Tamarack Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Center

Santa's Visit 2006

Santa prepared himself and his trusty reindeer for the long trip ahead this Christmas Eve. His helpers had worked the entire year preparing for this special night. Santa would be visiting places all over the world. He checked his list, and all the places that he would be visiting. He needed his list to be sure everyone received something special this year.

He turned to Mrs. Claus before stepping into his sleigh. She seemed especially pretty; her beauty showed in her eyes and smile. To her surprise he hugged her and told her how much he loved her. He thought to himself as he released from her arms how much the people in the world needed to show their love, that the world would be a better place. He stepped into his sleight and in a flash he was off. It was amazing how much energy the reindeer and Santa had this year. They moved quickly from one home to another and one country to another.

It was time to take a break to let the reindeer regain strength. So they returned to their favorite place to see some wild animal friends that could not be in the wild this night. They also knew there would be plenty of food and water waiting for them. As they headed downward through the clouds they were pleasantly surprised by what they saw. There was a much longer roof to land on and take off from. Sixty-four more feet of roof certainly made this much easier. This was the new addition to the existing flight building, a much needed improvement for the large birds of prey to practice their flying and to build up muscles after being confined during recovery from illness or injury.

Rudolph was curious and peeked into the enclosure. His red nose lit up when he saw the huge bird inside. It was a bald eagle. He noticed it did not have a white head, and asked the eagle why. The eagle replied "I am too young to have the white feathers on my head and tail. I have to be four and one-half to five years old before I grow white feathers. That is the Eagle's age of becoming and adult." Rudolph looked up and said to the rest of the reindeer, "Now I learned something new tonight".

As Santa climbed out of the sleigh he saw the pile of goodies waiting for him and his reindeer. They unleashed themselves and jumped to the ground, feasting on grains and apples, and drinking water. Santa grabbed an apple and quickly entered the wildlife sickroom. It didn't seem very full, only one tub wiht a turtle and one box with a hawk.

The turtle was basking under a night light and lifted his head when Santa entered the room. It was obvious that the turtle had a very bad injury to his shell. It had healed, but left a deep impression. Santa asked when he was going to be released. The turtle replied; "I will be released when the weather is warm again. Right now all the turtles in the wild are hibernating. And when I am released I will be taken back to where I was found. That is my home. If I am released elsewhere, I will not eat until I can find my home. Sometimes my friends get picked up and I never see them again because they are not returned to their home." Santa scratched hi head. That certainly was a good lesson to learn. He would make sure that any turtles he gave as presents would be ones born and raised in captivity - those raised as pets.

He peeked into the box to see how the hawk was doing. The hawk was standing, but when startled lost his balance and would lean against the side of the box. Santa asked what the problem was. The hawk said; "I had a collision with a car. I have a pretty bad head injury that may take up to a year to heal. Luckily someone found me and brought me to the Rehabilitation Center. I am improving, but this is certainly a slow process." Santa wished that hawk luck as he turned to visit his friends at the Education Center.

Santa slipped through the door at the Center and was shocked by what he saw. The entire entranceway had changed. There was a beautiful display covering the wall. As he looked left or right he saw animals that are active during the day, and then those at night. Wording was printed on the display that told the mission or purpose of Tamarack Wildlife Rehabilitiation and Education Center. The display itself looked three dimensional. There was a a bench seat just below the display. Santa stood for quite a while absorbing all the information. Then he turned to see the reptiles. They were not there Hew was taken aback. He had brought them special treats. He hurried to the first room on the left to see if anyone was there. He was relieved when he heard Sophia, The Barred Owl clack her beak. Of all the owls, she was the most vocal. Santa was glad to see her and gave her a treat before asking about the reptiles. She said: "Don't you worry; they have all found a nice home together. There were not enough people to handle them here and were feeling little neglected. So they were given to someone that will pay a lot of attention to them, plus use them for education. I'll give you the address, so you can stop and see them."

As Santa moved down the hallway, he noticed that all the birds of prey were friendlier than normal. They seemed happy to see him. Sassy, the Merlin Falcon could be heard banging against the door and vocalizing. She was so excited. Santa had never seen her act this way. She told him; "We have had a lot of attention this year and we really enjoy it. The summer help would take us out for walks. The fresh air, sun, and attention were so special. It has changed us all. Even through the summer help has left, we see new faces. Now when people volunteer at the Center, they have the opportunity to learn how to handle us and take us for walks, even if we are only walked inside this building. We would like to see more people volunteer and visit us, and spend quality time with us."

Santa smiled. He liked what he saw and heard. If only more people would spend more quality time with each other. As he walked back to his reindeer and sleigh he thought how nice this time of year is; because many people will be able to be together to hopefully spend quality time with their families and friends. That often times, the time spent with each other is more important than the material gifts we give.

As Santa and his reindeer prepared to takeoff, Santa turned to the animals at Tamarack Wildlife with smile and a wave. He bid them farewell till next year. In a split second the sleigh was lifted off the roof. Santa called out:"Ho-Ho-Ho, may the spirit of this season be with you throughout the year. And may there be peace on earth!"