LAKE COUNTRY – At Tri Lake Animal Hospital in Lake Country, staff have treated all kinds of animals. From dogs to cats, to reptiles to birds, to deer and even bears, but now the staff are caring for a first-of-its-kind patient: a baby porcupine.
“Never, never. This is definitely a first for us. We are excited it is here, it’s the highlight of our week,” says Kalaya Donchi, a vet technician.
The baby porcupine was brought in last Saturday by a concerned couple. It had been observed for a few days wandering along a busy road near the Kelowna Airport, with her parents nowhere in sight.
“She is too young to be on her own, we figure she is about a month to two months old,” says Donchi.
While she appears to be healthy, the baby porcupine was at risk of getting hit by a car, and growing up alone would have been difficult..
“During the winter, they make burrows with other porcupines that are around the same age,” says Donchi. “If she is not with her parents and can’t find other porcupines to winterize with, there could not be a good ending for her.”
The porcupine will now be transported from Lake Country to Langley to Critter Care, a wildlife rescue centre. It will be rehabilitated ad hopefully released into the wild in the fall.
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