We had the privilege of releasing this American white pelican today! We worked with Carrie's Rehab Critters to help the poor bird who was found on the ground outside of Russell following the recent bad weather. Thankfully, the pelican did not have any broken bones or major injuries and just needed some time to recuperate with Carrie. We hope all goes well for the feisty pelican!
Kaybee, the injured kitten we recently took in, is doing great! She has improved remarkably over the last three weeks from the trauma that could have claimed her life. It has been amazing to watch her journey. We are especially grateful for her loving foster mom, who has been pivotal in her recovery, as well as all of the supporters who donated toward her care. And judging from her loud purring, Kaybee is pretty happy about how things have turned out. 😻
Happy Valentine’s Day! We hope your day is as sweet as Apollo and Morel! 😻
We released our skunk this weekend! He came to us as a lone orphan this summer and grew up to be quite the handsome guy. His feisty personality won our hearts, and letting him go was very bittersweet. We wish him all the best on his new adventure! 🖤🤍
We had the amazing experience of assisting Carrie of Carrie's Rehab Critters with the release of a great horned owl this evening! This owl was in awful shape upon arrival at the beginning of August—bloodied and plagued by maggots—but made a miraculous recovery under her care. We are so happy that the owl got a second change at life and we got to be a part of it!
There are not many things more heartwarming than releasing wild critters—the excitement they feel as they go out on their own is contagious. We got to share that moment with these adorable little bandits yesterday morning, and while we worry for all of our babies, we are hopeful that they will do well. Thank you to all of our supporters who helped us get them to this point!
We got to help out this young Mississippi kite with a minor wing injury this week. The kite was a little underweight and very hungry, but you can see they were still reluctant about eating in captivity. The kite has since been transferred to Carrie's Rehab Critters to be with another kite and has been reported to be doing well!
We have a small pond in development to help our wildlife hydrate and cool down in these miserable temperatures, and our adorable juvenile skunk got some use out of it today. While he did not care a whole lot for the water, he did enjoy searching for yummy skunk snacks. This foraging practice will help him immensely once he is out on his own. 🦨❤️
While the friendly nature of our new raccoon gal is endearing, the reason behind it and consequences are not so positive. She was brought to us by a game warden after being taken from a family raising her essentially as a pet. Because she was socialized by people, she does not like our other raccoons and wants to be around humans, which can be disastrous. Even though our other raccoons have been with us longer and should logically be more comfortable with us, they are weary of our presence—which is exactly what we aim for. We think this new kit will wild up nicely over the coming weeks with little human contact, but she should be a reminder why it is not good for wildlife to be raised like our domestic animals.
Thank you to everyone who donated to help vaccinate our current and future raccoon kits—we almost reached our goal and still can! First, you should know that the babies have been doing great, and we have been doing our best to cool and entertain them this summer. They destroyed their well-intentioned water mister, but this tunnel certainly fulfilled its mission. With each passing day, these cuties get closer to beginning their wild adventures, and we could use your help to get them there! We have a new fundraising goal of $200 to finish paying off their vaccines and buy the food and supplies necessary for the kits. You can donate through PayPal (paypal.me/wesplaaniref), Venmo (@westernplains-animalrefuge), or this post.
Our wildlife team is busy as usual with our menagerie of critters, including this adorable striped skunk kit! And while heartwarming scenes like this help to keep us motivated, we need more than full hearts to provide for these animals. We desperately require donations to pay for food, housing, medicine, and other supplies critical to properly caring for our wild friends. If you can contribute even a little, we would greatly appreciate it. You can donate through PayPal (paypal.me/wesplaaniref), Venmo (@westernplains-animalrefuge), or this post.
The thirteen-lined ground squirrels are so darn cute! All three of the kits are doing well and eating on their own with only one supplemental formula feeding each day. They will soon be weaned and then moved to an outdoor enclosure before being released. 😍
A non-profit organization dedicated to helping all animals, domestic and wild.
