January and February 2020 stories, Arnold’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, and Keepers Days

In April 2019, my friend Debbie and I went to Arnold’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Okeechobee, Florida. Then in February 2020, I went there for three days by myself with my camper. In previous posts from my visits here, I had a link to their website which was Arnoldswildlife dot org but I found out recently that they only now have a Facebook page. I can’t provide a link since I don’t have a Facebook account.

Here is a link to the pictures I took during these two visits. There were several new animals since my visits in previous years. In February, I saw three otters in the otter exhibit and found out that the third one was the baby that I saw when I was there in January. I love watching the otters swimming and playing in their pool and chasing each other through the water or playing in the water spraying on top of their rock wall. The brown lemur was fun to watch. He would sleep a while, then play with his ball. He would roll it and then hold it using his tail, then play a bit more and then rest again.

Sadly, several animals have passed away due to age or health issues. I still love watching the various types of monkeys. Sometimes when I visit there are baby monkeys, usually ring tail lemurs or marmoset babies, but not this time. Bari who is a friend of Sue Arnold’s bought two donkeys that are a French breed and not very common. They are very large, but also very gentle. One of the donkeys has curly fur and the other has straight fur. The Prevost squirrels which are from Asia are so beautiful and a bit larger than common squirrels. There is a pair of Indonesian Jade Peacocks which are more green which are rare and endangered, so far there have not been any babies from this pair, that I know of. They are beautiful colored peacocks and they look different from the common peacocks which are turquoise.

The two deer in the pictures below are special needs animals. One of the deer has only three legs, it’s missing a back leg. The other deer must have also been hit by a vehicle, it’s back legs and hips are damaged. It seems it can put a little weight on one back leg, but the other just dangles and the whole hip moves together like it drags behind it’s body. It’s so sad to see animals hurt and having physical challenges, but they seem to do okay and get the best care here.

In addition to loving the various types of monkeys, I love the camels. So many of the animals I have come to know from my many visits over the years, like Zeke the Capuchin monkey, and Lucy the mama camel and Annie her baby who is now about three years old. I have been watching her from when she was a few days old. Sue Arnold sent me photos of Annie when she was a few days old, she was so cute. On my website there are pictures in older albums from when Annie was a few months old to now when she is about three. They love drinking water from their water spout which is next to the fence and I get to see them up close, other times they are on the other side of their large enclosure eating their hay and other foods.

I always enjoy my visit there and watching the animals play or interact with each other. Watching the monkeys and raccoons especially eat their food is also very entertaining and also educational. They eat the fruit very carefully to maximize the most they can get without losing the juices in their food. The meat eaters such as the jungle cats, panthers, bobcats, etc. get raw chicken and beef for their meal. Sue Arnold is very caring and makes sure all of the animals eat the healthiest foods and there is a nutritionist that comes frequently to ensure the correct diets are fed to the animals.

In February 2020, the City of Lighthouse Point once again held their annual Keepers Day event. My friend Nona and I always try to go on Saturday and watch the parade where it ends at the park, and then we walk around for a while, eat a hotdog, and enjoy our time together. This year there was no antique car show, we don’t know why. Perhaps there was another event they were at because they are usually here. It’s fun to look at the old cars and see how much they have changed and what autos were back when they first were manufactured and the transition over the years.

This entry was posted in 2020 Trip. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *