WILDLIFE PATIENT STORIES
GET TO KNOW WILDLIFE, One animal at a time
READ OUR WILDLIFE PATIENT STORIES!
See individual stories of rescue and healing — and how WildCare helps every animal improve their odds of survival.
Farewell to Vladimir
On Friday, March 28, 2025, WildCare bid farewell to Vladimir, our venerable and beloved Wildlife Ambassador Turkey Vulture. Vladimir was 40 years old, one of the oldest vultures known in captivity. Due to severe complications from age-related arthritis, WildCare...
Owlet Reunite – 1st of 2025
March feels early to be organizing raptor reunites, but when these two fluffy Great Horned Owlets were rescued and brought to the Wildlife Hospital, WildCare's Raptor Reunite Team (RRT) sprang into action! After noticing they'd been sitting alone in the same place for...
Opossum Rescued from the Bay Bridge
This opossum was spotted ambling up the side of the busy San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge! Fortunately, with the help of a Good Samaritan who knew how to handle animals and a warm-hearted California Highway Patrol Motor Officer, she was safely rescued and brought to...
Meet Quercus the Acorn Woodpecker
Quercus is WildCare's newest nonreleaseable educational Wildlife Ambassador animal. An Acorn Woodpecker, Quercus was found as a nestling in the Marin County town of San Anselmo. His nest tree had been cut down, sending him and his siblings crashing to the ground. The...
Boots for a Crow
This young American Crow was brought into WildCare unable to stand, hop, or fly. His legs and toes were weak and sitting curled under his body. He was thin, too docile, incredibly dehydrated, and his legs were cold to the touch on intake. This all pointed to a pretty...
Turkey Vulture Recovers at WildCare
This adult Turkey Vulture was spotted on the side of the road. Drivers guessed he had been hit by a car and called Marin Humane, who dispatched an officer to rescue the bird and bring him to WildCare. The intake notes in the Wildlife Hospital say that the vulture was...
Owls at WildCare
It's "Owl-a-palooza" at WildCare right now. The Wildlife Hospital currently has seven owls of various species in care. This is a surprising number, given that we usually only have one or two of these birds of prey onsite at any given point. Many of the owls in care...
Protect Migratory Songbirds
Migratory Songbirds and Windows Migratory animals face an incredible number of hazards, especially the smallest of avian migrants, the songbirds. Hermit Thrushes, like the bird in this photo by Michael Pagano, are comparatively short-distance migrants, but they still...
Burned Red-tailed Hawk Recovers at WildCare Transition
It's raptor migration season, which means that birds of prey are filling the skies over the San Francisco Bay Area as they make their way down the Pacific Flyway. Migrating birds face many hazards, but this bird's reason for admission to the Wildlife Hospital...
WildCare Transition Up and Running
All of WildCare's Programs are now at WildCare Transition! While we rebuild our new facility at our Albert Park Lane location, WildCare has relocated all of our programs, including the Wildlife Hospital, to a Transition location. We'll be operating out of WildCare...
Wildlife Ambassadors Move to Transition
A New (Temporary) Home for WildCare's Wildlife Ambassadors Watch WildCare's beloved Wildlife Ambassador pool birds and our venerable Turkey Vulture, Vladimir, entering their bright and spacious Transition enclosures for the first time in the video below. Vladimir is a...
WildCare’s Move + Orphaned Baby Squirrel in Care
As you likely know, WildCare is in the process of moving out of our venerable facility on Albert Park Lane in San Rafael, California so we can rebuild a new, state-of-the-art wildlife hospital and nature education center at this site. To do that, we have to move the...