How...or why?...would one sponsor a glove you may ask? Well here's the answer....
World Bird Sanctuary’s Education Department and behind-the-scenes areas are in need of new Kalems, or bird handling gloves, named after the gentleman who originally made us these gloves. Jim Spohn at Traditions Glove took over Mr. Kalem’s business, and Jim now makes our gloves.
The powerful feet of our majestic Bald Eagle can inflict serious damage to a glove
Birds of Prey have very strong feet with sharp talons. We wear Kalems when we handle birds to protect our skin from potential injury. The Kalem is made up of several thick layers of supple leather, with additional layers padding areas where we need protection most from the talons.
Even the feet of small American Kestrel can do significant damage
These gloves last for many years. They are made very well and we take good care of them. Unfortunately over the years they get worn and holes develop. Holes in gloves can be a major safety issue. A bird could get their talon stuck in the glove potentially resulting in the bird getting injured.
The talons of a Barn Owl are as sharp as needles
The number of programs we present is growing every year, along with the number of volunteers and interns we have at any one time. This is good news! However, when we have many things taking place on the same day, we find that we are quickly running out of gloves that are available to use when handling birds. This slows down volunteer and intern training.
The talons of Max, our Tawny Eagle, have unbelievable gripping power
Here's where you come in! We are looking for funding to help us to purchase new gloves. We have not made a new Kalem purchase in a number of years, and they are very expensive. We need 4 new gloves for our Education & Training Center and Eagle Training Center, 10 new gloves for the Education Department and 4 new gloves for our Wildlife Hospital. At a cost of $72 each, this comes to a whopping $1,296!
You can sponsor a pristine new Kalem glove like this one
If you'd like to save a naturalist and sponsor a glove, please contact Catherine Redfern at credfern@worldbirdsanctuary.org or call 636-225-4390 ext. 102. Or make your donation here via PayPal and specify it for a glove purchase.
Each glove donor will receive a photo of their adopted glove being worn by a grateful naturalist!
Submitted by Cathy Spahn, Naturalist
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