Rescue. Rehabilitate. Release

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Wildlife Rehabilitation Training Classes

Want to get started in wildlife rehabilitation or need continuing education credits? We offer a wide range of classes from online to onsite

Become a Member

Join WRI and make a difference in the lives of wildlife. Members are eligible for board and committee positions or can help out at the Center once a month.

The Center

View the progress of the Wildlife Response and Rehabilitation Center located in Virginia Beach.

Volunteer Opportunities

Want To make a difference helping wildlife? We have many volunteer opportunities for skill levels from administrative to manual labor, from special events to once a month tasks. If you do not see one that fits your needs, let us know and we can create an opportunity.

Questions about Wildlife?

We offer information about local wildlife and initial screenings, as well as rescue and transport tips.

WRI Hotline

Need Wildlife Assistance? Give us a Call at 757-543-7000

Wishlist

Checkout the items we need to help keep the rehabilitation efforts moving. Every little bit counts!

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Wildlife Response, Inc. is a distinctive 501c3 volunteer organization devoted solely to the care of orphaned, injured, and displaced native wildlife. We are dedicated to increasing awareness of wildlife rehabilitation to the public. Our organization depends primarily upon the private donations for its programs and services.  

The Wildlife Response and Rehabilitation Center will be a centrally located facility where citizens, animal control officers and other agencies can drop off wildlife. In addition, the Center will provide a redistribution center for animals to be triaged, and then sent to permitted-based wildlife rehabilitators for care. The Center is expected to open in 2018.

Rescue Stories

Not Your Typical Morning

HawkMarion always goes out front to check the weather but for some reason today she went out back. To her surprise a very large bird greeted her.

He would open & close his wings but wouldn’t fly. Marion and her husband, Frank, started to make some phone calls. They finally called Midway Vet. Hospital where Noel answered the phone. Noel, who has handled hawks before new this, was more than Marion could handle and gave me a call, and asked me if I could go out to help the elderly woman. Upon arrival he was perched about 1 foot off of the ground in a small tree. When approached he flew to the wooden fence. I got within two feet then he took off again to the neighbors yard and landed in a tree; this time about 12-15 feet in the air. I noticed that he was favoring his right wing. By this time the blackbirds didn’t want him around. After about 8 minutes he took off again to another neighbors tree this time about 15-20 feet up. I knew he was injured but didn’t think he was going to be low enough to catch so I started to tell Marion what to do if he came back down to the ground. Just then we hear a load crack and we thought it was someone who was scaring off the 15-20 blackbirds that were bombing the Red Tail Hawk. Then we saw the Red Tail trying to hang on upside down but couldn’t right himself because of his injured wing. He then started to bounce all the way down the tree hitting all the branches. As I hopped fences, ran around homes and through yards I found him in the corner at the base of the tree he has just fell out of. I reached down and picked him up. I checked him out for more injuries but all I found was the original simple fracture in the right wing and that he was extremely thin. I took this opportunity to show Marion how this he really was.

I loaded the hawk up and headed for Midway Vet. Hospital for some much need fluids for the hawk.

This just shows that a concerned citizen can do for wildlife in distress. Because of Marion & Frank’s desire to help the Hawk out they persisted and found someone who would listen and help them help the hawk.

By Pearl Beamer

 

 

Confused Pelican Released

PelicanA confused pelican landed on the Hampton Roads Bridge during the “Ernesto” this year. William was on his way home when he saw him lying on the bridge. The pelican might of thought that the bridge was the water considering all of the rain that day or perhaps he was blown into oncoming traffic.

William brought the Pelican to me on Saturday afternoon. Fortunately, there were no broken bones, just some “road rash”.

He spent one week in a cage outside. He would perch himself high on a branch that my husband had put up for the crows. When he started to perch on it the last couple of days I knew he was ready to go.

On Thursday, my husband, Jimmy, and I took him back out to Willoughby Spit (where he came from) and released him. He walked right out of the cage, paddled a short distance and flapped his wings. Then he started to really flap his wings. He looked like he was running on the water. He took off like an airplane on a runway.

By Pearl Beamer

Pelican Pelican Pelican4_small

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