Wildlife Rescue Center

Happy #NationalArmadilloDay! The Wildlife Rescue Center treats a few of these armored explorers each year! Check out this flashback to May 2019 and this baby armadillo's first forage! Armadillos are becoming more common in portions of Missouri, particularly in the southern and central regions of the state. Their range has been expanding in the United States since the 1850s, when the armadillo moved into Texas from Mexico.

First, we wanted to say how THANKFUL the Wildlife Rescue Center is for this compassionate community! You all responded so quickly to our #WishlistWednesday call to action yesterday! Our wild patients are VERY grateful for you sending them some NOMS (and cage upgrades) via the post ! With 149+ opossum patients in care, Center volunteers and staff have been hustling to get these little marsupials the best care possible! A staff member was able to catch a quick video of this b...and of marsupial siblings exploring their new, larger, enclosure yesterday. This trio had just graduated from an aquarium to a larger, wire cage when this video was captured! This will allow them to practice their natural opossum skills, getting fit, and ready for their #wildrelease. You can see, they were VERY interested in the new spacious area they have to scamper about!

OPOSSUM FANS, HELP NEEDED. Send food via our Amazon Wish List (https://amzn.to/2XlDCVs) for the 149+ baby opossums in care today. We're down to 3 small bags of the main ingredient for "opossum soft chow," Purina One Smartblend Adult Dog Food (Lamb & Rice OR Chicken & Rice). With this number of opossums, we're going through roughly a bag a day. 8lbs bags are preferred! We also urgently need intermediate caging for our growing joeys! These can be found on our Amazon Wishlist (...https://amzn.to/2XlDCVs) as well! With so many growing marsupials, we need more ROOM for them to practice their opossum skills, like climbing! If you would like to purchase either of these items from another source (Chewy, Walmart, Petsmart, etc.) please make sure they match the items specified on our Amazon Wishlist. We specifically use the Purina One Smartblend Adult Dog Food (Lamb & Rice OR Chicken & Rice) because it has the correct nutritional makeup for our wild patients. We cannot use other brands or already opened bags. Please reach out to a local pet food pantry if you have other pet foods you can donate. THANK YOU! If you can donate items in person, please use the donation station set up outside our front entrance! For any questions please email [email protected]!

Sometimes you just want to look your best! This Big Brown bat was sure thinking along those lines when he was admitted last week. This sky puppy was brought to the Wildlife Rescue Center after being found grounded and covered in mud. It's unclear what caused this fellow to end up in such a sticky predicament, but he was sure grateful to have a safe, warm, and dry place to get back on his wings. One of our animal care staff caught this video of his grooming session shortly a...fter admission. He's a very determined lad that wants to get back out and flying as quickly as possible. Fact: In general, bats are not solitary; generally living in large colonies. This, combined with the fact that a single bat can consume as many as 1,000 insects in one evening, makes Big Brown bats a significant predator of agricultural pests... including mosquitoes!

Happy Mother's Day to all the human and WILD moms out there!

Thank you so much to St. Louis Community Foundation and ALL OF YOU for showing up for wildlife this #GiveSTLDay! Not only did we meet our original $15,000 goal, YOU helped almost doubled it! $6,000 in prize money brought the grand total to $27,261. That's going to help a lot of animals!!! We are incredibly proud to be a part of this compassionate community and honored by your continued support.

It's #WishlistWednesday! Send much-needed items via our Amazon Wishlist at (https://amzn.to/2RCTFfp). Currently, we have an URGENT NEED for Purina ONE SmartBlend (Lamb & Rice OR Chicken & Rice), Henry's Wild Bites (these are NOMS for our flying squirrel patients), and 39-gallon trash bags (our wild patients tend to make some pretty wild messes). You may purchase these items from another source (e.g., Chewy, Walmart, PetSmart), but please make sure they are the same brand (...Purina ONE SmartBlend) or size (39 gallon) as what is on our Amazon Wishlist. You can also drop off items directly at the Center. We have a donation station set up to the right of the front entrance. You can drop off items 24/7, volunteers and staff to know to bring in items periodically. Thank you all for being a part of the team! Any questions, please email [email protected].

Celebrate the successes! This video was taken in March during this box turtle's physical therapy session. He had been at the Center recovering from suspected spinal trauma causing him to struggle to move his rear legs. Our animal care staff member caught this dude having no problem getting himself out of frame on this warm spring day! Allowing him to move as though he would in the wild gives us a better picture of where this handsome fellow is in his healing process. We are proud to report that he was released back to his home territory earlier this year! You go, buddy!

Wild & Wonderful Holiday deals are here until the end of the year! Don't miss your chance to shop great deals for a great cause. Use code WILD15 at checkout and receive 15% off your order! Shop now at mowildlife.org/online-store. All orders are hand-filled by Center staff & all proceeds benefit wildlife rescue & rehabilitation efforts! Shipping & pick-up available.

Growing up takes a lot of hard work! This orphaned white-footed mouse was caught on video by one of our animal care staff members back in September. This is the moment that he went from needing to be consistently hand-fed to learning to lap his formula on his own! The #milkmustashe is STRONG on this little dude. You can even see his first attempt at grooming that stashe when he reaches up with his paws. Good first try! Fact: The Center cares for many white-footed mouse patients each year. Most are very young, like this little one, and require around the clock care. Feedings are almost every two hours, on the hour. Our licensed and trained homecare volunteers take on this labor intensive task. That is why this moment of progress is so celebrated!

Get that holiday shopping done early! Check out our online Gift Shop. We have the perfect items for the wildlife lover in your life! Shipping and pick up available.

Happy Halloween from everyone at the Wildlife Rescue Center!

"Hellbenders have been in the fossil record for over 160 million years, but at the turn of the 21st century, North America’s largest aquatic salamander was in danger of local extinction in Missouri."

Do not disturb the sacred nap time! This photo is a flashback to July when round two of busy baby season had just begun. This group of opossum joeys was found alone in a garage without any sign of mom. As you can see, upon their intake exam they were exhibiting some pretty typical opossum behaviors. The middle man is showing us that well-known opossum "hiss", while his siblings are going for the solid move of "playing opossum". Exhibiting these behaviors is something we like to see in our opossum patients! That means their instincts are kicking in. This bunch was released after a couple months of supportive care from our volunteers and staff.

We are proud to announce that thanks to this compassionate community of wildlife superheroes, our $2,500 goal for our Chances for Critters Fund has been reached! The Wildlife Rescue Center really couldn't be here for our wildlife patients without your support. As a little gesture of appreciation, enjoy this short video of one of our Southern flying squirrel patients during his admission process. Upon examination, he was found to be suffering from mild dehydration. Our animal... care staff member can be seen, in this video, administering fluids. That special "nipple" on the end of the syringe is appropriately called a Miracle Nipple because it adds extra comfort and realism to the feeding process. Look at those tiny hands! Fun Fact: Southern flying squirrels are native to the eastern United States. From Maine south to Florida and west from Minnesota south to Texas the Southern flying squirrel can be found in many deciduous and coniferous forests and woodlands. For more information check out: https://www.nwf.org//wildlife-gui/mammals/flying-squirrels

We want to give a HUGE thank you to this compassionate community! You all have raised 92% of our $2,500 goal for our Chances for Critters Fund! That means that we only need $205 reach that magic number! Make a donation below to help support our extraordinary wildlife patients! From box turtles to flying squirrels, we are here for our local wildlife in need. Let's finish this out STRONG for our wild neighbors! Thank you for being part of our amazing Wildlife Rescue family.

Progress report on our flying squirrel patients below!

Don't forget to check out our new online Gift Shop (www.mowildlife.org/online-store)! All of your favorite Wildlife Rescue Center swag is available for purchase until we run out of inventory. The holidays are just around the corner, so don't miss your chance to shop for a great cause! New Apparel Designs: Sweatshirts back in stock! Wildlife Plush: Including opossums, squirrels, and butterflies! 'I Brake For Turtles' Magnets: For your car, or even your fridge!... Reusable Totes: For shopping or gifting! AND MORE! See more

With only FIVE days left in our Chances for Critters Fundraiser we have only $870 until we reach our $2,500 goal! Let's keep this momentum rolling for our wild patients! A donation, no matter the amount, will make a difference in the lives of our wild patients. This three-toed box (pictured below) turtle was brought to us by a good Samaritan in June. He'd been struck by a car and had severe shell fractures. Because he hadn't recovered in time to acclimate before winter, he'll spend the next several months with us, along with 36 other box turtles this winter. All will be released in the spring when fellow wild reptiles are getting active again.

With less than $900 until we reach our $2,500 goal click here (http://bit.ly/CFCF2020) to make a donation to our Chances for Critters Fund! Animal intake has surged in 2020, resulting in our busiest year ever. Wild patients in care right now, just like this eastern gray squirrel, need YOU! Your gift to the Chances for Critters Fund will be used exclusively for animal care, critically needed now due to a 20% jump in animal intake this year. Please give today to directly support the care and treatment of our extraordinary wild patients, your local wildlife.

Keep the momentum going, folks! Animal intake has surged in 2020, resulting in our busiest year ever. Wild patients in care right now need YOU! Click below to GIVE NOW and provide the resources needed to get them on their feet quickly and back to the wild! HUGE thank you to everyone for your continued support. We couldn't do this work without you.

Make sure to come see us at the Trunk or Treat (Drive-Thru) at North Pointe Aquatic Center in Ballwin! Bring the kiddos for a safe and fun trunk or treat! It's gonna be a "batty" good time!

A donation to our Chances for Critters Fundraiser goes to work immediately. Helping wild patients, like these opossums, get back on their feet quickly, and back to the wild, where they belong.

With just nine days left in our Chances for Critters Fundraiser you all have raised 47% of our $2,500 goal! Let's keep this momentum going! Remember to invite your friends and SHARE SHARE SHARE! All donations to our Chances for Critters Fundraiser go to work immediately, and exclusively, to care for our wild patients. Let's show our wild patients some love, folks!

Happy #ReptileAwarenessDay! The Wildlife Rescue Center treats numerous species of reptiles each year. From box turtles with damaged shells to black rat snakes stuck on glue traps... we have seen it all. We want to take a moment to feature some of our past and present reptile patients.

EXTRA SPECIAL CREATURE FEATURE BELOW Make a donation to our Chances for Critters Fund to help cover the cost of caring for our wild patients! Your gift helps us act fast and get the supplies we need to get local wildlife back on their feet quickly, and back to the wild, where they belong. Just like this big boy in the video below.