Creature comforts

Whitefish woman has healing touch with wildlife in need of medical help

Zeus, the mountain lion, lived in the basement.

The cub was an orphan from the Blackfeet reservation near Browning. It was one of the most memorable houseguests sent to Lynn Vaught, who has cared for literally hundreds of wild birds and animals at her rural Whitefish home since 1992.

Loose as a cub, Zeus loved to stalk and pounce.

As he got older, Zeus was confined to a cage in the basement. But he liked rear up on his hind legs, put his paws on the cage and get his belly rubbed.

"He was fun to play with," daughter Lainey recalls.

But Zeus led a sheltered life. Too sheltered for a mountain lion. He was used to people and had no hunting experience.

When he topped 185 pounds, Zeus was shipped to a zoo in Boston - after becoming the largest critter that Vaught ever took under her wing. Today, Vaught focuses most of her healing efforts not on big meat eaters, but on birds, from hummingbirds to bald eagles, through her organization, Wildlife Return.

Rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife is a calling that grabbed her imagination in childhood, and never let go.

The rewards are palpable - the nurturing, the sense of accomplishment, the fascination with learning something new, the feeling of giving back to nature.

"It's a tremendous satisfaction - returning something back to the wild," she said. We impact our environment so much. It's one small way to give back."

She handles several dozen birds a year. Over the years, she has helped rehabilitate bear cubs, eagles, owls, moose calves, deer fawns, foxes, bobcats, skunks, hawks, raccoons, geese and robins. As one of about 15 licensed rehabilitators permitted in Montana, Vaught takes in wildlife from all over Northwest Montana.

The menagerie sometimes takes over the house. For years, Vaught's daughters Blaise, now 23, and Lainey, now 16, routinely asked her: "Now what are you putting in my bathroom?"

Last winter, a redtailed hawk and bald eagle occupied her living room, recuperating in cages. The laundry room is set up as a clinic and her husband, North Valley Hospital emergency room doctor Rod Vaught, often helps care for injured animals. Their bathroom is often a safe haven for animals. Books on animal care and behavior crowd her bookshelves.

Mice, ground squirrels and other bird food are stored in a freezer in the family's garage. Friends donate rodent bodies and leftover wildlife kills that spent too long in their own freezers. Vaught buys dead mice at 50 cents apiece from one supplier for four educational owls that stay permanently with the family. A busy period this summer found Vaught feeding orphan baby birds every two hours. "It's like having an infant again," she said. Her family eats supper after all the birds and critters get fed, often later than 10 p.m.

Years ago, Vaught took in mammals large and small, as well as birds. Starting in 2002, a state wildlife center in Helena started taking in most of the larger mammals. So now, Vaught deals mostly with birds. For years, Vaught worked closely with longtime rehabilitator Beth Watne. Two years ago, Watne stepped back from full-time rehab work and Vaught took the baton.

Each bird or animal species has general, fairly predictable traits. For example, Cooper's and sharp-shinned hawks stress easily, while bald eagles are more laid back.

But each individual bird still has its own personality and challenges.

"It is endlessly interesting to observe animal behavior. I have worked with hundreds of bald eagles, but each one is an individual. I am always learning something new," Vaught said.

Vaught has a federal permit to rehabilitate wildlife. She doesn't get paid for the work and the family covers most costs out of their own pockets, except for some donations. She gets small grants to defray costs and happily accepts donations of cash or bird food or materials. Several local veterinarians donate their services and a team of volunteers helps care for orphan birds.

In spite of all the effort, the mortality rate remains high. While some survive to be released back into the wild, many die from their wounds or must be euthanized. Most of Vaught's patients are injured because they occupy the same turf as humans - flying into windows, colliding with cars, triggering traps. As more people move to the Flathead, Vaught sees her work growing.

Vaught, 52, grew up amid the swamps and woods of New York's Adirondack Mountains.

"My sister played with dolls. I made homes for turtles and snakes. But I always let them go eventually. Flying squirrels came down our chimney. I would hang on to them for awhile," Vaught said.

She studied forestry and wildlife biology at Rutgers in New Jersey. She moved West to work for the U.S. Forest Service in Utah and for a lumber company in Alaska.

While living in Sitka in the 1980s, she helped found the Alaska Raptor Center, an eagle hospital and education center that now cares for 100-200 eagles and other birds a year. In 1992, she took this expertise to the Flathead, when her family moved here.

Vaught sees herself as both a bird rehabilitator and a public educator.

"As the valley is impacted with development, we need education to help people live among the array of wildlife we have here," she said.

Vaught keeps four owls that were injured too badly to return to the wild. Owls and other raptors must be in perfect working condition to live and hunt in the wild.

She uses these owls as living visual aids in more than 50 presentations a year to schools and civic groups, reaching thousands of locals. She requests donations for her presentations.

The owls are a big hit, especially with their unblinking expressions and abilities to turn their heads 270 degrees.

Vaught spends as much of her time doing educational presentations and answering phone calls as rehabilitating birds. "I could be busy every day of the week with programs."

One Saturday in June, Vaught fielded 25 phone calls. Most of the callers were concerned about what appeared to be orphaned birds or animals. She cautions people to keep an eye on the animal, but to leave them alone, since often the parents are nearby. More harm is often done by picking up or feeding an animal, she says.

Vaught wants to recapture an earlier dream from Sitka - setting up a rehabilitation and education center for birds and wildlife in the Flathead with a revenue source and professional facilities.

"I've had this idea since shortly after we moved here," Vaught said.

She wants it to be visitor-oriented, where tourists and locals can watch the rehab work and learn how to protect the local wildlife. But such a facility takes money to create, and Vaught plans to eventually seek grants and community support to put it together.

"I don't have a timetable, but I envision taking it in baby steps."

She is always looking for help seeking that dream.

For more information, call Vaught at 253-6065.