During 2002, Salmonier received a total of forty-two birds. Of this number, sixteen (38%) were successfully rehabilitated and released, eleven (26%) either died or were euthanized due to injuries and six non-releasable birds were transferred to other facilities. Typically, the largest bird group represented was raptors, with nineteen (45%) received.

During 2002, a total of eight mammals were received of which three died and the remaining five were released. Two orphaned/unattended moose calves were received but neither survived.

A Gray Tree Frog was the only amphibian received this year. This animal hitch-hiked its way to Newfoundland in a duffle bag containing hockey equipment. A Newfoundland resident who attended a hockey tournament in the northeast United States was the unwitting host, and the animal was discovered upon his return. This incident illustrates how such accidental introductions can occur. Several of our presently-occurring small mammal species and at least one resident amphibian, the Green Frog, are believed to have arrived under somewhat similar circumstances.

Two of our incoming birds were wearing legbands on their arrival. One of these, an adult male Bald Eagle, sustained a fatal injury following a suspected collision with transmission wires. From the band information, we were able to determine that the eagle had previously been rehabilitated as a two-year old juvenile at the Carpenter Nature Center in Minnesota, having been found near there with a fractured clavicle on November 28, 1998. Following rehabilitation, it was banded and released at St. Paul, Minnesota. This is the first Newfoundland band return record for an out-of-province eagle.

Two other bird oddities for this area were received. One European species, a Gray Heron, was retrieved from an offshore boat; however, this bird died from severe emaciation. A second rarity here, a Sandhill Crane, was received in mid-March from Labrador in an emaciated condition. Following a three-week period of rest, relaxation and “refueling” the bird was released back to the wild in a more appropriate climate on Newfoundland’s south coast.