The latest news about Maine lakes and ponds.

Home to Wildlife, Wonder

December 24, 2008 - WINDHAM — At a bend between Windham and Gorham where the river comes up close to land, the sounds of roosters, turkeys, doves and owls fill a wooded area of brightly painted sheds.

This is the home of "Sparks Ark," a wildlife rehabilitation center responsible for introducing dozens of non-releasable wild animals to people all over southern Maine.

And, yes, there are at least two of everything here.

To be sure, there are conservation groups in Maine that have helped the public understand the state's wild critters. The Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset and Maine Audubon in Falmouth are two such groups.

However, David Sparks holds the distinction of doing perhaps more traveling wildlife seminars – with certainly the most diverse, eclectic collection of animals – than any wildlife education program in Maine.

Sparks conducts as many as 300 education programs a year at schools, libraries, nursing homes and even campgrounds.

What's more, he allows his audiences to greet, meet and shake paws and wings with many of the captivating critters.

Most live wildlife programs at nature centers in Maine introduce the public to non-releasable raptors and amphibians that can be seen but not handled.

Sparks, on the other hand, has "Sniffer" the skunk that can be petted, various Maine owls that can be touched, and "Jasper," a chinchilla from South America that can and will amuse with its ridiculous cleaning ritual.

"He brings in all different animals, and always a different animal with each visit," said Billie Libby, director of education at the Children's Museum of Maine, where Sparks will bring his program next week.

"We keep bringing him back, because it's so important to have him here. He really gets the kids comfortable with animals. I think sometimes when you don't have education about animals, children don't become comfortable with them," she said.

The introduction to wildlife in a safe setting with a rehabilitator who can instruct children on how to safely view wild critters in the woods is invaluable for an educational institution, Libby said.

"We can relate to the animals through stories or crafts or exhibits at the museum. It's a great partnership," she said.

Sparks has spent 28 years working as an animal rehabilitator. It started as a hobby, and he was quickly recruited by the police department in Westbrook to serve as an animal control officer. He trapped and moved nuisance wildlife for the police department for 15 years.

But when Sparks started doing educational programs with the wild animals he cares for at his home, the work with the animals took over.

In 1995, he began running Sparks Ark full time, giving six to seven programs a week in the summer, and sometimes as many as 15 a day – all while rehabilitating animals, and occasionally moving wildlife.

"The education is where I make my money. I do the rehabilitation for free. I don't get paid for it," Sparks said. "I like doing the programs, rather than live trapping (for people who need wild animals moved). Most of my programs are for kids. But most people don't know that much about animals."

Not all of the animals in Sparks Ark are exclusive to Maine's wild, but all of them are non-releaseable.

Injured wild animals that are brought to Sparks' rehabilitation facility and can be healed and released are returned to the wild.

When Sparks is not at home, he puts a cage with water at the end of his driveway for anyone who brings an injured animal to this peaceful haven.

He never turns an animal away.

"In the program, I'll show one animal at a time and tell a story about it. I use different animals," he said.

And, during a slow season – like right now – even leisure time at Sparks Ark is touched by wildlife.

In an enclosed porch that sits a few feet from the Presumpscot River, Sparks has speakers from a baby monitor hooked to the bird feeders outside so that even on a winter day, he and his family can hear the birds outside.

Clearly, the work of caring for the wildlife around his home is a calling, perhaps not unlike the job done by Noah.

"I'm in a unique spot. There are few (rehabilitators) who do live trapping to move animals, and few who do educational programs," Sparks said.

"I do everything. I do wild animal calls. I'll even get cats out of trees. And, two or three times a year, I've gotten dogs off the ice that have gone in this river."

By DEIRDRE FLEMING, PPH Staff Writer December 18, 2008


Lakes:
Regions: Sebago


Print this story

Email this story

return to Lake News