October 20, 2023 – gecko stowaway

Officer Mullen reports…

We received a call in dispatch from a person who had just come back from vacation in Hawaii. They were unfolding their kid’s stroller when a tiny little stowaway leaped out. It was a tiny day gecko that caught a ride to San Francisco. The day gecko was contained in the bathroom until the officer arrived. The family had poked some holes in the lid of a tiny mason jar, and Officer Leiendecker went out to the call and carefully contained the tiny gecko in the mason jar for transport back to the shelter. On her way back from the call, she stopped at a pet store and got a container of flightless fruit flies for the gecko. She knew that he would be hungry after his long travels. She was right, she placed a few in the jar and watched him quickly gobble them up. Once back at the shelter, we were all asking the captain if we could take him back to Hawaii to return him to his habitat.

The day gecko is an introduced species to Hawaii and is native to northern Madagascar. They are not considered invasive in Hawaii since they tend to hang out in places without native plant and animal species and therefore do not compete with native species. Day geckos have adhesive scales on their toes that help them stick and climb smooth surfaces such as glass and walls. Geckos do not have eyelids but do have a clear scale that protects their eye and they use their tongue to clean and wet the eye. They are the only lizard to have a wide variety of calls and sounds. Their vocalizations range from squeaks and clicks to barks and croaks. Day geckos can sprint over 3 meters/second making them the fastest gecko in the world.

Since it was a bit out of our budget to send an ACO to Hawaii (or Madagascar), we looked for the next best placement for this tiny creature. Normally we would reach out to a reptile rescue that we work with, however this time Officer Leiendecker, an experienced reptile owner, stepped up to raise this tiny gecko. She already had an enclosure at home that was unoccupied and waiting for the next animal that needed a home. Now this tiny day gecko has a wonderful place to grow and thrive in a loving home that will care for his exotic needs.

Please remember to always check your bags when packing and unpacking from a trip, we have gotten calls about many different stowaways that find themselves in a completely different climate. Please call 415-554-9400 if you happen to bring home a little traveler from your vacations.

October 13, 2023 – raccoon predicament

Officer Mullen reports…

The other day Officers Sherwood and Quirke were called out to a Chinatown alley where passersby had contacted our dispatch to report a raccoon that had found himself in a troubling situation. He was spotted above a store among some wires and under a wooden sign that appeared unstable and ready to fall on the raccoon. Using a ladder the officers were able to climb up and carefully remove the sign. As the officer climbed the ladder the frightened raccoon was able to free himself and scurry up the building to a higher, more stable resting place. The officers saw that the raccoon was able to climb successfully he and thankfully appeared uninjured. He was left alone to find a better place to sleep the day away.

Raccoons are just one of the nearly 500 species of wildlife, including fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and invertebrates, that are supported by the San Francisco Bay. It is an essential resting and feeding ground for millions of birds. Help us care for all these amazing animals in our city. If you notice an animal that is sick, injured or just plain out-of-place, please contact our officers in dispatch at 415-554-9400. We will ask you a few questions and have you send a photo or video so we can best prioritize the response. Thank you for helping keep our diverse urban environment healthy.

October 6, 2023 – injured pelicans

Officer Mullen reports…

This week Officer Keefe and I were both called out to the beach on three separate occasions for pelicans with injured wings. My call came earlier in the week when a family who was out enjoying the weather by the ocean noticed a pelican laying down near the water. Upon closer inspection they saw that the bird had a severely injured wing with visible bone protruding from the wing. They gave us a call at dispatch (tel:415-554-9400) and gave the closest street intersection off the Great Highway. They stood by and flagged me down as I walked down the beach. I was able to use a towel and gloves to properly wrap and carry the bird back to the van. A few days later Officer Keefe had two back-to-back calls for injured pelicans. For the first one, she thankfully had the help of two surfers to act as a visual block for the still active and very mobile pelican who had a clean puncture wound on the inside of the left wing area. Her second call took her further down the beach where she found a much more injured pelican who was suffering from a compound fracture of the wing. She had to secure him in a towel and walk up the long and treacherous sand stairs at Fort Funston. The bird with the more minor injuries was able to be transferred down the Peninsula Humane Society to start the road to recovery and rehabilitation. The injuries of the other two birds that were caught were too severe for rehabilitation and had to be humanely euthanized. At least we know that these beautiful birds will not continue to suffer on the shoreline.

A pelican’s wingspan can reach up to 10 feet long and they are one of the heaviest birds, with the largest ones weighing over 25 pounds. Pelicans can fly for over 24 hours without any stopover at a speed of up to 35mph. These birds can hold up to 3 gallons of water in their pouch and use the pouch to flood both fish and water in. Then the bird slightly opens his bill, tilts his head to the side and all the water falls out, leaving the delicious fish inside for consumption. You may see gulls hanging out with pelicans to try and score an easy meal, as the pelican tilts his head to release the water, oftentimes a gull will swoop down and try to steal a fish from the pouch.

If you notice any sick or injured shore birds at the beach, please give our dispatchers a call at 415-554-9400 and let them know where you are. Dropping a pin on your map on your phone and sending that to us is the best way for us to find the injured birds on the expansive shoreline of San Francisco. Thank you for alerting us to the injured animals of San Francisco and helping us find them.

September 29, 2023 – opossum in a trap

9/29/2023 – Officer Mullen reports…

Early one morning Officer Ryer and I were called out to a residence for an opossum with his leg caught in a snap trap that was intended for a smaller animal. When we arrived on scene the concerned homeowner met us in front and took us to the backyard where we saw the juvenile opossum huddled against the back fence. As I approached the animal remained still, I used a towel to calm him, so I could better see what was going on. Thankfully the trap was easily released and I was able to quickly free the foot. There was a small break in skin where the trap was removed and the foot was quite swollen. When placing the animal into the wire transfer cage, I noticed that the opossum was appropriately using his foot while walking and climbing in the cage. This was a great sign. We spoke with the homeowner about better ways of keeping unwanted rodents away from their house. Keeping areas free of food and other temptations to wildlife and using scents like ammonia to deter wildlife are much better options than using snap traps. Snap traps should never be used in outdoor areas as they can often injure many different types of both domestic pets and urban wildlife that they are not designed for. The homeowner understood and vowed to never use these types of traps in that space again.

Upon getting back to the shelter, I brought the juvenile opossum to see our staff veterinarian for an evaluation on the leg that was caught in the trap. By this time, the swelling had reduced dramatically and the youngster appeared to be fully able to use and bear weight on his leg. Since opossums are ground dwellers that burrow in all types of soil, they are susceptible to infections that can quickly become serious. The wound on opossum’s leg was confirmed to be open and oozing. Since he was a juvenile he was able to be transferred to Lila at Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue to do some healing in a controlled environment where his wound can be cleaned and monitored. Once feeling better he will be released back into the same neighborhood that he came from. Opossums are nomadic animals and do not tend to sleep in one place for more than three nights. I know that he will enjoy his few nights at Yggdrasil so he can heal fast and move on to enjoy the many different nights to come in the wild city of San Francisco.

If you would like to learn more about humane ways to abate and protect your home from the prolific urban environment, please contact organizations like Wildcare https://discoverwildcare.org and other websites that find kinder ways to share our environment with the wildlife around us. Never hesitate to call our dispatch at 415-554-9400 if you ever see any type of animal stuck in a trap.

September 22, 2023 – pigeon with fish hook

9/22/2023 – Officer Mullen reports…

Officers Ortega and Tumath received a late night call for a gull in distress. The reporting party described a gull that seemed to have his beak stuck to his foot. Upon closer examination it was seen that there was a fishing lure that had two sets of hooks. One of the hooks was stuck to the beak and as the bird tried to remove the lure with his feet, he ultimately got his feet caught in the lure as well. Ortega and Tumath rushed to the scene and were able to locate and secure the bird. With some tools, they gently removed the lure first from the feet and then from the beak. Remarkably the young gull seemed to have very minor injuries from the fishing lure and they were able to release the bird on scene and he flew off into the night.

Did you know that we have officers in the field responding to calls from 6am to midnight every day of the week? Because of our accessibility and availability we are able to quickly tend to injured animals as soon as they are reported to us. We respond to approximately 11,800 calls for service each year. Aside from assisting and rescuing wildlife, we respond to a wide variety of field calls including: dealing with sick and injured stray domestic animals, welfare checks on housed and un-housed domestic pets, cruelty investigations, vicious and dangerous dogs, public safety issues pertaining to animals and picking up animals that need to go into custody care due to their owner going to jail, the hospital or when they become deceased. Animal Control Officers also assist the police and fire departments when they are dealing with animals in an emergent situation.

A huge thanks to the person who spotted the injured gull and gave our officers a call at tel:415-554-9400 to report this bird. An even bigger thanks to the speedy response from our officers who were able to act quickly, before the injuries became more severe, and free this bird so he could fly off to his next adventure.