This is my favorite memory not only because I now have some hilarious photos to feed my soul for the rest of eternity as a result, but also because it was a unique and special opportunity to sit with a member of this awesome species and learn her individual quirks, facial expressions, and mannerisms when she is at ease.
Despite all the factors working against this patient, and after almost 12 weeks in care, PUMA #22- 0687 was finally released back to its habitat near Fishersville, Virginia, on July 20, 2022.
Early the next morning, I picked up the opossum from my friend, and off to the Center we went!
A year of tiny things!
We followed Amber Buck, the Wildlife Center's Office Manager, during a busy spring day in April.
Caring for sick, injured, and orphaned wild animals in need is often the most visible aspect of our work that the public is able to see and understand. We are a hospital for native wildlife, after all! Equally as important as caring for wildlife, though, is our mission of “teaching the world to care for and care about wildlife and the environment”. One way we’re able to achieve that mission is through professional training opportunities – such as the internship and externship programs offered within the veterinary, rehabilitation, and outreach departments.
As spring approaches, The Wildlife Center of Virginia has created a game (with prizes) to celebrate our pollinator plants across the country! For all fifty states + Puerto Rico, we've created bingo cards featuring commercially-available native vegetation that promotes and supports pollinators such as bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. Find your state below, grab some seeds from your local plant nursery, and start gardening!
Prizes
Our patients’ lives are so much more than the way that they end so I try to celebrate each of our patient’s journeys, tragic and untimely though their final destination may often be, because that allows me to appreciate my own journey, all of it, not just happy parts.
One morning in early December, I noticed the bears were very intrigued by something and as I got closer, I saw the opossum scurrying across the yard toward a tree.
I took a couple of steps back to look up, and almost jumped at what I saw: an adult Great Horned Owl looking down at me!
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See who is currently featured on the Center's Critter Cams!