Wallace and Gromit; photo by CROW
At the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife, there’s a bunch of wonderful folks who truly give a hoot about our wildlife.
In fact, CROW welcomed two new Animal Ambassadors this week: Eastern screech owls Wallace and Gromit.
Both animals have been deemed non-releasable due to the injuries they sustained, so they will soon join other CROW Animal Ambassadors — including Mina, a great horned owl; Talon, a red-tailed hawk, and Biscuit, a gopher tortoise — at CROW’s educational outreach programs, giving visitors one-on-one, up-close-and-personal experiences with these amazing creatures.
The rehabilitation staff has spent countless hours training and building trust with these animals so that they can remain relaxed around crowds.
“These animals teach us something new every single day. Watching their training progress, watching them interact with people and watching them change minds across the country is the greatest feeling in the world,” said CROW Rehabilitation Manager Breanna Frankel. “The bond you can create with the animals is astounding, and earning their trust is a very high honor. Some of our favorite days are ones spent with our ambassador animals.”
CROW is once again offering guided campus tours every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. You’re invited to join them at 11 am for their daily presentations with the guided campus tour immediately following (registration required). CROW Campus Tours give visitors an in-depth look into what patients experience from intake to release, including the inner workings of the hospital and treatment process.
Visitors will also get a look into rebuilding efforts post Hurricane Ian. Although CROW evacuated all of its patients ahead of time, several animal enclosures were too badly damaged to return. The Animal Refuge Center in North Fort Myers generously offered use of its extra building to house CROW and their patients. Six months after the storm, they were able to return home after initial repairs were completed.
The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife is a teaching hospital and education center dedicated to saving wildlife through state-of-the-art veterinary care, research, education and conservation medicine. To learn more about their remarkable work, click here.
