We visited Treehouse Wildlife Center mid-December to experience a community dedicated to the rehabilitation of injured wildlife. TreeHouse exemplifies the spirit of Laudato Si which calls us to shift from the exploitation of other species to treating them as beings “with intrinsic value, apart from their usefulness to us”. Anyone can bring an injured animal to this center, and it will be treated as “brother or sister” in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi.

 

In the photo ABOVE, Zuni the Coyote is on the far left, followed by Novices Edwin Silwimba, Eliakim Mbenda, Mike Katona, tour guide Marcie Nagle, and Novice Alfred Lungu.

 

Zuni was admitted as an orphan in 2011, already human socialized, so she could not be released back into the wild. Donors make it possible for her and other animals to be cared for until their natural death.

While visiting this enclosure, Marcie invited the novices to howl like a coyote, and when they did, all the coyotes joined in, necks extended, howling and yipping enthusiastically. We were thrilled.

 

Our trip also included a discussion of ways to protect non-human animals in our daily lives, such as creating plant and wildlife-friendly habitats in our own backyards; avoiding use of chemicals which can harm wildlife; picking up trash so animals don’t eat it; learning about endangered species in our own countries; eating a plant-based diet; and of course, treating animals as brothers and sisters, not objects.

 

We ended our visit with gratitude for the wisdom of Laudato Si as well as for our experience of ecological conversion.