A Review of 2023 at Nebraska Wildlife Rehab
Spring means BABY SEASON and this year was one of our busiest ever! In fact, we took in more than 1,585 animals in May alone, making it our busiest month EVER! Check out the photos of the some of the babies we received this year!
Spring also brings BAT RELEASE! We returned to a LIVE event this year at our new partner - the Joslyn Castle in Omaha. More than 3,000 people joined us on May 8th to release more than 350 big brown bats back into the wild. Check out these photos from Bat Release and join us in thanking our new partner, the Joslyn Castle for their incredible partnership!
Complex medical cases are not uncommon at Nebraska Wildlife Rehab. Indeed, we are here to take care of injured and ill animals just as much as we're here to raise orphaned youngsters. Here are just a few of the medical cases we handled this year, including: Hook removal from a snapping turtle (a common occurence in our hospital); jaw fracture repairs on a bat and a raccoon; skin graft on a big brown bat; and a blood transfusion on an opossum!
As summer progresses and turns to fall, the number of baby mammals we receives declines (although we continue to get baby opossums and rabbits well into September) but we still get nestling migratory birds well into August. We also continue to see the youngsters we've raised through their rehabilitation journeys. Late summer transitions more into care of ill and injured juvenile and adult animals and fall sees an uptick in injured migratory birds. We continue to do as many of our own field rescues as possible!
Releases are always our favorite time at Nebraska Wildlife Rehab - returning wild animals to the wild is why we do our work! Check out these photos of some of this year's releases!
As fall slips into winter, almost all of our orphans have returned to the wild, with the exception of a few late season opossums and raccoons. We continue to take care of injured and ill wildlife and this year including more than 40 Franklin's gulls injured by a late season hailstorm in Alma, NE. Winter is also time for us to prepare for our "bat season" - the time when we feed and care for hundreds of bats through the winter until Bat Release in the spring. Winter also gives us time for special projects, including cleaning, collaboration, and preparing to host the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association Annual Symposium in February of 2024!
We had some great stories in the media this year about the animals we cared for. Click on the links below to read more!
-
This article is from the Omaha World Herald and you may need a subscription to view it.
-
This article is from the Omaha World Herald and may require a subscription to view.
-
This link goes to the Lincoln Journal Star's page. You may be required to have a subscription to view it.
As we close out 2023, we have received over 6,500 patients this year. We were able to provide exemplary medical and rehabilitation care because of your support and for that, we thank you! We are already looking forward to 2024 - Baby season will kick off in late February, just as we are hosting the NWRA Annual Symposium in Omaha. In 2024 we are expanding our High School Science Academy, planning Trivia and Games Night (in March), and another public Bat Release at the Joslyn Castle. We are also launching new public outreach and educational programming and we can't wait to see you out there!
