"...and let us make man in our image and likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
- Genesis 1:26 (New International Version)
Darlene
Braastad serves this Biblical exhortation well. For over 12 years she has
administered to song birds, Raptors and mammals in need of help. She is the
Founder and Director of "Forever Wild." Her mission and her gift
join forces to heal wild animals and birds that have been injured. Her goal
is to return them to the wild in a condition where they retain their independence
and can co-exist with their kind and survive.
This is no easy task. She must assist and at the same time preserve the creature's natural identity. She must be careful not to domesticate her charges. For the most part the animals and birds she rehabilitates are native to Arizona but she does admit to having two emus on the 2 1/2 acre property. Another out of region marsupial she has rehabilitated is possums, native to Texas, but not Arizona.
Of the more than 2,300 birds and mammals she has treated, over 56% have been returned to the wild and survived. Her not-for-profit organization has rehabilitated injured javelinas and rabbits, in addition to orphaned animals. She tells of one male Red Tailed Hawk with a soft tissue injury. He was rehabilitated, but returned to the facility in November near Thanksgiving and also in May or June. This occurred for 8 years. He fathered and helped raise many fledgling Red Tails.
Darlene teaches Practical Wildlife Rehabilitation at Pima College. She receives veterinary services from Valley Animal Hospital on 22nd St. In order to promote her life's work, she attends Wildlife conferences and is a member of the National Wildlife Rehabilitation Association.
Her vision is to someday create one of the largest state of the art wildlife rehabilitation centers in the United States. You can assist in the growth of this organization for "these creatures great and small" by sending your tax-deductible donations to "Forever Wild." Darlene can be reached by phone number at 574-3579. Or visit the Forever Wild web site at www.forever-wild.org.
© 2008 Good News Tucson™
