Marge Gibson holds Bumpy the owl on Sept. 27, 2012, at Raptors Education Group in Antigo, Wis. The owl is blind and has been there for over 20 years, helping Gibson educate people about birds. The Raptor Education Group cares for injured birds. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reports there were 225 wildlife rehabilitators in 2001. That dropped to 113 in 2012.
Marge Gibson, founder of Raptors Education Group in Antigo, Wis, holds a bald eagle that has West Nile disease on Sept. 27, 2012, in Antigo. Her organization has felt increased pressure over the last decade because the number of groups that care for injured animals in Wisconsin has dropped by half since 2001, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Marge Gibson holds down an osprey recovering from a chest wound on Sept. 27, 2012, at Raptors Education Group in Antigo, Wis.
Don and Marge Gibson look at Roxy the turkey on Sept. 27, 2012, at Raptors Education Group in Antigo, Wis. Roxy was brought in this spring after jumping from a truck on the way to the slaughterhouse. Marge says its avian patients and budget have doubled over the last decade, and she and her husband have had to dip into their retirement savings to keep up with demands.
Marge Gibson holds a blue bird that sat on a methane burner on Sept. 27, 2012, at Raptors Education Group in Antigo, Wis.
Marge Gibson, founder of Raptors Education Group in Antigo, Wis, holds a bald eagle that has West Nile disease on Sept. 27, 2012 in Antigo.