by JAMES ORR, State Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator Wednesday, July 1, 2009 12:04 PM CDT
Excessive summer heat can be dangerous and difficult for us humans to deal with. Imagine what it is like for animals with thick fur coats.
It is interesting to see how various animals deal with high temperatures. Ears are one way animals dispel heat.
Animals like deer, donkeys, and chihuahuas have a large thin ears, which create a lot of surface area. These can act like a radiator helping to release heat as blood circulates.
Our chihuahua craves heat. He suns himself in the direct sun and even goes so far to stretch out on the dashboard of the car under the hot windshield. When other dogs are in the shade panting he is cooking himself with a smile. Of course chihuahuas originate from Central America and are obviously well adapted to deal with heat. They radiate so much heat they were often kept in a papoose with an infant child by natives to both protect and warm the baby.
Wolves have a much more difficult time dealing with heat. Like most fur-bearing animals they have a summer and winter coat. In the winter they have two coats, a thick down-like undercoat and a stiff oily outer coat. Not only can they stay warm in subzero temperatures but the oily outer coat sheds water helping to keep the under coat dry.
In hot weather much of the undercoat is shed in large fluffy clumps not unlike sheep wool. We have had weavers spin wolf yarn from it. It looks like any other yarn. However, if you made a sweater out of it I suspect it would smell like a wet dog or wolf if it got wet.
Wolves, like dogs, do not sweat. They pant giving off body heat through their tongue. In their case it is a water-cooled radiator as the evaporating saliva helps cool the hot blood circulating through the tongue.
Most animals eat less in very hot weather as they spend more time dormant avoiding the heat. We added an air-conditioner to the wolf cave several years ago and the wolves do not even come out in the heat of the day. They are most active at night when it is coolest in the summer months.
Many animals will take advantage of water to cool off when it is available.
We have both deer and raccoons that love to play in the water. The deer approach almost every time we get the hose out begging to get sprayed. They hop around like kids in a sprinkler or more accurately bucking broncos in a carwash happily playing in the water spray.
The raccoons love bathing. Unfortunately, they take everything they can carry (rocks, toys, food, etc.) into the water with them making it necessary to clean their swimming pool daily.
Many animals such as horses take dust baths in hot weather. The dust helps absorb sweat and it acts as a sunscreen helping to block some of the heat and UV rays.
The most important thing for all animals is to have access to plenty of clean drinking water in hot weather. Everything from birds and insects to deer and squirrels appreciate water.
If you want to provide water to wildlife here are a few pointers. If you use large water buckets or horse trough type containers make sure you provide a branch or board for small animals like squirrels to climb out should they fall in. Not only is it tragic to have a friend drowned, but a carcass in the water will contaminate the water which can be dangerous to others that drink at the same place.
If you provide outdoor water bowls for your pets or wildlife friends sterilize them regularly to make sure disease and parasites are not passed from one animal to another. Diseases such as rabies can be carried in saliva, which can transfer to another animal that has any open wounds or sores that come in contact with the infected saliva germs while drinking out of the same dish. Keep water bowls in the shade and clean out any algae that might form.
Another treat most animals and birds enjoy is a mister. They are available from $10 to $20 and connect to a hose. They put out a very fine mist using very little water and can reduce the air temperature in the misted area up to 20 degrees. They can be attached to birdbaths or mounted free standing. They work for people too and are often used by restaurants in their outdoor areas during the hot weather season.
As you enjoy your summer keep your wildlife friends in mind. In some cases the heat is harder to deal with than the cold.
How You Can Help Us Help Wildlife
Although licensed and/or regulated by both State and Federal agencies The Witter Wildlife Refuge receives no salaries or funding from either. It is funded entirely by donations and operated by unpaid volunteers. If you would like to help checks should be made out to Witter Wildlife Refuge at P.O. Box 1118, Huntsville, Ark., 72740. Visit our website at: witterwildliferefuge.com
For Wildlife Emergencies
You can locate a wildlife rehabilitator in your state on the Internet at:
James and his wife Cyndi rescue injured and orphaned wildlife and operate an 80-acre wildlife refuge where they rehabilitate rescued wild animals until they are ready to be released back to the wild. Animals too handicapped to be released are provided a permanent home at the refuge.
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of The Press Argus-Courier.
Verna Mitchell wrote on Jul 3, 2009 12:28 PM:
" One of the things I want to comment on is the story about wolves , you are exactly right in telling us how they deal with the weather. I have a wolf ( tundrawolf) and he just loves the cold weather, the colder the better, but in the summer time here In Texas, he doesn't even want to go outside except to take a walk and we have to do that very early in the am or later in the pm.and to go out to do his buisness from the time I got him which was when he was 8 weeks old and he is 9 yrs old now he has never had an accident in the house it's just a wolf's nature to go outside He sheds very large clumps of hair constantly even after he gets back from the groomed , I keep my vacuum set up to go in the house and I sometimes I vacuum 4-5 times a day! It's very hard to take him outside to hose down because his coat is like a ducks back the Qatar rolls right off It takes longer to get him wet than it does to bath him! We brush him every day , but the hair never quits coming off We put up with all this WHY? because he is our baby and he truly is my best friend, a160lb friend I might add, but he is a gentle giant !! "
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Verna Mitchell wrote on Jul 3, 2009 12:28 PM: