moment
I thought that Corrie might have captured a shrew. As I uncovered the
animal, however, it became immediately clear that the fur coat this
animal was wearing did not belong to it.
The creature I was looking at bore the
unmistakable outline of a salamander, although he was considerably more
furry than one would expect for an animal known for it's smooth, moist
skin. The "fur" that the salamander was wearing was lint that he had
picked up in the wildlife center's basement laundry room. The lint had
become attached to his moist skin and was now forming a dry cocoon that
was causing him to rapidly dehydrate. The salamander could barely move
and was in serious need of help. I feel fortunate in that I was able to
provide him with the help he needed.
After the lint was removed, the salamander
was still somewhat dehydrated.
After grabbing a plastic container from the wildlife center kitchen, I
partially filled it with water from the pond that is on the PAWS
property. Tap water contains chlorine, fluoride, and other chemicals
that might be hazardous to amphibians, so the pond water was less
likely to irritate the salamander's skin. After soaking the salamander
in the shallow dish of pond water for several minutes, the lint began
to loosen it's grip on his body. Using Q-tips, I carefully peeled the
lint away. The lint rolled off like a sock and revealed a somewhat dry,
disoriented (well, as far as I could tell he was disoriented) Long-toed
I left the salamander in the shallow water for about 30 minutes while I
went and captured a Canada Goose for release. When I returned to check
on him, the little amphibian looked much better. His skin had regained
a nice, shiny appearance, he had filled out a bit as he had absorbed
some of the pond water. He was also moving around as if he was ready to
be free of his plastic prison. I was happy to oblige.
Thirty minutes later, the salamander was well-
hydrated and becoming active.
Although I try to release animals as closely as possible to where they
were found, I figured the little Long-toed Salamander would prefer not
to be returned to his point of origin in the wildlife center laundry
room. Instead I took him to a large brush pile on PAWS property about
100 yards from the wildlife center's basement door. I placed the
plastic container on the ground and tilted it so the salamander could
exit more easily. He crawled to the edge of the container and looked
out at the damp leaf litter that was laid out before him. There he
paused for quite some time. As he sat there, it was impossible to
determine what type of information he was processing as he decided what
to do next.
He simply sat motionless and expressionless as if he was a statue.
Suddenly, something clicked and he set his body in motion. He crawled
forward deliberately and headed straight for the damp leaves in front
of him. The last thing I saw was a dark tail with a yellow stripe
slowly disappearing beneath a reddish-brown leaf.
Fully recovered, the salamander is released into
an appropriately damp home.
The Long-toed Salamander was only in PAWS care for a total of 50
minutes. His travel distance from his point of origin was about 40
feet, and his travel distance to his release site was about 100 yards.
His injury was not the result of a dramatic event like a car collision,
cat attack, or gunshot wound. He was simply a small, damp-skinned wild
animal that was nearly killed in an unfortunate encounter with lint.
Dramatic or not, his situation really was a matter of life or death,
and like thousands of wild animals before him, the Long-toed Salamander
received the lifesaving care he needed at the PAWS Wildlife Center.
Wild animals released between April 1st and April 19th, 2005:
All rights reserved. ©2005 Progressive Animal Welfare Society
2 Northern flickers
1 Cooper's Hawk
1 Long-toed Salamander
1 Canada Goose
1 Wood Duck
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
1 Rock Pigeon
2 Eastern Cottontails
1 Varied Thrush
1 American Robin
49 wild animals have been released since the beginning of 2005.