The Wildlife Center of Virginia, an internationally acclaimed teaching and research hospital for wildlife and conservation medicine located in Waynesboro, admitted a total of 2,469 animals for treatment during 2008 – injured, ailing, and orphaned wildlife from all across Virginia.

As expected, the 2008 total included many common species – 324 Eastern Cottontail Rabbits; 234 Virginia Opossums; 209 Eastern Gray Squirrels; and 137 American Robins.

Also admitted for treatment were a number of threatened species, or species designated by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries as species of special concern, including 25 Bald Eagles, four Barn Owls, four Peregrine Falcons, a Golden-crowned Kinglet, and a Wood Turtle. [A complete list of 2008 patients by species is attached.]

During 2008, patients were admitted from 96 counties and municipalities from all over the Commonwealth [a complete list of 2008 patients by city/county is attached]. About 70 percent of the animals admitted to the Wildlife Center came from cities and counties near Waynesboro, including:
Albemarle County 312
Augusta County 462
Charlottesville 159
Harrisonburg 91
Rockingham County 217
Staunton 173
Waynesboro 302

The 2008 total of 2,469 patients admitted was slightly above the patient levels seen in 2007 [2,333 patients] and 2006 [2,354 patients].

Since its founding in 1982, the nonprofit Wildlife Center has cared for more than 51,000 wild animals, representing 200 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. On May 13, 2008 the Center admitted its 50,000^th patient – a Common Loon found near the Green Valley Book Fair in Mount Crawford. After a short stay at the Center, the loon was released at nearby Sherando Lake.

“Many young animals brought to the Wildlife Center each year don’t need to come here,” Clark added. “They are still receiving care from their parents, or are young animals ready to live, and thrive, on their own.” Center staff works with citizens who find young animals to assess whether these animals really do need human intervention. [The Center’s website – www.wildlifecenter.org – includes a special “I need rescue advice” section to help citizens assess the health-care needs of animals.]

The goal of the Center is to “treat to release” – to restore patients to health and return as many as possible to the wild. The Center provides state-of-the-art medical care for the sick and injured, and sustained, quality foster care so that animals may be returned to the wild with the ability to survive, and thrive, in their native habitats

The Center trains veterinary and conservation professionals from all over the world, and wildlife rehabilitators across Virginia, 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.

2008 Patient Admissions

Bat 29
Black Bear 9
Bobcat 2
Coyote 2
Domestic Cat 1
Eastern Chipmunk 8
Eastern Cottontail Rabbit 324
Eastern Fox Squirrel 6
Eastern Gray Squirrel 209
Gray Fox 4
Groundhog 22
Mink 1
Mouse 25
Muskrat 1
Raccoon 27
Red Fox 17
Shrew 1
Southern Flying Squirrel  14
Striped Skunk 13
Virginia Opossum 234
Vole 1
White-tailed Deer 73
Wood Rat 2

Reptiles and Amphibians
African Spurred Tortoise 2
American Toad 1
Black Racer 1
Black Rat Snake 11
Common Snapping Turtle 14
Cope’s Gray Treefrog 1
Corn Snake 1
Eastern Box Turtle 49
Eastern Painted Turtle 9
Garter Snake 6
Red-eared Slider 1
Wood Turtle 1
Yellow-bellied Slider 1

Raptors
American Kestrel 8
Bald Eagle 25
Barn Owl 4
Barred Owl 18
Black Vulture 11
Broad-winged Hawk 10
Cooper’s Hawk 31
Eastern Screech-Owl 74
Great Horned Owl 27
Merlin 1
Osprey 4
Peregrine Falcon 4
Red-shouldered Hawk 10
Red-tailed Hawk 53
Sharp-shinned Hawk 7
Snowy Owl 1
Turkey Vulture 11

Passerines (Songbirds)
American Coot 1
American Crow 18
American Goldfinch 12
American Robin 137
Baltimore Oriole 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Blue Jay 55
Brown Thrasher 4
Carolina Wren 9
Cedar Waxwing 7
Chickadee 7
Common Grackle 45
Common Raven 4
Dark-eyed Junco 3
Eastern Bluebird 20
Eastern Kingbird 1
Eastern Phoebe 14
Eastern Towhee 2
European Starling 89
Finch 35
Gray Catbird 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
House Wren 37
Indigo Bunting 3
Meadowlark 1
Northern Cardinal 31
Northern Mockingbird 21
Pine Siskin 1
Rufous-sided Towhee 1
Sparrow 79
Swainson’s Thrush 1
Tufted Titmouse 2
Unidentified Passerine 32
Warbler 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Wood Thrush 2

Other Birds
American Woodcock 2
Barn Swallow 13
Bittern 1
Black-billed Cuckoo 1
Canada Goose 43
Chimney Swift 31
Common Loon 1
Common Night Hawk 1
Domestic Dove 1
Domestic Duck 15
Domestic Goose 1
Domestic Turkey 1
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Great Blue Heron 8
Green Heron 2
Killdeer 1
Mallard 56
Mourning Dove 73
Northern Bobwhite 3
Northern Flicker  11
Pigeon 21
Pileated Woodpecker 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker 12
Red-headed Woodpecker 1
Ring-billed Gull 3
Ring-necked Pheasant 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 8
Ruffed Grouse 5
Whip-poor-will 4
Wild Turkey 1
Wood Duck 23
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1

2008 Patients by City/County

Accomack  6
Albemarle 312
City of Alexandria 2
Alleghany 2
Amelia 2
Amherst 4
Augusta 462
Bath 12
Bedford 11
City of Bedford 3
Bland 2
Botetourt 6
Buckingham 8
City of Buena Vista 5
Campbell 15
Caroline 3
Carroll 5
Charles City 2
Charlotte 1
City of Charlottesville 159
Chesterfield 4
City of Clifton Forge 2
Craig 2
Culpeper 1
City of Danville 1
Fairfax 2
Fauquier 4
Floyd 4
Fluvanna 54
Franklin 14
Frederick 2
City of Fredericksburg 1
City of Galax 1
Giles 4
Gloucester 2
Goochland 1
Grayson 6
Greene 27
Hanover 2
City of Harrisonburg 91
Henrico 9
Henry 1
Highland 11
Isle of Wight 1
James City 4
King and Queen 1
King George 1
King William 1
Lee 5
City of Lexington 26
Louisa 39
City of Lynchburg 3
Madison 15
City of Manassas 7
City of Martinsville 1
Mecklenberg 1
Montgomery 16
Nelson 71
Northampton 1
Northumberland 1
Orange 17
Page 21
Pittsylvania 3
City of Poquoson 1
City of Portsmouth 1
Powhatan 5
Prince Edward 2
Prince George 1
Prince William 2
Pulaski 9
City of Radford 2
Rappahannock 2
Richmond 5
City of Richmond 11
Roanoke 44
City of Roanoke 5
Rockbridge 68
Rockingham 217
City of Salem 2
Scott 2
Shenandoah 24
Smyth 1
City of South Boston 2
Southampton 1
Spotsylvania 13
Stafford 6
City of Staunton 173
City of Suffolk 1
City of Virginia Beach 3
Washington 1
City of Waynesboro 302
Westmoreland 2
City of Williamsburg 3
Wythe 7
York 1
Out-of-state/unknown 46