It’s Wishlist Wednesday! Many animals in care, like our baby skunks, go through an unbelievable amount of insects. During baby season we use them constantly to help provide species-appropriate diets and encourage natural foraging behaviors.

We’re also running low on soft-sided crates and butterfly tents, which are incredibly helpful for songbirds in rehabilitation. They provide space while preventing feather damage that can happen in harder enclosures.

We’re also hoping to try out a livestock scratching brush for our ambassador raccoons to help them through their heavy spring shed! (We promise cute videos if they like it)

If you’d like to help us out, check out our list here: a.co/5lSiIJu ... See MoreSee Less

This fledgling barred owl is making his opinion very clear, and honestly, that’s exactly what we want to see. 🦉

We work hard to minimize stress and keep our interactions brief and quiet, but a young owl reacting defensively to us is actually reassuring. Fear of people is an important survival skill for wildlife.

When birds come into rehabilitation at a very young age, there’s always a risk of habituation or even imprinting. Habituation happens when wild animals become too comfortable around humans after repeated exposure. Imprinting is even more serious, where a young animal begins to identify humans as its own species.

That may sound harmless or even “special” to people, but for a wild animal, it can be dangerous. An owl that approaches humans after release may lose the caution it needs to survive. Some people may think it’s amazing to have an owl land nearby, but others may see a fearless owl as threatening or aggressive and react out of fear. Habituated wildlife are also more likely to approach roads, homes, pets, or unsafe situations that truly wild animals would normally avoid.

One of the most important parts of wildlife rehabilitation is making sure these animals stay wild enough to survive once they leave us. ... See MoreSee Less