Born on her grandmother’s farm in Nebraska, Vi Nisonger has been fascinated with animals since childhood. “There were cows, goats, chickens, and a pair of ducks. They followed me around. When I was very small I would lay down in the yard with the ducks on a blanket. My grandmother’s dog (part collie, part shepherd) would meet me at the school bus every day after school. The animals raised me. They taught me lessons and were my friends”. As an adult, Vi broadened her scope beyond domestic animals and in 1981 began working with wildlife following discussions with her vet’s wife, who was a volunteer involved in wildlife care.
After more than two decades of rehabilitating animals, Vi has more than a few stories to tell: “I raised a female Downy woodpecker two years ago and learned a lot. I had never had that species before. She was a singleton so I gave her a toy for company. She pecked the toy (a plush black bird) whenever I was late with feeding her, until I finally made the connection that that was a signal that she wanted to be fed. In the wild, pecking the mouth area is a feeding signal for woodpecker nestlings. When she was able to care for herself, I released her into an oak grove in my yard, where Downy woodpeckers as well as Nuttall’s woodpeckers make their home. She eventually found a mate there.”
Vi also has a congregation of bushtits who reside right outside. Five years ago she rehabilitated nine bushtit fledglings and released them all in her backyard to join the others, who usually live in large groups of up to forty birds.
It’s not enough to just release an animal into a family of the same species; you must know the natural history of the species to see if it is feasible. Unlike the Downy or Nuttall’s woodpeckers, which form monogamous pairs, Acorn woodpeckers live in a matriarchal society. Groups of up to 16 birds live in cohesive groups that stay together year-round to protect communal food-storage sites and to raise young. They do not form monogamous pairs. Typically, only alpha females (plus perhaps one other female) lay eggs and related males and helper females play an active role in their care, including incubating the eggs and feeding the nestlings. Rehabilitated animals will not be accepted into this closed society. Instead, a new family group must be created by taking multiple rehab animals and releasing them together.
Vi remembers another occasion when a Double-Crested cormorant was brought in. It was injured, but volunteers discovered that at some point it had been illegally kept as a pet by someone. Probably it was taken from the wild when young and then released to fend for itself when it grew too big to keep. This bird did not identify with members of its own species and was unable to fish, nor did it show any interest in being released when it had recovered. When animals have imprinted on humans through excessive exposure when young, they are unable to survive in the wild. When the cormorant was well, it was transferred to the San Diego Zoo. This cormorant’s story illustrates so well the extreme importance of not keeping wild animals as pets.
At this point you may think that Vi works exclusively with birds -- not so. In the mid 1990s Vi found herself caring for an adult female jack rabbit. She was injured on Moffet Field when a plane hit her, crushing one side. Fortunately, a Humane Society truck was driving by Moffet Field (en route to another call) and was able to speedily dispatch the rabbit to our Center. Miraculously, there were no broken bones. Following an initial exam and medication, Vi took her home for further care. The rabbit needed to see a vet, but Vi could not take her because of likely exposure to dogs (adult rabbits die of stress in the presence of a predator. This is nature’s way of ensuring a quick, painless death before they are consumed.)
Fortunately, Vi had a physician friend from the Coroner’s office who made house calls specially for her to give the rabbit examinations. For a time, Vi feared the rabbit was not a candidate for release because of blindness (her eyes were covered with a cloudy material) but the doctor assured her that her vision would be restored in a few weeks. Wild adult rabbits traditionally are very difficult to rehab, as they consider humans predators and may succumb to stress.
Amazingly, this rabbit accepted Vi (but no one else). When she grew better, she told Vi in no uncertain terms that she was ready to be released by hopping towards the screen door and into her backyard. Vi took her back to Moffet Field for her release.
To sum up Vi’s philosophy, “All the work has been worth it. Every animal I’ve treated has taught me something. That’s the way life should be. We should accept what they have to teach.” What did this rabbit teach her? To always hope for trust.