Orphaned baby opossums look out over their cage while staying at Carolina Wildlife Care.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Dedicated volunteers give
SC wildlife new hope
Several squirrels nicknamed “Cujo,” crows named “Cameron” and an opossum called “Smellerella” in the Saluda Shoals Park area of Columbia have one thing in common.
All were brought to Carolina Wildlife Care in varying states of health and were rehabilitated by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers, eventually being released back into their native environments.
The center, located in an unassuming building on Bush River Road, is the only one of its kind in South Carolina. Though it is small, it takes in more than 3,000 injured, abandoned or orphaned animals each year, said Executive Director Joanna Weitzel.
Weitzel said that the center began as a small group in a room above the garage of one of its five founders in 1989 and in that year tended to less than 100 animals.
“Since then,” said Weitzel, “Carolina Wildlife Care Inc. has emerged as a respected leader in South Carolina, promoting wildlife rehabilitation and conservation.”
To date, she said, the center has taken care of 200 types of wildlife. Weitzel works alongside a professional veterinarian and a trained team of staff members and volunteers in order to realize her goal in each case she sees, which is the release of the animal.
“It’s a bittersweet moment, but it’s what we are about. Of course it is only natural to worry about them when they leave your care, but the release is our way of restoring the balance of nature,” said Weitzel.
Weitzel said that all the animals that arrive in her care are the result of human interference in the animals’ habitats.
“The animals coming in to CWC are not coming in through natural causes. They are coming in due to humans, their cars and their pets,” she said.
According to the center’s official website, www.carolinawildlife.org, the center relies entirely on public donations and receives no help from the government to accomplish its goals, neither federal nor state funding.
The center “is supported through individual and corporate donations, fundraisers and grant assistance,” said Weitzel, who cited numerous ways for the public to donate, including through the center’s website, which includes a Wish List and mail-in forms, in person at the center, or by phone with a credit card.
Although the website gives many donation suggestions of commonly needed items, such as paper towels and bird seed, Weitzel said that cash donations are the most helpful for the daily needs of the center.
While the center concentrates on animal rescue and release, it also seeks to inform and educate the public about native wildlife. The boundaries of human and animal habitation are colliding more often, with humans encroaching upon space needed by wildlife to survive.
Because of this, Weitzel said, “Greater needs and challenges have emerged in such areas as wildlife education and rehabilitation, habitat conservation and human/wildlife conflict resolution.”
The center plans several activities throughout the year with the goal of teaching the public about the needs of the state’s wildlife and how to preserve a natural balance.
The Winter 2007 edition of Wild Things, the official newsletter of the center, states that there are several “wildlife ambassadors,” animals that cannot be released, that travel to area schools with the staff to help share the animals’ stories and educate children about them.
The center also encourages people to host wildlife parties at their homes as fundraisers. The staff provides 30 guest invitations, three species of wildlife, a 20-minute presentation with a question and answer session and a behind-the-scenes tour of the center for the host of the event.
This year, the center is continuing its annual Baby Shower, a kick-off to spring and celebration of wildlife babies, on April 21-22. For a few hours each day, guests will receive an inside look at how the center operates and hear about some of the animals’ stories. Admission cost is a baby shower gift from the Wish List on the center’s website or a cash donation.
The shower is designed to coordinate with the spring season and the animals that come to the center at that particular time of year. By May, said Weitzel, the center takes in baby squirrels, opossums, bunnies and birds.
Weitzel said putting on these activities with the goal of informing the public is the toughest part of her job.
“The biggest challenge is educating the public on the necessity of the service we provide and to exercise tolerance and understanding with wildlife as they adjust to the pressures that man is placing on them,” she said.
Through all the hard work and difficult periods, Weitzel said she and her staff and volunteers love what they do.
“We steal the phrase ‘the toughest job you’ll ever love.’ …The staff and volunteers are there to make a difference and they leave every day knowing that they have done their part in making the world a little better,” said Weitzel. “Without Carolina Wildlife Care, more than 37,000 animals over the past 17 years would not have had a second chance at life.”
Carolina Wildlife Care is located at 5551 Bush River Road, Columbia, SC, 29212 and can be reached at (803) 772-3994. It is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week during the months of April through October and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. November through March.
Several squirrels nicknamed “Cujo,” crows named “Cameron” and an opossum called “Smellerella” in the Saluda Shoals Park area of Columbia have one thing in common.
All were brought to Carolina Wildlife Care in varying states of health and were rehabilitated by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers, eventually being released back into their native environments.
The center, located in an unassuming building on Bush River Road, is the only one of its kind in South Carolina. Though it is small, it takes in more than 3,000 injured, abandoned or orphaned animals each year, said Executive Director Joanna Weitzel.
Weitzel said that the center began as a small group in a room above the garage of one of its five founders in 1989 and in that year tended to less than 100 animals.
“Since then,” said Weitzel, “Carolina Wildlife Care Inc. has emerged as a respected leader in South Carolina, promoting wildlife rehabilitation and conservation.”
To date, she said, the center has taken care of 200 types of wildlife. Weitzel works alongside a professional veterinarian and a trained team of staff members and volunteers in order to realize her goal in each case she sees, which is the release of the animal.
“It’s a bittersweet moment, but it’s what we are about. Of course it is only natural to worry about them when they leave your care, but the release is our way of restoring the balance of nature,” said Weitzel.
Weitzel said that all the animals that arrive in her care are the result of human interference in the animals’ habitats.
“The animals coming in to CWC are not coming in through natural causes. They are coming in due to humans, their cars and their pets,” she said.
According to the center’s official website, www.carolinawildlife.org, the center relies entirely on public donations and receives no help from the government to accomplish its goals, neither federal nor state funding.
The center “is supported through individual and corporate donations, fundraisers and grant assistance,” said Weitzel, who cited numerous ways for the public to donate, including through the center’s website, which includes a Wish List and mail-in forms, in person at the center, or by phone with a credit card.
Although the website gives many donation suggestions of commonly needed items, such as paper towels and bird seed, Weitzel said that cash donations are the most helpful for the daily needs of the center.
While the center concentrates on animal rescue and release, it also seeks to inform and educate the public about native wildlife. The boundaries of human and animal habitation are colliding more often, with humans encroaching upon space needed by wildlife to survive.
Because of this, Weitzel said, “Greater needs and challenges have emerged in such areas as wildlife education and rehabilitation, habitat conservation and human/wildlife conflict resolution.”
The center plans several activities throughout the year with the goal of teaching the public about the needs of the state’s wildlife and how to preserve a natural balance.
The Winter 2007 edition of Wild Things, the official newsletter of the center, states that there are several “wildlife ambassadors,” animals that cannot be released, that travel to area schools with the staff to help share the animals’ stories and educate children about them.
The center also encourages people to host wildlife parties at their homes as fundraisers. The staff provides 30 guest invitations, three species of wildlife, a 20-minute presentation with a question and answer session and a behind-the-scenes tour of the center for the host of the event.
This year, the center is continuing its annual Baby Shower, a kick-off to spring and celebration of wildlife babies, on April 21-22. For a few hours each day, guests will receive an inside look at how the center operates and hear about some of the animals’ stories. Admission cost is a baby shower gift from the Wish List on the center’s website or a cash donation.
The shower is designed to coordinate with the spring season and the animals that come to the center at that particular time of year. By May, said Weitzel, the center takes in baby squirrels, opossums, bunnies and birds.
Weitzel said putting on these activities with the goal of informing the public is the toughest part of her job.
“The biggest challenge is educating the public on the necessity of the service we provide and to exercise tolerance and understanding with wildlife as they adjust to the pressures that man is placing on them,” she said.
Through all the hard work and difficult periods, Weitzel said she and her staff and volunteers love what they do.
“We steal the phrase ‘the toughest job you’ll ever love.’ …The staff and volunteers are there to make a difference and they leave every day knowing that they have done their part in making the world a little better,” said Weitzel. “Without Carolina Wildlife Care, more than 37,000 animals over the past 17 years would not have had a second chance at life.”
Carolina Wildlife Care is located at 5551 Bush River Road, Columbia, SC, 29212 and can be reached at (803) 772-3994. It is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week during the months of April through October and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. November through March.
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