During the past month, Ring-billed Gull #24-0197 has made a full recovery – and has been successfully returned to the wild! On February 28, the veterinary staff determined that this gull’s condition had stabilized, and it was transitioned to an outdoor enclosure equipped with an in-ground swimming tub. At this point during its treatment, the patagial knots in its right wing had improved, and one week later the gull was able to bear weight on its right leg ..read more

On March 27, Black Bear cub #24-0385 was admitted to the Center. The young male cub was found in Scott County after a den disturbance; a sow reportedly ran off with four cubs, leaving one small cub behind. When reuniting the cub did not seem possible within two days, a biologist with the Department of Wildlife Resources brought the cub to the Wildlife Center for care ..read more

Mallard #24-0204 has been successfully released back into the wild! Throughout the course of its six day-long chelation therapy regimen, veterinary staff noted promising behavioral changes related to its suspected habituation toward humans. As its overall condition improved, it became progressively more resistant to being approached and handled during daily treatments – a good indicator that this duck was ready for release ..read more

Despite many months of treatment and care, Bald Eagle #23-3558 continued to have a right wing droop, and recent radiographs showed permanent changes to the eagle's right elbow joint. Unfortunately, these changes would cause the bird chronic pain if she were released back into the wild. The vet team decided to humanely euthanize the eagle out of concern for her quality of life.  ..read more

During the past two months, all of the Black Bears have been doing well. The bears have been less active during their winter dormancy, but have become more active on sunny, warm days and are starting to show more interest in food. Currently, they are receiving two meals a day, each meal containing a total of 25 pounds of fruit, nuts, veggies, and protein items ..read more

On March 15, the Wildlife Center admitted the fourth Black Bear cub of 2024. The cub's den was located close to an active brush fire that startled the mother into fleeing the area. Luckily, firefighters who were battling the blaze heard the cub's cries and were able to rescue him from a brush pile before he had been injured. Due to the ongoing fire, wildlife biologists with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources decided it was not safe to attempt to reunite the cub with his mother.  ..read more

Event Date:  Thursday, March 14, 2024 - 6:30pm ..read more

On the evening of February 29, a driver was at a busy four-way intersection in Richmond, when her car’s headlights shone on an unusual sight – an adult Mallard duck standing in the oncoming traffic lane. Despite Mary's efforts to scare the duck out of the roadway without exiting her vehicle, she was unable to get the Mallard to move.  At that point, Mary thought, “There is no way I’m going to watch this duck get hit by a car ..read more

During the past week, DWR biologists visited several Black Bear dens in search of a foster mother for the cubs. They located two dens with potential foster mothers, and early in the morning on February 29, they picked up the cubs from the Center to bring them to dens. Once at the dens, they planned to anesthetize the mother bears to assess their overall health and the number and size of the cubs already in the den ..read more

On February 26, this Ring-billed Gull was rescued by a Chesterfield County Animal Services Officer after it was found hooked and entangled in a discarded fishing line. A local wildlife rehabilitator was able to remove the hook and line, but the bird's right leg was injured and it had difficulty bearing weight. The gull was transferred to the Wildlife Center for further assessment ..read more