Wildlife Rescue

A group of knitters have put some of their scrap yarns to good use.  They have made “nests” for the little orphaned and injured creatures that the Wildlife Center of Texas receives.  They are weaved tight to prevent legs getting stuck, are in a bowl shape, and are made in various sizes.  The group is called the Wednesday Knit ‘n Stitch Group and meet at Park Avenue Yarns in League City.  The Wildlife Center of Texas thanks these wonderful ladies for spending hours making colorful and cozy nests for our littlest patients. Click here to learn what you can do to help our wildlife friends.            

The Wildlife Center of Texas received a call from a lady three hours northeast of Houston concerning a downed bald eagle.  Arrangements were made and the bald eagle was transported to the Wildlife Center of Texas.  The bird was full of parasites, fire ants, extremely emaciated and had an injured wing. Veterinarians immediately began treatment and tried to stabilize this magnificent bird.  Even with all the valiant efforts by veterinarians, staff and concerned volunteers the bald eagle did pass.   The bald eagle’s body will be sent to the national eagle repository. The passing of this bald eagle was extremely sad because the bird was observed injured for 5 days before help was found for the bird.  Please remind friends, family and co-workers that it is crucial that injured, ill and orphaned wildlife gets to the Wildlife Center as soon as possible. The Wildlife Center of Texas stands ready and able to help all injured, ill and orphaned wildlife seven days a week.   Please help us give out the Wildlife Center of Texas  number  713-861-9453 so animals like this magnificent eagle can get help quickly.   Photos courtesy of Lindy Pollard Wildlife Center of Texas Volunteer

              The Wildlife Center of Texas again this year received grants from ExxonMobil Community Summer Job Program and Shell Summer Intern Program for full-time college interns for 8 weeks to assist us in providing wildlife care and environmental education to our community. Students learned about the importance of non-profits to the community. For more information please visit http://volunteerhouston.org/programs/shell  and http://volunteerhouston.org/programs/exxon. Thank you ExxonMobil and Shell! Hi, we are Aimee and Kristen, the summer interns at The Wildlife Center of Texas. The Wildlife Center has been given the financial opportunity to provide two internships each summer, sponsored by ExxonMobil and Shell. ExxonMobil and Shell sponsor these internships to educate college students on non-profit organizations in the Houston area and to encourage the younger generation to consider jobs and other volunteering opportunities in the non-profit world. These two organizations specifically target education, environment, and diversity in the various internships they sponsor with different non-profit organizations. Our roles as interns at The Wildlife Center of Texas include nearly every aspect of the responsibilities that this organization holds. We do the daily cleaning- inside and outside, tube feeding doves and opossums, medicating any animal that comes in, nutrition and handling for all animals, computer work and intake, interact with other volunteers, give thorough tours of the wildlife center for other volunteer organizations, and occasionally take the educational ambassadors to events. We both work at The Wildlife Center of Texas between 35 and 40 hours each week during this eight-week long internship. Both of us have interests in jobs concerning wildlife. Aimee is majoring in Wildlife, Fisheries and Sciences with an emphasis in Animal Behavior and minoring in Psychology at Texas A&M University; she [...]

The raptor nursery at the Wildlife Center of Texas has a new baby raptor species for the 2012 year.  Two nestling Mississippi Kites have arrived within a week of each other.  The first baby was brought to the Center after falling 50 feet from its nest injuring its head.  The wounds have healed and it is doing much better.  The second baby was brought to the Wildlife Center this weekend.  It is assumed that the area storms this past week blew the baby out of its nest. The nest site could not be located.  Mississippi Kites can be seen in flight veering deliberately about looking for flying insects such as cicadas, dragonflies, beetles and grasshoppers.  They can be seen catching insects in the air with their feet, reaching down to pick pieces with their bill while they are in flight.  Wildlife Center staff and volunteers are thrilled to hear the kites high pitched double whistle, phee-phew, as it begs for food. All baby kites brought to the Wildlife Center will go through a progression of cages until they are finally released back into the wild.  Please check out the following article about kites from an older posting on our website.  https://wildlifecenteroftexas.org/2010/07/lets-go-fly-a-kite/      

Saturday was a great day for a pelican release.  The Wildlife Center of Texas released a dozen brown pelicans in Seabrook Saturday morning.  Many of the pelicans were part of the group of young pelicans that came from the state of Mississippi after tropical storm Lee last summer. Several other pelicans came from the Galveston area and were at the WCT for several months while healing from various injuries.  The event was announced to the public and many people attended.  It was great to see so many children and WCT staff, never missing the opportunity to educate others about the wonders of wildlife, answered all the questions the children asked. Photos courtsey of WCT Volunteers Lisa DuBois and Carol Wells

A rescuer was very concerned about a bird they found in Vidor, Texas.   They called the Wildlife Center of Texas in Houston, and a description determined the bird was a pied-billed grebe.  The rescuer drove the bird to Houston from Vidor.  The grebe was given an exam and found to have lacerations on one leg, a bruised shoulder and a mild concussion.  The grebe will be kept at the Wildlife Center for several days then will be released back to the wild.  Grebes often migrate at night and when they get tired and need to rest they sometimes come down on wet roads thinking they are waterways.  The location of their legs makes them strong swimmers, but almost impossible to navigate on land.  Without the help of humans to get them back to a water source they are doomed.  Grebes will run along the water to gain speed before taking off in flight. It was a lucky day for our grebe when the lady from Vidor happened upon him.  If you find a grebe or loon in the road, throw a towel over it and gently scoop it into a box and bring it to the Wildlife Center of Texas for care. Click here to learn more about Grebes

This bullfrog is leaping for joy this leap year because he was rescued from near death.  The frog’s rescuer found her in their home.  It is assumed the family dog may have brought her in and dropped it.  The homeowner discovered the frog and brought it to the Wildlife Center of Texas.          The frog was extremely emaciated and dehydrated; no one knows how long it had been in the house.  The frog has been rehydrated and is recovering.  Wildlife Center staff will release the frog in a pond where there is no danger of drying up if we have another drought like last summer.