ODESSA, Fla. — If you’ve ever found an injured or sick wild animal, you know that feeling of helplessness when you're unsure what to do.
You’ve probably heard of Owl’s Nest Sanctuary for Wildlife — ABC Action News has done several stories with owner Kris Porter over the years. Now, she has a little help from the younger generation.
Porter has saved countless animals over the years.
“Oh, you’re up! You look better than you did last night, kiddo,” she said as she prepared an owl hit by a car for its morning medication. “Alright, we got that.”
Porter and her team at Owl’s Nest Sanctuary for Wildlife are always busy. A bird in the cage over from the owl was poisoned by rat bait.
“It’s usually about a four-day process if we get them in a tie; they come in comatose,” she said.
Their facility is nestled on five acres of land in the middle of Odessa. Another poisoned bird that came in days prior is already out back and waiting for release. That bird is in good company, too, with animals like Coda.
“She’s got an edge to her too. When she’s in beaver mode, she could care that we are here,” Porter said, laughing.
Coda can’t be released back into the wild; she requires forever care, which is a lot of work. That’s why a year and a half ago, Porter started an internship program.
“It feels like most people, when they have an animal that they don’t know what to do with, they think of calling Kris,” said Rachel Ryweck, an intern at Owl’s Nest.
“They are truly my backup right now, which says a lot,” Porter said. “We have people that work here, but it’s very part-time. These guys devote themselves to the shifts that I work, and they’ve learned a ton.”
Ryweck graduated from the University of Tampa. Her internship and connection to Porter landed her a job at Bush Gardens.
“Working with animals and conservation is actually pretty competitive, so getting an internship like this is really important. It gets you the hands-on experience that you might need to get a job,” said Ryweck. “It just prepares you for the real world. Especially because a lot of the time, jobs these days are about connection, not necessarily your GPA or your degree.”
Elias Bilkas has been interning with Owl’s Nest since the beginning.
“What kind of bird is this?” I asked.
“This here is an American kestrel. His name is Yordi,” he said.
He said it’s a rewarding experience.
“With the increasing amount of development in Florida, the human interactions with animals just continue to increase more and more and more,” Bilkas said.
Which makes the work they do even more crucial.
“I would do this all day, every day if I didn’t have school,” said Michaela Sweeney, a soon-to-be graduate of the University of Tampa.
Sweeney graduates in December, and she said the hands-on experience she got in her first two weeks at Owl’s Nest had taught her more than a full semester of school.
“I can have a professor lecture me about barred owls, but until you actually interact with them and see them and learn the behaviors yourself and feed them and all that, you’re not learning in the same way,” she said.
“They truly are good for Owl's Nest because of their enthusiasm,” Porter said as she gave Coda belly rubs.
And their love for the animals is something Porter can absolutely relate to.
”I never thought I would, you know, be so in love with a rodent, but she truly has won me over because of how intelligent they are,” Porter said about Coda.
If you’re interested in interning, click here. Porter said to fill out the volunteer application and then make a note that you want Melissa to know you’re interested in becoming an intern.
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