News

As one of the world’s leading teaching hospitals for wildlife medicine, the Wildlife Center of Virginia has a core mission to teach the world to care about and care for wildlife and the environment. This news page collects stories of the Center’s expertise in action.


March 15, 2024

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. 

March 14, 2024

His rescue highlights the monumental impact everyday people, like you and I, have on the lives of wildlife in need. 

March 13, 2024

As temperatures in Virginia steadily rise during the spring, many Virginians notice more and more American Robins appearing in backyards and at bird feeders. Some people consider robins the “harbingers of spring”, which means they are right on time. From early-to-mid-March, these birds seem to be everywhere!

March 6, 2024

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."

February 28, 2024

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.

February 19, 2024

This winter, the Wildlife Center of Virginia has had some extra help in caring for its record-breaking number of patients thanks to 5th-grade students at Augusta County Public Schools (ACPS) and the Community Foundation of Central Blue Ridge (CFCBR).

February 15, 2024

During winter, most reptiles and amphibians enter brumation (similar to hibernation) to wait out the cold months, but sometimes, individuals are disturbed and run into trouble. Recently, the Center has admitted several herpetofauna (reptiles and amphibians) whose winter did not go as planned, and they have one thing in common: they are all tiny!

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