[SEMCO] IMMEDIATE RELEASE: HAVE NO FEAR - WILD CARE IS STILL HERE

[Stephanie Ellis]

November 30, 2016
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Stephanie Ells, Executive Director, WILD CARE, Inc./cell,
(650)-319-5491

                              Judy Bullard, Board President, WILD CARE,
Inc./cell, (508)-237-7359



MESSAGE TO WILDLIFE ON CAPE COD:

HAVE NO FEAR - WILD CARE IS STILL HERE!

November 30, 2016. *Eastham. *There has been a lot of discussion and press
lately about the closing of the Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable operated
by the Humane Society of the United States.  Wild Care wants to remind
caring residents of Cape Cod and Southeastern MA who rescue wildlife in
trouble that Wild Care is still here, and we will continue to work
tirelessly to rescue, rehabilitate and release - injured, orphaned and ill
wildlife!

Wild Care is a wildlife rehabilitation center in Eastham - the yellow
farmhouse on the Orleans-Eastham rotary.  For 23 years our licensed
Wildlife Rehabilitators have been working 365 days per year to help
wildlife in need and to educate the public on wildlife encounters. Our
Critical Care Clinic cares for raptors, seabirds, songbirds, reptiles and
small mammals.  In our Wildlife Nursery, wildlife babies that have been
orphaned or abandoned are raised and released.  Through our Helpline we
give advice to over 4,000 concerned callers each year.

Wild Care has a state of the art aviary that accommodates large raptors.
Red-tailed hawks, Osprey, Great-horned Owls and other large raptors are
able to exercise and hunt in this aviary in final preparation for release.
Our cutting-edge warm and cold water seabird therapy pools have reduced the
recovery time of a myriad of seabirds and waterfowl that have come to Wild
Care for treatment.  Red-throated Loons, Northern Gannets, Atlantic
Puffins, and Black-backed Gulls have all been treated in these pools to
recover their waterproofing and give them the necessary exercise needed for
release. Our Baby Bird program is staffed with over 60 volunteers who feed
such species as Eastern Bluebirds, Cedar Waxwings, and Chimney Swifts in 3
hour shifts every 20 minutes until they are ready for release!  This past
year we were the only rehab center on the Cape to care for baby birds.  Our
Critical Care Clinic staff also rehab reptiles from the biggest Snapping
Turtle hit by a car to the smallest young Black Racer snake caught in a
glue trap.  And we care for hundreds of orphaned or injured small mammals
like Virginia Opossum and Red and Gray Squirrels.

 With the potential closing of the rehab center in Barnstable on Feb. 28,
2017, Wild Care is gearing up to accept more patients in the coming year.  We
are exploring ways to invest in our staff and expand our patient capacity.
But we will need support from the community to do so.  Wild Care is also
meeting with other wildlife professionals from the Cape Cod Collaborative,
Cape Wildlife Center, Tufts Veterinary Clinic, New England Wildlife Center
and others to discuss solutions to caring for wildlife on the Cape,
especially animals that carry rabies like bats, raccoons and other larger
mammals.

Whether the Barnstable center ceases to exist after February 28th or
evolves into a smaller rehab center to care for rabies vector species, Wild
Care will remain, as always, a small independent non-profit with a big
vision - to rescue and rehabilitate injured, ill and orphaned wildlife and
to educate the public on how to live in harmony with our wildlife
neighbors.  Wild Care will also continue to collaborate with, and share the
strengths and resources of the local wildlife hospitals, and local
licensed Wildlife
Rehabilitators, and volunteers, from the various wildlife organizations in
order to provide care for all the Cape’s wildlife.

Wild Care does not receive any government funding. We depend on donations,
grants, and fundraising events just to keep our doors open. Wild Care is a
true grass roots organization. Every dollar that is raised goes right back
into operations of the center. Every donation of money, goods and services
helps us care for the animals. For more information on how to support Wild
Care and its efforts to protect the Cape’s wildlife, please visit our
website at www.wildcarecapecod.org.  If you find an animal in distress
please call our Wild Care Helpline at 508-240-2255. We are available daily
from 9 AM - 5 PM, 365 days per year.

Wild Care is urging the public to generously support our collective efforts
to preserve and protect our native wildlife and to educate the public on
how to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts. From our largest raptor, the Bald
Eagle, to our smallest mammal, the White-footed mouse, each animal is
critical to ensuring the balance of our treasured ecosystem here on Cape
Cod.  To quote Jane Goodall, well known anthropologist, and UN Messenger of
Peace, “Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play.
Every individual makes a difference.”

*WILD CARE’s wildlife rehabilitators treat birds, mammals and reptiles
brought to the center, with the goal of releasing them back into the wild
when they are capable of independent survival. Through public education,
WILD CARE works to prevent wildlife casualties and works to engage the
community in conservation through volunteerism. Since our founding WILD
CARE has accepted over 25,000 wild creatures, representing over 275 species
of native birds, mammals and reptiles. If you encounter injured, orphaned
or ill wildlife please call the WILD CARE of Cape Cod helpline at
508-240-2255. **Visit WILD CARE’s website at **www.wildcarecapecod.org*
<http://www.wildcarecapecod.org>* to make a donation.*




                           ###

Stephanie Ellis

Executive Director
Wild Care, Inc.
10 Smith Lane
Eastham, MA 02642
www.wildcarecapecod.org

Find us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/WildCareCapeCod/?fref=nf
508-240-2255 office
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