THANK YOU AWESOME VOLUNTEERS

VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION WEEK!

April 21-27 is National Volunteer Appreciation Week and we couldn't let the week go by without honoring our great Sanctuary volunteers. You all put in countless hours to help the Sanctuary be the wonderful place that it is today. Thank you all!

It's Volunteer Appreciation Week and it's you we seek!

Although this week is set aside for special recognition,

It's every day we appreciate your passion and ambition.

No matter the day, the month or the year,

Our volunteers are always here.

You brighten our day by coming through the door,

never complaining and always asking to do more.

You help make the Wildlife Sanctuary a wonderful place,

Your hours of dedication, all with a smile on your face.

So thank you for being a volunteer, we're privileged to work with you.

We want you to know how appreciated you are, not just today, but the whole year through.

Valuable is the work you do

Outstanding is how you always come through

Loyal, sincere and full of good cheer,

Untiring in your efforts throughout the year.

Notable are the contributions you make.

Trustworthy in every project you take.

Eager to reach your every goal.

Effective in the way you fulfill your role.

Ready with a smile like a shining star,

Special and wonderful - that's what you are!

Thank you from all of the Staff and critters of the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary!

First Red-wing Blackbird males of the spring arrived at Nature Center feeders yesterday. We are still seeing otter track around the buildings and sightings in the lagoons along East Shore Drive. Many Bald Eagles flying in and out of the Wildlife Sanctuary daily.

Deer Oh Deer!


Here in Animal Care at the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, we have some very special residents the community has come to know well--- our White-Tail Deer! Currently, we have 4 ladies that have come to us with many different stories to become the friendly ambassadors we know today.

“Laura” is the friendliest of the 4 does. She came to WLS in 2006 as a fawn. Our goal with her, as with all wildlife, was to be released back into the wild. As she developed, we observed she had problems with her hind legs—she had an injury that caused her to be unsteady and not able to run as well as she should. The decision was made that she would not be successful out in the wild where running and protecting with hooves is essential to a white-tail’s survival. She has done well with WLS, maneuvering on the rocky areas to greet people coming into the Deer Habitat!

In 2009, Animal Care received a call that someone had a fawn and needed to get her into a rehab program. Much to our surprise, the little fawn we were expecting ended up being “Little LuLu”—a yearling doe! She is the tallest of our little herd and still leery of people. Unfortunately, being raised illegally by humans the first year of her life has left her unable to survive on her own, but also not as trusting to people. She comes up to the staff and public, but is always a few steps behind. Lu is a great example that when a young fawn is found, the best thing to do is to call a wildlife rehabber—Mom may be near watching the youngster. Natural mothers always do the best job caring for young and keeping them in the wild where they belong.

In 2009, WLS was able to give homes to 2 survivors that could not be released back into the wild. “Dani” is our smallest doe. She was found very young with another youngster next to her and an adult doe nearby—the adult doe was killed by a car. The other fawn, what we considered a sibling to Dani, grew strong, thriving in rehab care. Dani did not do very well—she was always quite weak and did not grow as quickly, unfortunately limiting her ability for release.

Our other 2009 fawn is appropriately named “Lucky”—and due to the quick thinking of some wildlife lovers, she ended up with a lucky outcome! Lucky was found in the Northwoods after a bear that was carrying her for a meal dropped her. Members of the public, Gerry and Shirley, were able to find Lucky and bring her to WLS. Lucky had a severe neck injury and was in a very critical state for 2 months, needing physical therapy and special feedings to help her hold her head up and stand once again. As we worked with Lucky, she became habituated on humans which made her an unsuccessful candidate for release, but a great fit for our little herd!

You can meet our deer daily in the Deer Habitat by the Woodland Building. They live with sandhill cranes and turkeys and greet everyone that comes in! You may get to know them by feeding them corn from the Observation Building or deer pellets from dispensers in the Deer Habitat area. Meeting our “Dear Deer” is a great time and a memorable experience!  Hope to see you soon!

Opossums are cute!

Opossums are really cute critters!

Sometimes they get a bum rap because they are misunderstood.

Our Animal Ambassador Petey!

A very young opossum....

A 5 month old opossum in our rehabilitation program.....

All about Opossums!

Virginia Opossums are the only marsupial native to the United States, which means the female carries the young in her pouch. She carries them until they are old enough and big enough to run around on their own a bit while learning to scavenge with her, which is at a few months of age.

They are excellent climbers with their unique paws. Opossums cannot hang from their tail-- they use the prehensile tail to help them grab onto the items they are climbing, like a tree limb, fence, or up the arm of one of the keepers! If you grab an opossum by their tail, they can have their spinal cord severely damaged.

Opossums are scavengers-- they do not actively hunt for food. They are looking for an easy food source. This can be a compost pile, a fruit tree, a garbage bag, or the dog and cat food someone left outside! Since they are omnivores, there are a lot of opportunities for them to find food.

Opossums do play "'possum", or act dead, to protect themselves. If they feel threatened, they will freeze and act dead so a predator does not hurt or kill them. They can stay frozen for a period of time. Opossums also have over 50 teeth-- they will show these off to protect themselves as well.

Come on out and meet Petey, our resident Opossum, at WLS! On this post are a few pictures of him and some young ones we have gotten in for rehab to release back into the wild.

Enjoy, and thanks for your support!

It's Baby Season in Wildlife Rehab!

9 week coyote pups

4 week old raccoon

4 week old mink

Our R-PAWS program has been a busy one this summer!

R-PAWS stand for Rehabilitation Program at the Wildlife Sanctuary. This is a program run on donations and volunteer time. Last year, the R-PAWS program admitted nearly 4,500 orphaned, injured, and ill wildlife from the public. In 2011, we have already admitted over 1,000 mammals! Here are a few pictures of some of the animals we have been caring for.

You can help support the R-PAWS program in a few ways:
Donate items from our "baby list" posted on our website!

Walk in our Walk for Wildlife event on Saturday, September 17th!

Call Animal Care at the Wildlife Sanctuary if you find an orphaned or injured animal! The number is (920) 391-3685.

Volunteer your time to help clean cages, fold laundry, or prepare food for the animals!

As always, we thank you for your support and we hope you have a great day!

adult Tundra Swan

Canada Geese goslings

Blue Jay nestlings

Fox Kit

Owl rescued from soccer net!

Here are some "great" photos from a Great Horned Owl rescue! Our intern David and our animal keeper Amy were alerted to this little guy in need of help thanks to some concerned citizens who called the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary. Since the owl was just leaving the nest and was not quite on his own, we added him to our rehab brood of young Great Horned Owls that have been rescued this spring. This rescued owl is doing well and is on his way to recovery, thanks to our dedicated R-PAWS volunteers and from your support!

WELL DONE!!!

Construction Update:
The Observation Buildling and the parking lot at that building will be closed to the public until June 11.
All other exhibits and public areas and trails are open!