The Lucky Ones

The Lucky Ones

Our friend Janice was in town to lead a team of volunteers who came to Arizona at their own expense to persuade undecided voters to support Kamala Harris. You may think that this sounds like trying to sell knickers to nudists, but not so. Arizona is now a toss-up state, with the urban areas leaning Democratic and the rural areas primarily Republican.

Looking for a break from politics, and equally from cocktails, we headed to the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Society.

Three things can happen to a lost or injured animal that arrives at SWCS: it dies, it is healed in isolation from humans and returned to the wild, or it is so injured or dependent on humans that it cannot survive on its own. The latter are given a forever home at SWCS or a sister organization. In some cases, the animals participate in breeding programs to help restore endangered populations. One species of fox has gone from a total population of seven to nearly three hundred.


Photography at SWCS is not easy. The animals live in large enclosures designed to mimic their natural habitat. Keeping the residents in is one consideration, keeping predators out is another. Chain link fencing does both efficiently. But it’s a pain for photos because the camera will auto-focus on the fence, rendering the animal as a blurry blob. I got a lot of practice focusing manually. Sometimes more successfully than others.


Our guide, Marcia, has volunteered at SWCS for more than twenty years.
Meet Goliath, who is the only uncaged resident.
He’s not fast, but he’s hard to stop when he decides to go.
A very talkative Raven. His wing was injured in a forest fire that also left his lungs damaged.
Janice takes a pre-tour look at the gift shop.
This is a typical enclosure. It may hold compatible members of one species, or of several.
The big “dogs”: wolves and coyotes.
The little “dogs”: foxes.
The little “cats”: bobcats
The big “cats”: mountain lions
A solitary bathing beaver
Mule deer
A black bear. We’re talking species, not color.
This coati was someone’s pet. You can tell by the way he seeks out human attention.
This one was not a pet.
A javalina; smelly, and sometimes grumpy. Remember, Jose, in Spanish, a J is pronounced like an H.

Did you see a favorite animal? Learn more, and feel great about yourself, by becoming their sponsor!

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