Chippewa Valley Wildlife Rehabilitation

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Eau Claire, WI
Chippewa Valley Wildlife Rehabilitation

Non-profit, donation-supported & licensed wildlife rehabilitation facility servicing the greater Chippewa Valley.
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The mission of the Chippewa Valley Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is to rehabilitate injured/sick and/or orphaned animals and return them to the wild. Additionally, we hope to provide wildlife education to the public and information in response to any public inquiries concerning wildlife. IMPORTANT: Please DO NOT use this page to contact CVWR about any urgent animal inquiries or emergencies! Also,

please understand that we are very busy with the facility and not always able to update this page on a daily basis. IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY, please call us immediately. There is more information provided on our website about how to contact us and other important information in case you find a furry friend in need, and what you can do to support and help our facility out. If you would like to donate please visit
paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/1539315
Thank you

07/20/2024

Happy Saturday everyone! Today we'd like to spotlight one of our baby raccoons and address a very serious but common issue we see all the time. Please allow us to introduce you to Becky, one of our young female raccoon kits. To say she is lucky is an understatement. You see we have every reason to believe that for a time Becky was kept illegally as a pet and then improperly released once she got to be too much. We get that baby raccoons are very cute and many people think they will make good pets but the bottom line is they are wild animals and wild animals are a lot of work to take care of. They do not belong in a home. They're not as easy as a dog or a cat. Their natural behaviors are wild and unpredictable. As they start to get older and their personalities come out they can be a lot to handle if you don't have the experience and know how. Another big difference between raccoons and say a puppy is they often stay with their mothers for their first year. They are not ready to be out on their own for a very long time. This is why we do not release our raccoons until nearly October to give them as much time to mature as possible before they go back to the wild. Becky almost did not get that chance. Based on how she was found, Becky was released back into the wild far too young and it's only by sheer luck that she made it to us. Thankfully she found some good samaritans who didn't immediately dispose of her or leave her behind. It's clear that she's always known people and luckily found the right person to ask for help. After being released on the Yellow river next to a small bag of cat food, she saw someone and knew to ask for help. She swam to them and they brought her to us. She's still only a baby and has a lot of growing to do before she'll be ready for release but at least now she's now in good hands. Her story is exactly why we preach keeping wildlife wild or calling the experts if you find a wild one in need. Becky's story could have easily ended in tragedy but we're so glad it didn't. Now she'll be able to grow up healthy in a safe environment with her adopted siblings until she is old enough to return to the wild to live out her best life.

07/14/2024

Happy Sunday everyone! Look who has graduated to their final outdoor enclosure! This is a big step for our little raccoon babies because this will be their enclosure now until they are ready to be released. They have a lot more space, things to climb on, a pool to swim in, and more cool areas to explore. They wasted no time in finding all the new fun ways to get into mischief while learning important lessons about climbing and foraging for their food. It's so exciting to see them move into the 'teenager' enclosure because it means they are ready to start learning skills that will help them in the wild and start to be more independent. Plus it's fun for us to watch them rip around and cause some chaos in a safe space. Seeing them growing, happy, and healthy is the most rewarding thing we can ask for! Thank you everyone and enjoy this beautiful sunny day!

07/07/2024

Happy Sunday everyone! Turning into quite the unexpectedly sunny afternoon! To add to the sunshine we'd love to introduce you to one of our newest wild ones in the nursery. This is a young woodchuck pup! Like so many people we didn't know very much about woodchucks other than their negative reputation for digging in gardens but now that we've gotten a few years experience working with these little wild ones we can confirm they are some of our absolute favorites. They are hands down some of the most gentle, inquisitive, and sweetest animals we've ever worked with and this little girl is no different. She came to us in very bad shape and we were so worried that she wouldn't make it but after a few weeks of intense TLC she's growing stronger and healthier everyday! Seeing wild ones recover and gain more strength everyday makes all the long hard hours so worth it.

07/04/2024

Happy Fourth of July everyone!! Today is a day all about fireworks and celebrating freedom so we thought we'd combine the two and released some of our own redheaded firecrackers back out into the wild! Red squirrels are some of the funniest, sassiest wild ones around and even in the video you can hear her giving us her frank opinions on dealing with the paparazzi! Be free wild ones and enjoy your new adventures! To everyone else, enjoy the holiday even if it's soggier than most! Have fun and be safe!

06/30/2024

Happy Sunday everyone! We always say that we couldn't do what we do without the help of our amazing volunteers and Travis, August, and Joe are no exceptions! Through the Work Volunteerism Program they took an afternoon off to come and help us by building two very needed ducky play pens also known as duckling brooder pens for our wild ones. We are still having ducklings of all sizes come in everyday and we were quickly running out of places for the younger ducklings to stay before they are big enough to move to the permanent outdoor enclosures. Please help us to send these three hardworking guys the biggest thank you for their kindness and support!

06/24/2024

Happy Monday everyone! We've been getting a lot of calls about turtles on the road and unfortunately it is that time of year. Turtles will travel great distances to lay their eggs and are quite determined to get to where they want to go even if that means crossing a busy road. This sadly often leads to these mammas being hit by cars. First and foremost the best defense is a good offense so please slow down and watch for these special wild ones. If you do feel safe enough to pull over and help them please do but do not put yourself at risk. Secondly, if you do accidentally hit a turtle on the road, please do not just drive away. Turtles are extraordinarily resilient and often survive being hit but if they are not helped it could take days before they succumb to their injuries. Instead please get the turtle secured safely in a box or pet crate and call one of the nearby wildlife rehabilitators who are licensed for reptiles like WRCMN out of Roseville, Dane County Humane out of Madison, or Wild Instincts out of Rhinelander. Please know that we are not licensed for reptiles but are always here if you have any questions. Thank you everyone and have a wonderful week!

06/20/2024

Happy Summer Solstice everyone! Today is not only the longest day of the year but it is also the first official day of summer! We couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than to share that our first batch of ducks have now been released back into the wild! They will now spend the first of many summers swimming and exploring in their beautiful new home. Fly free wild ones and safe travels!

06/16/2024

Happy Father's Day from all of us at CVWR! Today we celebrate two of our beloved ambassador 'dads' with Mr. Merlot (soon to be promoted to Uncle Merlot) and Fonzie our handsome woodchuck. Both are amazing sub-in father figures to our young raccoons and chuckies, teaching them valuable lessons on how to be even more successful out in the wild. We do everything we can to prepare our wild ones for their return to the wild but being able to interact with safe adults of their own species, is absolutely invaluable and irreplaceable. We're so lucky to have two gentle ambassador dads who are great with the 'kids' and help us in the most amazing ways with raising our wild ones. So here's to all the wonderful dads out there, we appreciate you today and everyday!

06/10/2024

It's graduation season but the high schoolers will have to share some of the glory. We have wild babies who are old enough to now be outside! Graduating from the nursery to an outdoor enclosure is a very big and important step to returning to the wild and we are so excited for our growing wild ones! They are getting so big!! They will be ready for release before we know it but for right now they still have some growing and learning to do before they are completely ready to 'move out'. Until then we are so grateful to be able to watch them learn something new everyday now that they're getting their first taste of the outdoors. Cheers to the graduates!

06/05/2024

Happy World Environment Day! From the smallest mouse to the largest elephant all animals are an important part of the world's environment! Every animal plays a role and deserves to be celebrated!

06/01/2024

Happy Saturday everyone! Today is the first day of meteorological summer which means very soon people will be flocking to the water to enjoy the beautiful summer weather! A common sight along the water this time of year is a momma duck and her ducklings traveling not far behind! Once she gets to the water, life for her and her babies is usually pretty safe but it's the getting to the water that can be problematic. Ducks often nest a ways away from the water to keep their eggs safe from predators but then they have to walk their newly hatched ducklings to the nearest waterway and sometimes that can be dangerous. Many of our ducklings this year have been brought in after Mom was hit on the road. So you might be asking yourself what can I do to help? First and foremost you can slow down and watch for wildlife along the road, this helps keep our beloved wild ones safe and helps make sure you get to your fun summer destination safe and sound. Secondly, if you do see a duckling alone stop, look, and listen.....if mom is around and they are just separated you'll be able to hear her frantic quacks. If you don't hear or see any momma nearby, don't try to put the duckling with just any family. Ducks are very protective of their own brood and may accidentally injure the new duckling while trying to protect her own. Instead, secure the duckling in a box or crate and give us a call at 715-838-0326 to discuss the next steps. Thank you everyone and we hope you enjoy your weekend!

05/30/2024

It's fawn season! We are getting dozens of calls about people finding fawns which is extremely common this time of year. It's finally the start of summer and people are excited to enjoy more time outside which makes it easier for people to come into contact with fawns! If you do find yourself looking at those adorable little spots in the grass what should you do? Well the answer is actually pretty easy, leave them be! The large majority of the time they are right where they are supposed to be, doing exactly what they should be doing, and that is waiting around for Mom to come back. Mama deer will 'park' her baby somewhere she thinks is safe, even if that means it's your yard, while she spends the day grazing. This keeps her fawn safe and secure while she's away. If the fawn is quiet and just laying down curled up, that's totally normal. Unless it is injured or clearly in distress leave the fawn be. There are many things you can check on as seen in the infographic but really most of the time everything is fine and you can rest assured that mom will come back. If you do however find a fawn in distress and needing help please call the Wisconsin DNR and they will be able to direct you to your nearest authorized wildlife rehabilitator. Unfortunately CVWR is not licensed to accept deer but we're always here to offer advice if you are unsure. You can also check out this up to date PDF from the Wisconsin DNR's website for what you can do if you find a fawn : https://p.widencdn.net/iwiiru/fawnkey

The biggest takeaway is that most of the time of you see a fawn, just leave it be and appreciate their cuteness from afar. Mom will come back and all will be well.
We hope this helps everyone!

05/28/2024

Have you gotten your burger yet to celebrate National Hamburger Day? C'mon over to Red Robin tonight and get your delicious burger plus support the wild ones!

05/28/2024

Lil Peanut here wants to remind everyone that today is National Hamburger Day AND our fundraiser with Red Robin. All day today you can go enjoy a very yummy meal and support the wild ones! Just show them the attached flyer or follow the instructions detailed on the form if you prefer to order out. Thank you all so much and have a fantastic day!

05/27/2024

Wishing you all a very happy and safe Memorial Day from Mr. Merlot and CVWR!

05/25/2024

Is it just us or do these baby squirrels getting their first taste of nuts have a lot in common with people holding a delicious hamburger? Enjoying a yummy treat is pretty universal! We hope everyone is having an amazing Saturday and enjoying the weekend so far! Don't forget to join us Tuesday at Red Robin to celebrate National Hamburger Day and support the wild ones like these baby squirrels!

05/21/2024

We are exactly one week away from our Red Robin fundraiser! You get to enjoy a delicious meal and help the wild ones! Plus it's the day after Memorial Day so no one is going to feel like cooking yet after a fun long weekend. Let Red Robin do the hard work for you and know that you are also helping support local wildlife while you are at it! We can't wait to see you!

05/19/2024

They say good things come in three's and that's certainly the case for our opossum lovers! We went from not having any opossums to having three different family units come in within a single week! Many of these little wild ones were saved when a few kind individuals stopped to check on recently hit opossums on the road and found the babies still clinging to mom. It's a very difficult and brave thing to do but it is very likely to save lives just like these baby opossums. If you do find orphaned opossums the most important thing is to keep them safe and warm and then call us right away. For these lucky babies that is exactly what their kind finders did and now they are safe with us where they can grow up and be released back into the wild once they are ready.

05/12/2024

Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing moms out there! No matter the species or situation, a mother's love is universal and today we celebrate every one of you!

05/10/2024

Happy Friday Everyone!! Today is a very special day for a few reasons, first we'd like to introduce you to our first two raccoon babies of the year. A little boy and a little girl, both from different places but now they will be each other's found family. As you'll notice in the pictures, they still have their eyes and ears completely closed. They will not open until they're almost a month old! That means they rely on us for their every need and round the clock care. Don't worry though, these little sweet potatoes will be running circles around us in no time!
The second big reason today is a special day is it's our fearless and dedicated leader's birthday! Please help us wish Elise the very best birthday in the comments below. She truly gives every wild one that comes through our doors her all and WE are all so lucky to have her! Happy Birthday Elise!

05/08/2024

Help us say a big thank you to 3rd & Vine for choosing us as their local charity for their May Pints for Purpose! We are honored to work with such an awesome local business! If you haven't checked them out yet, please do. They have great food, good drinks, amazing people AND you're helping the wild ones. That's the epitome of a win win situation if you ask us! Thank you again for your support 3rd and Vine!

05/03/2024

Before, and after! It's amazing to see how much can change in one month's time! Our original two girls are doing amazing and are growing more and more everyday! Our nursery has quickly grown and we now have more than 20 little squirrels just like them in our care! That's a lot of hungry mouths to feed! Before we know it though all of our hard work will pay off and these babies will grow into healthy young adults and be able to return to the wild where they're meant to be living their best wild lives!

04/30/2024

With another auction in the bag we can't help but be amazed and grateful for everyone who helped make it possible. To every single person and business who donated, thank you so so much. It truly means the world to us and we couldn't do these events without you all. We are honored to work with each and every one of you and we thank you for your generosity and support!

04/29/2024

That's all she wrote! The auction is now closed. Thank you so much to everyone for bidding and sharing. We are so grateful for each and every one of you. The winners will be contacted by a volunteer via Facebook messenger shortly. Thank you!

04/28/2024

Today's the last day of our big spring auction and the clock is ticking! Make sure you check back in periodically throughout the day to bid on your favorite baskets! You do not want to miss out! Bidding ends at 7pm sharp! Click below to head to the auction event page and check out those amazing baskets! Good luck everyone and thank you!

https://www.facebook.com/share/Lm7REr8YT8T3mc6F/?mibextid=9VsGKo

04/27/2024

Happy Saturday everyone! Today is the last day of volunteer appreciation week and so we thought today would be the perfect day to answer one of our most commonly asked questions, what can I do to help?
The great news is there are many ways you can help CVWR!
For one, you can of course volunteer! Whether you have hands on animal experience or not we can always use more volunteers, check out our website here for information: https://chippewavalleywildlife.com/support-the-center/
Maybe you don't necessarily want to volunteer but you still want to help, do you have property and wouldn't mind hosting a future wild one? We're always looking for new release sites. You can find more information about that as well through our website linked above.
Maybe you are looking to help by donating, that's fantastic! We are 100% non profit so we truly rely on the generosity of others. Whether it's momentary through our Venmo, PayPal or Stripe accounts, or by shopping our Amazon or Chewy Wishlists every little bit helps. You can also shop for CVWR merch through our eBay shop! You will find the links to all of these Websites through the QR codes below.
Another great way you can help is to see if your workplace offers any giving programs. Many companies offer charitable programs for employees as well as sponsored volunteer days.
There are also some charitable programs offered through your insurance! Thrivent is a great one that allows their members to nominate their favorite charity for small grants throughout the year.
Another easy way to help is to sponsor us for a birthday fundraiser right through Facebook! If every one of our followers sponsored us for a birthday fundraiser though their Facebook it would add up to helping a LOT of wild ones in need.
Finally one of the quickest and easiest ways to help us is to share this post and invite your friends and family to like our page. The more people know about who we are and what we do, the more wild ones we can help.

See, we told you there are many ways you can help! As always, thank you all so much for your support! It really means the world to us.

04/26/2024

Good morning everyone and happy Friday! We love working with local businesses and are always honored to build new relationships with businesses throughout the area. Today we want to send a big thank you to Beguhn's Feed & Seed out of Menomonie for reaching out after hearing about our baby shower and wanting to help. They came by recently and delivered some much needed items for the wild ones. They brought cob corn, peanuts, bird seed, dog hard food, duckling starter feed, fruit and nut seed mixes for us to use this season and we couldn't be more thankful! The timing couldn't have been better too as within a few days we got in our first duckling of the season! Thank you Beguhn's again so much! We are so grateful for generous and caring small businesses like you and the wild ones are already loving your donations!

04/24/2024

Peep peep peep better go peak at the baskets! Our auction is up and live! Click the link below to go directly to the post. Happy bidding everyone and thank you so much!

https://www.facebook.com/share/RE5SZRFqRD9q21K7/?mibextid=9VsGKo

04/24/2024

Is everyone excited for our auction to start tonight? Merlot can't wait to share all the amazing things we have ready for you to bid on. Don't forget to come back tonight at 6pm and head to our event by clicking the link below to see our baskets and get your bids in!

https://www.facebook.com/share/2TxdZXHYZeP6UTdi/?mibextid=9VsGKo

12/07/2023

Happy Thursday everyone!! Can you believe we're already one week into December? Do you already have all of your holiday shopping done? If you are anything like me the answer is no, but that's okay! There is still plenty of time to shop! If you are looking for some unique local times to give for presents look no further than our eBay shop. We have tons of CVWR items for sale from t-shirts to coffee mugs! We know you'll be able to find something to check off your shopping list. Plus you'll be helping the wild ones, what could be better? Check out our shop by clicking the link below. Thank you everyone and have a good day!

Address

8135 Burnell Drive
Eau Claire, WI
54703

Telephone

+17158380326

Website

https://chippewavalleywildlife.com/, http://paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/1539315, https://www.ebay.com/usr/chippewav

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Videos

Leap for Joy!!! We're so excited to announce today that our beloved Sydney is officially registered in the state of Wisconsin as an educational ambassador for her species! What a perfect reason to celebrate on this Leap Day! We know Sydney will make a perfect ambassador teaching others how special and smart squirrels are! Please help us celebrate by commenting your favorite thing about squirrels in the comments below and make sure to come back to the page later today for an update on how she's doing! Happy Leap Day Everyone!

Happy Giving Tuesday everyone! Today is a day all about celebrating and spreading generosity and one of the best ways to do that is through food! Not only is food nourishing, it's comforting, it's enriching, and it's a way to show someone you care. Which is exactly why food and Giving Tuesday goes hand in hand! Here at CVWR we tend to go through a LOT of food. All of our animals have unique and tailored diets plus all the fresh treats they get throughout the day as enrichment. Mr. Merlot and Mr. Magoo here for example are enjoying some fresh fruit that they are fishing out of a water dish. Two full grown raccoons can eat a lot of fruit, you'd think they are teenagers the way they eat! If you would like to donate today for Giving Tuesday, a $100 donation would cover a whole month's worth of food for either Merlot or Magoo! Your donation would go such a long way and they would both be so excited for the support. If you would like to donate please click on any of the links below and know that Mr. Merlot and Mr. Magoo send you their gratitude! To donate directly to our website go to : https://chippewavalleywildlife.com/i-would-like-to-make-a-donation/ To donate via venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/Elise-Bauer-6 To donate via PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/1539315 #GivingTuesday

LAST CALL!! Our live drawing for our Wonders of Wildlife Raffle is coming up this Saturday at 5pm so this is your last call to get your tickets purchased! If you haven't gotten yours yet, what are you waiting for? All four prizes are incredible and are all worth over $500.00! If you would like to get your last minute tickets in don't hesitate to give us a call at 715-838-0326. We'd suggest that you make sure to call to get your tickets in before Ms. Fiona runs off with the rest! We heard she has her heart set on the Milwaukee trip and as you can see, she isn't afraid to hedge her bets by snatching up the rest of the tickets! Happy Tuesday everyone!

It's International Raccoon Day and we couldn't stop at just one post! We so wanted to share a video from one of our raccoon releases this year. It takes a lot of love and hard work to see these guys to release. Of all the animals we rehabilitate, raccoons tend to take the longest. They are with us an average of 5 months and usually like to try to eat us out of house and home (we bet if you have a teenager at home you know what we're talking about). Unfortunately this means that there are not many rehabilitators in Wisconsin with the space, time, or resources to take on raccoons. We are proud to say that we are one of the few who do. There's no doubting that the work is hard but we think it's worth it every time we get to release day and get to see these babies who would have otherwise not made it, get back to the wild where they belong. Their excitement and sense of wonder is palpable and nothing compares to seeing them explore their new homes. Take Bell here for example, she can barely contain herself as she gets to enjoy her first taste of being in the wild. This is why we do what we do. It's for them, always. If you would like to support us and help us save more raccoons like Bell in the future, we are doing our big raffle fundraiser for the year right now. The prizes are absolutely incredible and you are helping us save more raccoons like Bell. If you are interested please click the link below for more information or call our main line at 715-838-0326 to inquire about purchasing tickets. Thank you everyone and Happy International Raccoon Day! https://facebook.com/events/s/wonders-of-wildlife-raffle/1469028507207397/?mibextid=Gg3lNB

Happy Wild Wednesday everyone! Look at how big our flying squirrels have gotten! We were lucky enough to catch one of ours the other night coming out for one of their favorite treats, fresh grapes. We are so happy to see them doing so well! Due to their nocturnal nature it's even hard for us to see these cuties very often. They're usually just starting to wake up when everyone else is settled in for bed. We hope you all enjoy this rare glimpse of one of our favorite Wisconsin wild ones!

Today is supposed to be HOT! Please stay safe out there and consider putting out a bowl of water for the wild ones today. It doesn't have to be a pool like ours, even a shallow bowl will do wonders. From the birds, to bees, to squirrels, all kinds of wildlife could really benefit from that small act of kindness today. Thank you everyone and stay cool!