Most Amazing

Every time an animal is rescued from pain and fear, we’d like to ring the bells of celebration. Truly, each act of compassion, each intervention for an animal in need, is worthy of great praise. Here are just a few of The Great Animal Rescue Chase heroes whose stories and photos are of an especially courageous or breathtaking nature. Please enjoy.

Buck Found in the Snow

My brother found a button buck, barely breathing, lying in the snow...he carried it almost a mile back to his house & is trying to nurse him back to life. He knows the fawn's chances aren't that good but has decided to try anyway.

- Jason B. Martin, New York

Guided by Intuition

Our next hero Hannah Keller hails from Alaska where bald eagles, like this one suffering from a gunshot wound, are frequently brought to the Alaska Raptor Center for treatment. Here's Hannah's story:

"I heard a word from some visitors visiting Sitka, Alaska in the National Park that they had seen an injured Bald Eagle. Usually a bird of prey spotted by people who don't know much about their habits is doing something normal and not actually injured. This time I felt like there was a difference, I decided to venture into the park that evening.

It was about 10:00 pm when I started my looking for the "hurt bird." I felt like I had been brought there for a reason, as silly as is sounded, I knew there was an eagle suffering. I just had to find it... after an hour of searching it was almost 11:00pm and it was getting pretty dark. I really did not want to be stuck in the middle of the woods in the dark, brown bears and mainly creepy people come out! I walked over the bridge to the final trail out of the woods and I had a very realistic vision of an eagle sitting low in a tree appear in my mind, and something literally TOLD me to turn left.

I quickly turned onto the small foot path to the left of the river and ran about ten feet till I looked to my left and saw what I had just seen in my mind, but now it was there right in front of me; a mature bald eagle roosting only about 15 feet up in an Alder tree.

I called my friend who works at the Alaska Raptor Center with me and he was there in less than 10 minutes with a large net, blankets, and leather gloves.

What happened next was a strange ballet of him climbing up the Alder tree to retrieve this bird that was not even strong enough to fly away once we were right beneath it. I stood below with a net and blanket ready to literally catch this poor bird. He reached out and grabbed the eagle's legs and body and lowered him down to me. The eagle was in such bad shape he struggled only a little bit as I wrapped him in a large blanket and covered his head so he would calm, and calm he did... most eagles I have held after being rescued have almost fought their way out of my arms.

We got to the Raptor Center's clinic at about midnight and further examined him. As you can see from the pictures the bird's entire left side of its face was mangled and missing. The veterinarian said he was most likely a victim of a gunshot wound or even another eagle or bear fought him for his life. Sadly the gunshot was the most likely cause of this bird's injury. At the center we treat injuries that are 80% due to man kind.

In tradition the rescuer of the eagle gets to name it. I named him Alder, from the tree he last perched in. Alder had a massive systemic infection, sadly his injuries were too severe to rehabilitate him back into the wild and he was euthanized.

This story is sad in the end but knowing I saved him suffering near the end of his life helps comfort me. Fortunately there are hundreds of eagles and other birds that the center returns to the wild each year and I have been privileged to participate in their rescues, rehabilitation, and releases.

There is nothing like watching a wild Bald Eagle fly back into the wild after a stay in the center for its injuries. Freedom is truly seen at that moment!"

Recuperation

Window strikes are often deadly to birds, not only because of the initial injury, but because they are vulnerable to predators in the minutes immediately after impact. This hummingbird flew into the glass at the home of Canadian couple Aviva and Rumon Carter who allowed the bird to safely convalesce until it was ready to fly again.

Determination brings protection for sea turtles

Pedro Badarana releases a juvenile Loggerhead Turtle that had been caught by a fisherman who intended to butcher it. "She was rescued after being 26 hours upside down, overheated and no water," Pedro explained.

"In the Bahamas, the Sea Turtles are not protected yet as in the rest of the world and there is an opportunistic fishery of these animals," Pedro explained to The Great Animal Rescue Chase Founder Laura Simpson in early 2008. "When the concerned Bahamians find a sea turtle in distress, they call me. I've ran this far with the luck that all turtles have been able to make it to the ocean without the need to keep them in captivity for observation. Some of them need to be stitched or cleansed due to gaffs, hooks or ropes. The animals are released either at the dock or at the ocean aboard of a boat. Sometimes a crew is needed to put the turtle on a stretcher and to carry her."

But Pedro didn't quietly go about the business of saving sea turtles. He decided to make some noise and launched an online campaign to unite wildlife enthusiasts in a lobbying effort to ban sea turtle slaughter in the Bahamas. And, in the end, Pedro's passion for paid off. A new law was put in place to protect the turtles from capture and slaughter. Way to go Pedro. Thank you for being such an amazing champion for marine animals.