One of Our Most Commonly Asked questions:
What is their name?
We choose not to give our educational ambassadors personal names because they are still wild animals at heart. Even though they live with us permanently, we want to honor their wildness and help visitors see them as representatives of their species, not as pets. By focusing on their natural behaviors and ecological roles, we hope to inspire respect for all wildlife and reinforce the importance of keeping wild animals wild.
About Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue
Swainson's Hawk
This male Swainson’s hawk came to SCWR from Lake Tahoe. He had a severe metacarpal fracture and poor ability to extend his right elbow when the wing healed. Due to his injuries, he is unable to fly and cannot be released into the wild.
Turkey Vulture
This female turkey vulture was transferred to Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife after being housed for a prolonged time at another facility that could no longer care for her. At over 50 years old when she arrived, she may be one of the oldest known turkey vultures in captivity. She has severe wing injuries, rendering this vulture unable to fly.
Red Foxes
These red foxes came into care with two other siblings, orphaned and dealing with a severe case of mange. Red foxes as a species are non-native and have a negative impact on our native gray foxes. Due to that, we are unable to rehabilitate red foxes for release to the wild.
With that in mind, we were able to help these foxes recover from mange and find placement for them at Sequoia Park Zoo. After getting to know them in care, we realized that two of the foxes were more shy and thought that they would better thrive in a quieter setting than a zoo. Thankfully, we had an enclosure available and they became our red fox ambassadors.
Coyote
This male coyote was found as a pup by a member of the public who attempted to keep his as a pet. They surrendered him upon realizing that they could not control a wild animal and he was brought to SCWR. Despite incredible efforts to re-wild and release this coyote, he was already too habituated and acclimated to the presence of humans to ever exist in the wild safely.
Mountain Lion - Female
This female mountain lion was orphaned at just two months old. Mountain lions stay with their mothers for up to two years as cubs and learn invaluable hunting skills that humans are unable to teach them. At such a young age, this cub had not spent enough time with her mother to learn the skills necessary to survive in the wild and came to have a permanent home at SCWR.
Mountain Lion - Male
This male mountain lion was brought to SCWR after he was severely injured as a young cub in the wildfires of 2017. He was taken to UC Davis where sterile tilapia fish skin was used as bandaging on his burned paw pads in an innovative and exciting new treatment. Due to the restrictions in mountain lion rehabilitation at the time, he was not a candidate for release. His treatment continued at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue where he made a full recovery and will spend the rest of his life.
Thanks to Apex Predator Enclosure, we are still pioneering wildlife conservation efforts with mountain lion rehabilitation.
Western Gray Squirrel
This western gray squirrel was brought into care at SCWR as an orphan. During the rehabilitation process, we notice that this individual was having issues with sight and as it continued to grow and develop, those issues became more prominent.
At this point, the squirrel is non-visual but is now an excellent ambassador for the western gray squirrel. He has adapted remarkably well to his enclosure and is able to navigate the space with ease.
Bobcat - Female
This female bobcat was sent to SCWR by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. While we don't know her exact history, it is pretty clear that at some point, she was likely kept as an illegal pet due to her comfortability towards humans.
Bobcat - male
This male bobcat came to SCWR from another wildlife center where he had been found as an orphaned infant within the first couple days of his life. He was so young that his eyes and ears had not yet opened.
When orphaned wildlife arrive at such a young age, the best practice is to pair them with another bobcat of the same age so that they are raised not seeing humans, but other bobcats. This is type of pairing is called a conspecific match. To secure conspecific matches, wildlife rescue organizations across the state will collaborate together to find orphans of the same species and age.
Unfortunately, this bobcat was born in late September, a very unusual time of year for a bobcat to be born. And despite great efforts, a conspecific match was unable to be located.
Our team worked hard to keep this bobcat wild but despite our best efforts, it did not develop a healthy fear of humans that is critical for its success in the wild.
Gray Foxes
These gray foxes were rescued by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife from an illegal breeding operation. During the investigation, it became known that the foxes were from the state of California and would need to be placed in an educational program due to their comfortability around humans.
They were placed with Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue.