We provide care and rehabilitation to orphaned, ill or injured wildlife with the goal of release.
Mission Statement: To provide humane care and rehabilitation to orphaned, ill, injured and displaced wildlife. The goal of our rehabilitation program is to release these animals back to the wild.
Remember Luna? I got her late last summer and she stayed with me for a while. She was released early this spring and is now a mama!! She has stayed close by and comes to see me almost everyday to get a treat. I make sure she has plenty of healthy food options since she's nursing babies ๐
Another busy week! Six more baby squirrels came into care over two days. All 6 are healthy and getting used to nursing from a syringe system. The first two lost that came in, their mom was killed ๐ข The second group of four, I tried to reunite after the tree their nest was in was cut down. Instructions were given but the tree company handed the babies over to someone that wasn't a licensed rehabber. Thankfully I was able to get the babies the next morning. They are all doing well and the person that had them is looking into becoming licensed ๐ฅฐ
If you are having tree work done and find that a squirrel nest was in it, please give mom a chance to get her babies. They actually have more than one nest! I'm happy to help with efforts to reunite ๐
Could I have a drumroll please?? The Oscar ๐ for most dramatically played death scene goes to.....
๐คฆโโ๏ธ๐๐คฃ
Three more little squirrels came in over the weekend. All of them are looking good and getting settled in with their new friends โค
It was a long LONG weekend. Tiny girl kept getting bloated. I did warm baths/soaks, fluids to flush her system. The bloat would subside but came back when I added formula - and I even tried very diluted formula. So I'd start the process of warm baths and flushing all over. I put hours into trying to get her gut issues worked out. She'd done great for over 12 hours and I thought we were making progress but because she wasn't really eating she'd lost weight. Saturday night I attempted diluted formula again but no luck. The bloat got worse and nothing was working. She was getting weaker. My heart shattered into a million tiny pieces Saturday night ๐ I tried everything. Ultimately I don't know what happened but I wonder if she hadn't been left alone for so long if it would've made a difference. This loss really REALLY hurts. I buried her next to one of my favorite flowers so she'll always be close. I'm so sorry little girl. You deserved better.
Tiny girl loves climbing on and snuggling with her new siblings, pooping, and warm formula every 2 hours ๐ฅฐ
Tiny nugget is doing well today!! I meant to post earlier but that paying job gets in my way. She was a little bloated yesterday but we've worked through that and her tummy is normal again. She's fiesty and doing well. Praying the trend continues ๐ โฅ
We've made it through the first 24 hours!! ๐โค Getting sister snuggles this morning.
Got a phone call this morning on my way to my paying job about a squirrel that had been at the end of a driveway for three days. Finder tells me the eyes aren't open and bluntly asks Do you want to rescue it or not? I definitely wanted to help the squirrel but then asked to be sure I heard correctly...you said it's been outside for three days? I heard correctly. The finder agreed to meet me. I did not know what the baby looked like or it's condition, I just knew it had been on its own for 3 days. When she arrived she got the squirrel out of a metal pail and when I put my eyes on this tiny creature I did something I probably shouldn't have. I got angry. Very angry. This was a newborn squirrel. She sat outside unprotected for 3 days. It was 90+ degrees yesterday. It rained last night. This baby was outside by herself with nothing and that person knew it.
If you find a baby animal of ANY kind it is absolutely okay to try to reunite it with it's mother. It's fine to observe from a distance. BUT....put it in a container the mom can get in. Make sure it has a heat source ( a water bottle filled with warm water works great). Don't leave it outside all night for predators. If these steps don't work PLEASE call someone to help. Do SOMETHING but don't wait 3 days.
This baby is bruised, dehydrated and sunburned because of negligence. She is resting with the group of babies I have that are 3 weeks old. I think she's finding them comforting which is great because she's had a ROUGH 3 days ๐ช
If you can help with care: Venmo
https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3775930455557576948
Just 3 tiny, fuzzy opossums ๐ There's a lot of cuteness here right now โค
We're needing to purchase several items right now if you'd like to help out.
Venmo: https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3775930455557576948
PayPal: [email protected]
Chewy: https://www.chewy.com/g/dare-wildlife-rehab-inc_b110275616
Y'all. I feel every bit of this ๐ฅด
These 4 had their nest flooded out thanks to the storm this weekend. They're all so cute ๐
Just a dose of cuteness for Monday โค
Did you know that squirrels have two breeding seasons? The first is in the spring and the second is now. With the winds kicking up, I thought it would be a good idea to remind everyone on what to do if you find a baby squirrel.
It's always best to try and reunite but with bad weather that isn't always ideal. When you find a baby, get it dry and safe. Wrap the baby in a tshirt or small fleece blanket. You'll want to warm the baby. You can do that by placing the baby on a heating pad set on low,l. You can also place a rice sock warmed in the microwave or a plastic water bottle filled with warm water in with the baby. DO NOT TRY AND GIVE THE BABY FOOD OR WATER. I really can't stress that one enough. Finally, call a rehabber. We're all in standby with hurricane season. No matter where you are in NC, you can find a rehabber here: https://ncwrc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=24817ead6093405e986fba09689b69e5
I'm having issues with Venmo apparently. If you've tried to make a donation, this is the direct link. Thank you ๐ฅฐ
https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3775930455557576948
Added a baby boy last night to the three tiny girls. This little one was found by renters here on vacation. They tried reuniting with mom but didn't have success. He has some bites and scratches but they appear to be healing. I think he's happy to be warm and have friends.
This takes the number of babies up to 26. That's not counting all the opossums and squirrels that are waiting to go to prerelease. Please check out our Chewy wish list. The most needed items right now are squirrel food (Oxbow young rat and mouse food), dry cat food, and pine cat litter. https://www.chewy.com/g/dare-wildlife-rehab-inc_b110275616
We're also going through a bunch of fresh food. Venmo is PayPal is [email protected]
It was release day for 4 of our squirrels on Friday! Three decided to venture out and explore. One opted to stay in the soft release cage. He is more cautious but that's okay. The squirrel door is open for him when he's ready.
I did go check on them last night and all 4 were in their squirrel box โค
It's been one busy week! I'll start with the newest additions. Five baby opossums were found with their deceased mom. The finder rounded up all five, made sure there weren't others and got them to me. At first glance they looked to be in good shape. But. After a closer look they were absolutely COVERED in fly strike. It was by far the worst I've seen. After two hours I got every single fly egg off them. They're safe and hydrated but don't understand where mom went. They are having to be tube fed because they're reluctant to eat on their own.
Yesterday I picked up 3 tiny pinky squirrels. They're about a week old and pretty scratched up. The finders were two children that quickly ran to get mom. Mom kept them warm and immediately get them to me. I've been working on getting them fully hydrated and on their formula. So far they appear to be doing well but I'm watching some bruises. Fingers crossed for these three girls.
As always, donations are needed. There are so many ways to help! Share our posts! You can donate through Venmo () PayPal ([email protected]) Chewy https://www.chewy.com/g/dare-wildlife-rehab-inc_b110275616 or even our vet's office 252-491-7474
This sweet little boy's family was attacked by an owl. This guy was found the next morning. He's a little bruised and timid but is healing well. He sleeps quite a bit and is starting to get the hang of drinking his formula. Send lots of good thoughts and prayers his way.
We always can use donations. We have Venmo () and PayPal ([email protected]). We have a Chewy wish list too! https://www.chewy.com/g/dare-wildlife-rehab-inc_b110275616
Freedom night for this pretty girl ๐
I've been wanting to get a post up but there needs to be more hours in a day! Plus that "other" job I'm forced to go to takes way too much time in the summer. Longer work days mean I'm starting later on the wildlife chores - which take several more hours each day. It's endless cleaning cages, make food, make formula, feed and maybe sit down for a few minutes before feeding babies again.
There are several opossums that are headed to soft release this week ๐ There are also 4 squirrels in soft release right now, plus one opossum, that will get their freedom this week as well! Really excited for all these fuzzy critters!! I will still have the little opossums and there are several others that need to grow a bit before release. Hopefully most will get their freedom before the summer squirrels start showing up.
Thank you all for following along on this journey!!
He was trying so hard to bite this cherry ๐ Learning to eat all by yourself is hard work!
Not sure what kind of sleeping position this is but he was snoozing ๐ด
Thank you Outer Banks Experience for such a kind post ๐ฅฐ
There is a lot of wildlife here! Deer, raccoons, opossums, turtles, bears, bearded dragonsโฆoh wait, that was an escaped pet. But seriously, we have wildlife and we care about every living being here.
What should you do if you find a wild animal in distress? You contact our wildlife rehabber at Dare Wildlife Rehab at [email protected]. They also have a page you can send a message through.
Dare Wildlife Rehab is a nonprofit animal rescue service. They recommend not trying to feed any distressed wildlife you find because it could make them worse. You can offer the animal water until the rehabber arrives. Always contact the rehabber right away for wildlife concerns like this.
If you visit their page you'll see they have several fundraising opportinuites you can contribute to. Consider sending a monetary donation or they can always use deliveries from Chewy, old towels and blankets and other items like carriers, kennels and wildlife Havahart traps.
Our wildlife rescue team is one of the best!
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089735178559&mibextid=LQQJ4d
We are going through a LOT of puppy pads and pine cat litter right now with our opossums. If anyone would like to send some (or some hanging cage accessories for them to sleep in) we'd be very thankful ๐ฅฐ
https://www.chewy.com/g/dare-wildlife-rehab-inc_b110275616 -list&wishlistsortby=DEFAULT
This tiny TINY opossum has now doubled her weight ๐ฅฐ She's now at 20 grams!!
Surgery went well ๐ The cyst was removed and she has a few stitches. She got a new cozy bed so she could rest and recover.
All the work in wildlife rehabilitation runs off donations. Some animals require more care than others. If you'd like to help out with expenses it would be very appreciated!
Venmo: https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3775930455557576948
PayPal: [email protected]
To donate directly towards Veterinary care:
First Flight Veterinary Hospital and Mobile Services 252-491-7474
This sweet girl is at the vet to get checked out. She has a cyst on her rear that won't heal and needs to be removed. She is scheduled for a quick surgery on Monday morning. If anyone would like to donate towards the expenses please contact our fantastic vet First Flight Veterinary Hospital and Mobile Services at 252-491-7474 and they will add the donation to our account โค
We've had several new little faces show up the last few days. We appreciate all of our caring finders!! Thanks to the Kill Devil Hills Police Dept and Animal Control for reaching out to help a little opossum โค
This baby season has been nonstop! We are going through quite a bit of pine kitty litter if you'd like to send some. Our Chewy wish list can be found: https://www.chewy.com/g/dare-wildlife-rehab-inc_b110275616
Venmo:
PayPal: [email protected]
Kill Devil Hills, NC
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Feels good to be free!!
He was trying so hard to bite this cherry ๐ Learning to eat all by yourself is hard work!
Blackberries!! ๐๐๐
The last test our squirrels get before going to soft release is making sure they can chew through the shell of a pecan. They all love this test and they all passed โค
Yummy!! Smack smack smack ๐
Release day for the juvenile cottontail ๐ โค
How many squirrels can run in the wheel at the same time?? ๐คฃ๐คช
Figuring out eating all by herself ๐
Learning how to eat solid foods ๐๐ฅฐ
Big ol' blueberries....yummy!!!
Yummmmm. Thanks for the fish mom ๐ฃ
Freedom day!!
Avocado is definitely the favorite ๐
Just a daily dose of cuteness ๐ Dinnertime!!
Today was release day for our three squirrels. We held off until after the fireworks nonsense just to be safe. They were very curious and have enjoyed exploring some pretty good size oak trees. There was one of course that knows where the sweet potatoes stay ๐ He's been more cautious but is venturing out slowly. This has been an amazing experience. As much as I will miss these 3 stooges, I'm so happy to see them be free squirrels.
Mom knows the spot ๐ฅฐ
Kelly's Annual St. Patrick's Parade
9th Avenue
