Benefaction at its Best at Blue Ridge

Not too far from home is the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center, a wonderful establishment that cares for injured wildlife and then sets them free, if possible. I've taken a few maimed critters here myself and watched this wonderfully supported center grow. When I first dropped off an animal they were running out of a 850 square foot old house, its tiny rooms crammed with cages, and even the reception area had small cages and boxes on shelves, tiny mews and wails emitting from patients who were being tended to. The new center only opened up a couple of years ago, just a few yards down from the old house, which will be now be restored and possibly rented out.

On Saturday, BRWC was having its first Open Day. The new building is light years from what the staff had to work in previously. Bright, open and large rooms, lots of rooms, the new cages and tanks now with more space, and the patients with more space to recuperate until they're given their freedom once more. There's even a cozy cage on the outside of the hospital that can be used as a drop off point when the center is closed.
I walked quickly to the center from my car and was impressed to find the building was almost overflowing with visitors. The staff and volunteers who were showing their guests the premises and how it operated were swarmed with eager faces from children and adults alike. It was wonderful to see the support the hospital had, I hope the donations reflected that.

There were only a few Ambassadors on show. I learned today that it's actually illegal to display live wild animals, hence all the featured demonstrations were done with stuffed toys as their subjects. The animals are handled and spoken to as little as possible, and are not given names, referred to instead by their reference numbers. Only ambassadors, animals who are retained as they're unable to survive back in the wild, are used to teach visitors.
Slim, the Black Rat Snake, is one of the ambassadors, and was very obliging when it came to me wanting a photo. I was interested to see that he had a white underside. I'd never been aware of that during the times I've encountered my resident black snake at Meadow House.

The intricacy of the snake skeleton is amazing, it looked like a piece of art on display in a gallery. They also had a snake skin on show, but I've seen plenty of those, delicately hung from outside door frames, at home.

This was Rufio, the Grey Squirrel, who didn't stop stuffing the whole time I watched him. He was completely unperturbed by so many people around and would often stick his little nose through his cage, as though expecting to be hand fed more treats.

They had a wing of a Great Blue Heron on display. Having never been able to get close to these birds on any of my kayaking or hiking trips, it was a little sad, but still wonderful, to see this beautiful display of feathers so close. Dopey, the Eastern Screech Owl, sat in his cage, another fine ambassador who was unfazed by people like me sticking their faces close to him. What a dear little chap; I'd never seen one of these owls before.

There were demonstrations and explanations in the exam rooms as we made our way around the center. I was particularly keen to hear what happened to the turtles when they were brought in as I've driven a couple here myself, even having to pick one little guy up and release him where I found him. This particular turtle was malnourished as it had been kept as a pet and fed junk food, not the foods that turtles require but what its 'owners' had thought were correct. Thankfully they realized the error of their ways and brought the little chap here here where he is hopefully now on the road to recovery. These turtles are very territorial and stay within a 2 acre range, so if they are freed far from their home, they will roam to try and find it. Nearly all of the animals brought in are given fluids and pain medications on arrival and treatment follows soon after. We were also shown the foods that the patients are given, they eat very well, and I was pleased to see that squirrels will each fruits and vegetables, as I throw all my peelings out of the back door. In front of the lady is a tray of squirrel food and in the foreground is a platter for a ground hog.

There were a couple of rooms that were out of bounds, housing cages filled with patients who were recuperating. Despite the large crowds of people in the hospital, most were very quiet and respectful as they passed by these doors, peering in to see if they could catch any movement. I thought I saw a black vulture in one of the cages but couldn't be sure. The center performs about 100 surgeries a year. The animals are always stressed and when in care they are kept isolated and only in a room with their own kind, never with animals who would be their predators in the wild.
As I worked my way back to the reception area, there were still large crowds of people coming in through the doors to visit, and I wondered if the center had considered that so many folks would be arriving. It was amazing to see the support that the hospital was receiving and I noticed many hands were pushing notes into collection pots. This new hospital was a huge improvement on the little house up the road, and I'm sure the staff now wonder how on earth they ever coped in such cramped quarters. I squeezed my way out of the door back into the biting cold, and smiled as I watched a long line of cars waiting patiently to find a parking space. How amazingly awesome that this little area of the world loves its wildlife!