Editor:

    They should have been safe.

    Calvary Pond next to the cemetery in South Portland
is ideal turtle habitat: secluded and protected, with minimal human and
motor vehicle traffic. But last week, hundreds of gallons of waste oil
began spilling out of a pipe into the pond, and the turtle haven
quickly and without notice became lethal to its inhabitants.

    On Tuesday, August 7, as the Maine Department of
Environmental Protection found out about the spill and began working
with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to rescue the
turtles in the pond, the Center for Wildlife (located in Cape Neddick),
the only wildlife rehabilitation center in the state of Maine that is
equipped and qualified as a treatment facility for washing
oil-contaminated animals, was put on alert. On Thursday, once the
turtles started arriving at the Center, staff members began the long
process of caring for them – gently washing and rinsing each turtle
individually, being careful to remove as much of the oil as possible,
keeping them warm under heat lamps, and monitoring their condition
closely. It is not unusual for the turtles to be cleaned several times
in order to remove all of the oil, and to be given an injection of
vitamins to counteract the oil they have also orally ingested.

    Meanwhile volunteers, and even friends of
volunteers, pitched in to help with the rest of the “routine” animal
care that constitutes a “normal” week in summertime at the Center. July
and August are the Center’s busiest months, when they are literally
swamped with a massive influx of baby animals either sick or orphaned
as well as animals injured by cats, cars or other human contact. Every
cage in the indoor facility is in use, housing the animals in critical
condition, while the outdoor rehabilitation enclosures are full of
animals regaining their strength in preparation for release back to the
wild.

    It takes a full contingent of staff and volunteers
to get through these summer months, and at this point in the season,
Center workers are starting to feel the effects of all those hours.
They admit it can be tough.  Not only is it their tightest
financial time, but it’s also when everyone starts looking for a light
at the end of the tunnel. Being so invested in taking care of the
animals can take its toll, physically and emotionally. Even so, the
Center never turns away an animal in need, serving about 1,500 animals
a year, providing a full range of treatment needed to rehabilitate
birds, mammals, and reptiles in order to maximize each animal’s chance
of returning to the wild and getting a second chance at life. As a
private nonprofit organization, they rely exclusively on donations from
individuals and foundations, receiving no government funding.

    The Center is staffed from early in the morning
until late in the evening, the whole time dedicated to caring for the
animals, leaving very little time for anything else. But ask anyone
there, and each one will say that it’s all worth it when they can help
so many animals that otherwise wouldn’t have a chance.

Like the turtles.

    To learn more visit www.yorkcenterforwildlife.org.

Heather Hughes

Dover, NH