Episode 401: The Greater Impact of Wildlife Patients
Since its founding in 1982, the Wildlife Center of Virginia -- a hospital for native wildlife -- has treated more than 85,000 patients, including 3,804 in 2021 alone. Every patient is offered state-of-the-art veterinary medical care; some are treated and released, while others may be too seriously injured to recover. Every single animal has a story to share, a story that illustrates the wider problems wildlife face – litter, pesticides, free-roaming domestic animals, habitat loss, and diseases. Even patients that don’t make it live on by helping us shape our conservation education and research as we challenge people of all ages to take action to protect wildlife.
In This Episode
A special thanks to all of our staff and guests in this episode of Untamed!
- Chief Anne Richardson, Rappahannock Tribe
- Dr. Karra Pierce, Wildlife Center of Virginia
- Dr. Carla Dove, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
- Dr. Sonia Hernandez, Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS)
- Robert Mesta, Liberty Wildlife
Learn More
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Check out the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services' Forensics Laboratory and utilize their Feather Atlas to practice your feather identification skills!
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One Health is a concept that connects the health of animals, people, and the environment. Each aspect is equal, important, and delicately intertwined. One Health comes up often in our Untamed series; learn more about the concept here through an episode in Season 2.
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Earlier this year, the property at Fones Cliffs, the ‘Yosemite of the Chesapeake,’ was returned to the Rappahannock Tribe. This important piece of habitat is home to many Bald Eagles in Virginia, including an eagle released in 2018 by the Wildlife Center. Check out the article here!
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Interested in getting started in the world of wildlife rehabilitation? Check out our free orientation with the Wildlife Care Academy, then sign up for courses.
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Volunteer with the Wildlife Center of Virginia -- join our animal care team, help us teach people through our outreach docent program, or sign up to be a transporter to get injured patients where they need to go. Interested in a more in-depth hands-on opportunity? Learn more about the Center's externship training programs here.
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Donate! Your contribution will help provide life-saving emergency medical care to sick, injured, and orphaned wild animals.
For Classrooms
Take the learning experience for your classroom or student group one step further with our specialized activity packets. These interactive resources combine summative reading sheets with writing and critical thinking exercises related to the topics and themes covered in each Untamed episode. Each page is designed to be used individually or as a complete workbook, making this activity packet perfect for educators looking to customize the lessons that can be learned from Untamed.
The Greater Impact of Wildlife Patients Activity Packet
Are you using these materials and resources in your classroom? We are eager to hear from you! Please let us know, so we can share your classroom projects and experiences with other teachers. Contact us at edu@wildlifecenter.org.
Here's What You Can Do
Each episode of Untamed leaves viewers with steps all of us can take to help protect wildlife and the environment.
Looking for more information? Email us at wildlife@wildlifecenter.org