The Wildlife Center of Virginia, an internationally acclaimed teaching and research hospital for wildlife and conservation medicine located in Waynesboro, admitted a total of 2,303 animals for treatment during 2010 – injured, ailing, and orphaned wildlife from all across Virginia.  

       During 2010, the Center treated:

* 1037 mammals, including 299 Eastern Cottontail Rabbits; 223 Eastern Gray Squirrels; and 205 Virginia Opossums.  The Center also treated five different species of bats;

* 122 reptiles and amphibians, including six different species of turtles and six different species of snakes;

* 247 raptors [birds of prey], including 57 Eastern Screech-Owls;

* 636 passerines [perching birds], including 161 American Robins;

* 261 other birds, including 63 Mourning Doves.

       Among the “notable” cases of 2010 were:

* Two Bald Eagles that were hit by planes [one at Dulles, one at Newport News], three that were likely struck by cars, and five that showed signs of lead poisoning;

* An American Alligator discovered during a drug raid in Staunton;

* An Eastern Painted Turtle that had swallowed a fish hook, and an Eastern Ratsnake that swallowed a wooden egg;

* The Ruby-throated Hummingbird coated in pine sap, and the Rock Pigeon covered in oil; and

* Patients admitted from 86 counties and municipalities from all over the Commonwealth, including a Canada Goose from the City of Arlington, a Gray Squirrel from Frederick County, an Eastern Screech-Owl from Buchanan County, a Peregrine Falcon from the City of Chesapeake – and a tiny Northern Ring-necked Snake rescued from the Center’s library.

[A complete list of 2010 patients by species follows.]

      During 2010, Center veterinarians treated more than 125 different species of animals.   The busiest months were May, with 498 patients admitted, and June [484 patients admitted].  The busiest single day was June 28, with 36 patients admitted. 

      Most animals are brought to the Center by concerned citizens; others are brought in by animal control officers, other federal, state, and local officials, from humane societies, etc.

      During 2010, a total of 242 animals – or one in 10 cases – were brought to the Center after they were attacked by free-roaming cats.  Birds and other animals that survive an initial cat attack are still in danger; unless treated, infections from the toxic bacteria found in a cat’s mouth kill a significant number of animals. 

       During 2010, another 215 patients were classified as “kidnap” victims – a young animal brought to the Center that, in fact, needed no help from humans.  These are animals still receiving care from their parents, or young animals ready to live on their own. 

     “Despite our natural inclinations, the BEST chance of survival for a young uninjured animal is often to leave it in its parents’ care,” said Ed Clark, President and Co-founder of the Wildlife Center of Virginia.   

       Center staff work with citizens who find young animals to assess whether these animals really do need human intervention.  [The Center’s website includes a special “I Need Rescue Advice” section to help citizens assess the health-care needs of animals.]  “The Center encourages those who care about wildlife to ask questions FIRST about the most appropriate course of action,” Clark added. 

      The Center’s front desk is staffed seven days a week from 9 a.m.  to 5 p.m.; one of the Center’s veterinarians is on call 24 hours a day.

      Since its founding in 1982, the nonprofit Wildlife Center has cared for more than 56,000 wild animals, representing 200 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. 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. 

Wildlife Center of Virginia 2010 Patient Admissions

 Mammals  [1,037 patients]

American Beaver   2
Bat [unknown]     2
Big Brown Bat     13
Black Bear  4
Bobcat      1
Eastern Chipmunk  12
Eastern Cottontail Rabbit     299
Eastern Fox Squirrel    2
Eastern Gray Squirrel         223
Gray Fox    5
Little Brown Bat  4
Mink  2
Mouse 22
Northern Long Eared Bat 1
Raccoon     54
Rat   1
Red Bat     4
Red Fox     18
Short-tailed Shrew      3
Silver-haired Bat 4
Southern Flying Squirrel      20
Striped Skunk     31
Virginia Opossum           205
Vole  1
White-tailed Deer 81
Woodchuck   23
 

Reptiles and Amphibians [122]

American Alligator      1
American Toad     3
Common Snapping Turtle  7
Corn Snake  1
Eastern Box Turtle      70
Eastern Gartersnake     1
Eastern Kingsnake 1
Eastern Painted Turtle  16
Eastern Ratsnake  8
Eastern Spadefoot Toad  1
Gray Treefrog     2
Northern Black Racer    2
Northern Red-bellied Cooter   3
Northern Ring-necked Snake    1
Red-eared Slider  1
Yellow-bellied Slider   4
 

 Raptors [247]

American Kestrel  6
Bald Eagle  27
Barn Owl    3
Barred Owl  9
Black Vulture     8
Broad-winged Hawk 6
Common Buzzard*   1
Cooper’s Hawk     26
Eastern Screech-Owl     57
Great Horned Owl  12
Harris Hawk*      1
Osprey      1
Peregrine Falcon  4
Red-shouldered Hawk     21
Red-tailed Hawk   45
Sharp-shinned Hawk      9
Turkey Vulture    11
*  Zoo animal

Passerines (Songbirds) [636]

American Coot     1
American Crow     19
American Goldfinch      8
American Robin    161
Belted Kingfisher 1
Blue Jay    38
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Brown Thrasher    4
Brown-headed Cowbird    2
Carolina Wren     19
Cedar Waxwing     10
Chickadee   7
Common Grackle    28
Common Raven      2
Common Yellowthroat     1
Eastern Bluebird  22
Eastern Phoebe    20
European Starling 121
Flycatcher  1
Gray Catbird      10
Hermit Thrush     3
House Finch 19
House Sparrow     27
House Wren  3
Indigo Bunting    1
Lincoln’s Sparrow 1
Myrtle Warbler    1
Northern Cardinal 27
Northern Mockingbird    19
Pine Warbler      1
Pine Siskin 1
Purple Martin     1
Red-eyed Vireo    2
Red-winged Blackbird    2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  1
Rusty Blackbird   1
Slate-colored Junco     5
Song Sparrow      1
Sparrow [unknown] 9
Tufted Titmouse   3
Unidentified Passerine  21
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
White-throated Sparrow  4
Wood Thrush 5
Yellow-billed Cuckoo    1

 
Other Birds [261]

Barn Swallow      7
Canada Goose      25
Canvasback Duck   1
Chimney Swift     8
Common Loon 1
Common Nighthawk  1    
Domestic Duck     1
Domestic Goose    3
Downy Woodpecker  4
Gadwell Duck      1
Great Blue Heron  5
Green Heron 3
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Killdeer    1
Mallard Duck      50
Mourning Dove     63
Northern Bobwhite 1
Northern Flicker 12
Pileated Woodpecker     4
Red-bellied Woodpecker  7
Red-headed Woodpecker   1
Rock Pigeon 22
Ruby-throated Hummingbird    12
Ruffed Grouse     2
Sora  1
Tundra Swan 1
Virginia Rail     1
Wild Turkey 4
Wood Duck   14
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker      4
 
 

 2010 Patients by City/County 

Accomack    3    
Albemarle   249
Alleghany   31
Amelia      1
Amherst     5
Appomattox  1
City of Arlington 2
Augusta     498
Bath  10
Bedford     3
Bland 1
Botetourt   5
Buchanan    1
Buckingham  6
City of Buena Vista     1
Campbell    5
Carroll     1
Charles City      2
City of Charlottesville 180
City of Chesapeake      1
Chesterfield      3
Clarke      1
City of Covington 8
Culpeper    4
Dinwiddie   1
Fauquier    4
Floyd 1
Fluvanna    21
Franklin    4
Frederick   1
City of Galax     5
Giles 4
Gloucester  3
Goochland   1
Grayson     4
Greene      26
Greensville 1
Hanover     5
City of Harrisonburg    120
Henrico     3
Henry 4
Highland    7
King George 6
Lancaster   2
City of Lexington 27
Loudoun     3
Louisa      22
City of Lynchburg 5
Madison     15
City of Manassas  6
Mathews     1
Mecklenburg 3
Middlesex   2
Montgomery  21
Nelson      71
New Kent    2
City of Newport News    1
Northumberland    1
Nottoway    1
Orange      18
Page  12
Pittsylvania      1
Powhatan    2
Prince Edward     7
Prince George     1
Prince William    1
Pulaski     5
Rappahannock      1
Richmond    3
City of Richmond  9
Roanoke     31
City of Roanoke   4
Rockbridge  60
Rockingham  197
City of Salem     1
Shenandoah  23
Smyth 3
Spotsylvania      2
Stafford    3    
City of Staunton  181
Surry 2
City of Waynesboro      268
Westmoreland      1
City of Williamsburg    2
Wythe 5
York  2
Out-of-state/unknown    32