WILDLIFE CENTER OF VIRGINIA TO RELEASE CANADA GOOSE ON TUESDAY, JUNE 6
Bird, Shot in the Shoulder with an Arrow, Has Been Patient at the Wildlife Center since March

The Wildlife Center of Virginia, the nation's leading teaching and research hospital for native wildlife, will release a Canada Goose on Tuesday, June 6 at 11:30 a.m. The goose will be released onto Tinker Creek, behind the parking lot of the Hollins Road Baptist Church [3502 Old Mountain Road, NE, in Roanoke].

The goose, which had been shot through the right shoulder with an arrow, was first spotted on a pond on Cloverdale Road in March. After evading capture for a few days, the goose was ultimately caught by a game warden from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The goose was taken first to a Roanoke-area wildlife rehabilitator, and then admitted to the Wildlife Center in Waynesboro on March 22.

While the arrow had penetrated through the goose's shoulder and wing, x-rays determined that no bones had been broken. Wildlife Center veterinarians performed surgery to remove the arrow, to carefully clean the wound, and to install a drain tube.

Veterinarians subsequently operated on the goose four more times to clean the wound. Throughout this process, the goose was treated with antibiotics.

During its more than two months at the Wildlife Center, the goose had a hearty appetite and was feisty.

Center veterinarians have been unable to assess the extent to which the injury may have affected the goose's ability to fly. However, it seems likely that the goose has been a year-round area resident [rather than a migrant goose].

Participating in the release will be Ed Clark, President and co-founder of the Wildlife Center.

Every year, between 2,000 and 3,000 animals - ranging from Black Bears to Ruby-throated Hummingbirds - are brought to the Wildlife Center for care. "The goal of the Center is to restore our patients to health and return as many as possible to the wild," Clark said. "At the Wildlife Center, we treat to release."

The Wildlife Center of Virginia is an internationally acclaimed teaching and research hospital for wildlife and conservation medicine. Since its founding in 1982, the nonprofit Center has cared for more than 45,000 wild animals, representing 200 species of native birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. The Center's public education programs share insights gained through the care of injured and orphaned wildlife, in hopes of reducing human damage to wildlife. The Center trains veterinary and conservation professionals from all over the world and is actively involved in comprehensive wildlife health studies and the surveillance of emerging diseases. Additional information about the Wildlife Center is available at www.wildlifecenter.org.