Wildlife Rescue

As the holiday season approaches and the early birds get started on their gift shopping, stores and Internet shopping sites will be busy places. But did you know that your holiday shopping could benefit the animals here at the Wildlife Center of Texas? Amazon.com and many other stores in the iGive network donate a portion of your purchase price to the Wildlife Center of Texas if you access the stores through special links. So before you pay for all the gifts you have selected for friends and family, visit our website and link to the web store you are shopping to check out. The Wildlife Center of Texas will receive a percentage of the purchase price at no cost to you! It's a wonderful way to help support the Wildlife Center of Texas and to help us continue our mission to care for the injured, orphaned, and oiled wildlife of Texas. And while you're at it, how about selecting a gift for the animals here at the Wildlife Center of Texas from our Amazon.com wishlist? Many of the items can count toward getting you that free Super Saver shipping! Click here for the Amazon.com store link, or visit the Amazon page under the donations tab. The iGive network includes hundreds of stores, and whether you are looking for electronic, computers, jewelry, or practically anything else, you can browse the iGive site and find some great items while supporting the Wildlife Center of Texas at the same time. Make sure you list the Wildlife Center of Texas as your cause when on the site. And consider this as well: every time you Google something or search the web with Bing or Yahoo, you could be earning [...]

Hundreds of injured, ill and orphaned doves are brought to the Wildlife Center of Texas for care each year.  The common doves found in the Houston area consist of three native (Mourning, White-winged and Inca) and two non-native doves (Eurasian collared dove and ringed turtle-dove).   It has been interesting to watch the trend of our doves in the last three decades.  The author of this article began rehabilitation in the early 80’s, at that time the doves most common were the mourning dove and the  Inca and an occasional escaped ring-necked turtle dove.  It was rare to have a ground dove, Eurasian collared dove or white- winged dove.  Today’s order from most common would be  white-winged, mourning, Eurasian-collared, Inca, then ringed-neck turtle dove.  Urban doves have learned that city life provides unlimited food and water sources.  Many homeowners put out seed and water for these gentle birds.  Doves generally make flimsy nests so as the young ones start to develop they fall to the ground before they are ready to fly.  If left on the ground they usually fall victim to area cats, dogs and wildlife.  Mother birds will accept their babies back if you step in and help by picking up the baby putting it in an empty hanging basket and hanging it near where the original nest was. Common doves: White-winged dove as adults have a blue orbital ring and orange iris.  They are a large dove with light brown feathers and a narrow line of white showing on wing when at rest. Mourning doves have a pale bluish orbital ring and brown iris.  They also have light brown feathers but have black spots on their primary covert feathers. Inca dove is our [...]

The adult male bobcat that was rescued from the Friendswood area back on December 12, 2012 was transported to the Houston Zoo to undergo a root canal on February 20, 2013 (click here to see a video of his prior treatment). Several of his teeth were in poor condition and a root canal was performed to prevent infection. The 2-hour long procedure was performed by Dr. Maryanne Tocidlowski of the Houston Zoo and Dr. Frank Shuman of the Houston SPCA. To prepare the bobcat for surgery, he was sedated, blood was drawn and x-rays were taken. The dental work involved 6 root canals which comprised 4 canines and 2 premolars. The procedure involved drilling a hole in the top of the tooth, filing down the area around the hole, cleaning out the canal and disinfecting and drying the entire area. The hole was filled with an inert latex-like compound and the hole was capped with a resin based dental restorative compound. After the surgery, the bobcat was safely transported back to the Houston SPCA where he is being monitored by our veterinary staff. While in the care of The Wildlife Center of Texas and the Houston SPCA, the bobcat has been treated for and recovered from flea infestation, a bacterial infection and sarcoptic mange. The bobcat was also severely emaciated and over the course of six weeks, he has gained 15% of his initial body weight. We will continue to monitor his progress until he is ready to return to his native habitat. The bobcat was found in poor condition in a rural area and initially brought to The Wildlife Center of Texas, a subsidiary of the Houston SPCA. Last year, nearly 9,000 wild animals, [...]

    The Wildlife Center of Texas was called out to help rescue a great egret in Dickinson, Texas.             A person reported that a great egret was caught in a tree hanging over a bayou.  The WCT rehabilitator enlisted the help of her husband and another volunteer and in the cold rain canoed across the bayou to the island where the bird was hanging.         The bird was freed and a quick exam showed the bird to be very weak, in shock and had fishing line hanging from its mouth (swallowed a fish hook).  The bird was rushed to the Wildlife Center where staff and volunteers administered warm fluids and put the bird in a heating unit.  The bird was stabilized and radio graphs were taken.       The egret has bruised wings and feet, and will need surgery to remove the fishing hook.  The Wildlife Center of Texas thanks these volunteers who went above and beyond to come to the rescue of this splendid water birds.

The Wildlife Center of Texas has been getting many calls and emails from concerned homeowners that are finding a higher than usual number of nocturnal wildlife out during the day.  The majority are displaced from their dens during the heavy rains.  Urban wildlife tends to use our drain systems for dens and when they become flooded the animals look for a dryer spot until the water goes down. They will return to their former area when things dry up a bit.  It is predicted that we will receive more rain so for the next week you may notice displaced wildlife.  A lady from a company called during the height of one of the storms this week about a very wet raccoon sitting on their porch.  When we explained what was going on they felt sorry for the little guy and even threw a towel out on the porch for it to sit on or wrap up in while it was waiting out the storm.  During the stormy weather some nocturnal wildlife are not able to hunt so if they have gone several nights without eating they may forage during the day. If you do find wildlife that has been injured, ill or orphaned you can take it to the Wildlife Center of Texas, if you are not sure about the situation please call the center at {713} 861-9453 for more information.

  The Wildlife Center of Texas and the Houston SPCA have been working together to help an adult bobcat have a second chance at life.           Click here and make a donation to help us continue these life saving efforts

A family was spending the weekend in Galveston when they discovered an injured brown pelican.  They called to report the pelican but were not able to catch it.  Diane, a Wildlife Center of Texas volunteer, was able to rearrange her schedule and rushed to the scene on the far west end of Galveston. She and her husband were able to capture the pelican and prepared it for travel.  The family who reported the bird was heading back to Houston and agreed to bring the bird up the freeway where another WCT volunteer met them.  The pelican was then transported to the Wildlife Center of Texas where it was found to be emaciated and full of parasites.  It is now being treated along with several other pelicans. Thanks to all these people, this pelican was rescued, will be rehabilitated by caring volunteers and staff and then released back to the wild.  With the 2012 Olympics in full swing we feel they all made a great team...they get the GOLD!  If you too would like to be a part of this fantastic team to help injured, ill and orphaned wildlife please donate toward the care of all of our patients.