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Savage Hart

Dedicated to protecting wild animals through rehabilitation, conservation, and education. This page is not constantly monitored for messages, tags, or comments.
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For wildlife emergencies, please call or text our hotline at (888) 444-1810.

06/23/2026

Find somewhere comfy to settle in and grab your credit card...ahem, we mean tissues. This young bald eagle has quite a story.

At first glance, he looks pretty good. That's what makes his story so remarkable.

In fact, he has already made it clear that he has absolutely no intention of making recovery easy on our rehabbers. At around 10 pounds, he is vocal, alert, and lets our rehabbers know exactly how he feels about being handled. While many of the eagles we receive are initially too weak or injured to put up much of a fight, this young bird is already displaying exactly the kind of natural behaviors we hope to see from a wild predator.

And honestly? That's a good thing. Around here, we'll gladly take the attitude. Because just weeks ago, his future looked very different.

Earlier this spring, the young eagle, nicknamed 'Regal' by the wildlife photographer who was following the family, disappeared after a witnessed altercation with a sibling near his nest site. When he was finally found, he was emaciated, dehydrated, and suffering from a severely fractured leg. Veterinarians at UGA would later discover he was also healing from a wing fracture. Somehow, he had survived on the ground with both injuries before finally being located and transported for care. After surgically repairing the fractured leg and stabilizing him, he was transferred to us for the next stage of recovery.

Now comes the hard part.

Surgery was a major milestone, but his recovery is far from over.

Over the coming weeks, he'll continue rebuilding strength and mobility in the injured limb. In the coming days, he'll move into a larger outdoor enclosure where varying perch heights will encourage movement, balance, and conditioning. Once he has completed this stage of recovery, he'll continue on to Chattahoochee Nature Center for flight conditioning.

We currently have several birds of prey in rehabilitation, and patients like this require specialized diets, medications, housing, and weeks of hands-on care. If you would like to help give this young eagle the best possible chance at returning to the wild, please consider making a donation here or through our website. Your support helps provide food, medical care, and rehabilitation for this patient and the many other raptors currently in our care.

For now, we'll gladly keep working through the attitude while he rebuilds the strength and mobility he'll need for life in the wild.

https://savagehartwildlife.org/how-to-help/donate/

06/19/2026

🦅June is flying by!

Our Protect the Locals merch fundraiser is still going strong, and we're so grateful for everyone who has already picked up a tee, long-sleeve, or hoodie.

Every purchase helps support the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of injured and orphaned native wildlife and the mission to keep wild animals wild.

If you've been thinking about grabbing one, there's still time. These limited-edition designs are only available during this fundraiser and won't be offered once June comes to a close.

Until then, we'll be over here trying to convince ourselves that one more wildlife shirt is always a good idea. 😉

Check them out and find your favorite!
https://protect-the-locals-fundraiser.checkoutstores.com/

06/17/2026

Breakfast time with the stinkers 🦨🖤

06/11/2026

Future pest control specialist in the making 🦇

This tiny patient is one of several baby bats we've admitted in recent weeks as baby bat season ramps up across Georgia. If you find a baby bat, give a licensed wildlife rehabilitator a call before intervening—every situation is different.

For now, this little one's job is simple: eat, grow, and become a bat.

06/09/2026

Public service announcement:

You can never have too many wildlife shirts. We checked. It's science. 😉

Our "Protect the Locals" fundraiser is still underway, and we've got tees, long sleeves, and hoodies available throughout June. Every purchase helps support our mission while giving you an excuse to add another wildlife-themed item to your wardrobe.

So if you've been thinking about it, this is your reminder to take a look and find your favorite.
https://protect-the-locals-fundraiser.checkoutstores.com/

06/05/2026

Two gray foxes. Two very different stories. One shared rehabilitation journey.

Thanks to your support, we were able to purchase an extended kennel that allows these two young gray foxes to be raised together as they continue their rehabilitation. This arrangement is temporary while they grow and prepare to transition into a larger outdoor pre-release enclosure.

The young female gray fox who was trapped in a fence is continuing to recover well. She is currently wearing a splint to help support proper alignment of her injured leg as she grows, but it certainly isn't slowing her down. She remains active, curious, and fully engaged in all the important fox activities.

The orphaned male gray fox has adapted well to the introduction. Because gray foxes are naturally social at this age, appropriate companionship provides opportunities for physical play, exploration, and species-typical behaviors that are important for healthy development. We hoped that raising them together would benefit both animals while providing additional activity and stimulation during the female's recovery, and so far it appears to be doing exactly that.

As you can see, they're spending their days wrestling, exploring, and keeping each other busy. We're pretty sure she doesn't realize she's supposed to be injured.

06/02/2026

STOP! Before You Pick Up That Fawn...

It's the height of fawn season, and our hotline has been busy with concerned citizens wondering if a baby deer needs to be rescued. The good news? Most of the time, the answer is no.

White-tailed deer fawns are typically born from late May through July and are precocial, meaning they are well-developed and capable of standing, walking, and even sprinting short distances within hours of birth. However, their muscles are still weak, and their stamina is low. While their mother forages for food, fawns hunker down in grass and shrubbery, using their natural camouflage to blend in and avoid predators. Their mothers only return a few times each day to nurse, so it's common for fawns to spend much of the day on their own.

Because of this behavior, people often mistake healthy fawns for orphaned ones and intervene when no help is needed. Unfortunately, removing a healthy fawn from the wild can separate it from its mother and reduce its chances of survival.

The fawn pictured here, however, truly did need help. The homeowners monitored her for several days before contacting us. During that time, she began wandering, continuously calling, and developed a significant parasite load, all signs that she had likely been without her mother for an extended period. After being evaluated and stabilized by our team, she was transferred to a licensed deer rehabilitator for long-term care.

So how can you tell when a fawn may actually need assistance?

✔️ It has a heavy parasite load, such as large numbers of ticks, fleas, flies, or maggots.
✔️ It has obvious injuries.
✔️ It has been wandering and crying continuously for an extended period.
✔️ It is found lying next to a deceased doe.

If none of these apply, there's a good chance the fawn is behaving normally.

If you encounter a fawn, the best thing you can do is observe from a distance and contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator before taking action.

Please help us spread the word. Every year, healthy fawns are unnecessarily removed from the wild by well-meaning people who assume they have been abandoned. A little knowledge goes a long way toward keeping fawns where they belong: with their mothers.

Share this post and help us prevent a few unnecessary fawn-nappings this season.

06/01/2026

🚨 IT'S HERE! 🚨

Our *Protect the Locals* merch fundraiser is officially live!

For the entire month of June, you can grab a limited-edition tee, long-sleeve tee, or hoodie and show your love for native wildlife wherever you call home.

Whether you're a turtle saver, owl watcher, fox fan, or simply someone who believes wildlife belongs in the wild, this fundraiser is for you. Every purchase helps support the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of native wildlife while spreading an important message: protect the locals. 🐢🦉🦊

Just one catch... these designs are only available through June. Once the fundraiser ends, they're gone for good. So go ahead, you know you want one. 😉

https://protect-the-locals-fundraiser.checkoutstores.com/campaigns/protect-the-locals-fundraiser

05/29/2026

Found grounded near a gas station in LaGrange, this bald eagle was in poor condition when Georgia DNR technicians responded to a late-night rescue call and safely transferred him into our care the following morning. This is our third bald eagle patient of the year. Unfortunately, the first two did not survive the critical first 24 hours. We are hopeful this one will.

Upon admission, he was severely dehydrated, emaciated, and suffering from multiple soft tissue wounds, along with a significant internal and external parasite burden. Even remaining upright for extended periods required effort. Altogether, his condition indicated he had likely been compromised for quite some time before he was found.

Over the next 48 hours, stabilization became the priority. In critically debilitated wildlife patients, treatment must be approached slowly and methodically, as aggressive fluids, nutrition, or medications can sometimes do more harm than good. A special thank you to Dr. Carey at Vet to Pet Services, who spent part of his holiday weekend helping provide additional diagnostics. Thankfully, those diagnostics did not reveal fractures or catastrophic internal trauma, giving us an important reason to remain optimistic.

Now, nearly one week later, we are beginning to see cautious signs of progress. He is standing longer, his appetite is slowly returning, and he continues receiving daily medications, supportive care, and physical therapy exercises to help maintain the range of motion and muscle function in his wings and legs. Today, he will begin an additional medication that we hope will further support his recovery.

From the initial rescue to diagnostics, daily treatments, and rehabilitation, cases like this depend on a network of dedicated professionals and supporters working together. Specialized handling equipment, including protective wraps donated by CARA, helps keep both patients and personnel safe during treatment and transport. The personal protective equipment and medical supplies provided through Project AnimalAid also play an important role in making this level of care possible.

Thank you to Wildlife Resources Division - Georgia DNR, Vet to Pet Services, CARA: Crafters & Artisans for Rescued Animals, Project AnimalAid, and everyone who continues supporting wildlife rehabilitation in our community. We are cautiously optimistic and look forward to sharing future updates.

To learn more about our work and how you can support patients like this eagle, visit our website.

05/26/2026

Have you noticed that turtle traffic is officially in full swing across Georgia? 🐢

With the combination of warm weather, humidity, and recent rain, eastern box turtles are on the move across the region. This time of year is especially active for the species as they travel in search of food, mates, and nesting areas. Unfortunately, that also means we begin seeing a seasonal increase in turtle patients injured by vehicles, lawn mowers, and domestic pets.

The turtles pictured here are a few of the recent box turtles admitted into our care. Shell injuries often require weeks or even months of daily treatment, supportive care, and careful monitoring while the shell slowly heals. Eastern box turtles are incredibly important members of our native ecosystems, and many spend their entire lives within the same home territory. They are also a protected native species in Georgia, which means it is illegal to take them from the wild as pets without the proper permits.

You know the drill: if you see a turtle crossing the road, and only if it is safe to do so, help them across in the direction they were already heading. Small actions like this truly make a difference for local wildlife.

Address

P. O. Box 451
Fortson, GA
31808

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 5pm
Tuesday	10am - 5pm
Wednesday	10am - 5pm
Thursday	10am - 5pm
Friday	10am - 5pm

Telephone

+18884441810

Website

https://www.savagehartwildlife.org/

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