Fifteen Rescued Wildlife Released in San Diego County
Fifteen of 18 mammals brought to our Ramona Wildlife Center for care have been returned to the wild. The raccoons, opossums, squirrels and skunk came in as part of an animal rescue earlier this month.
All of the animals were immediately dewormed and treated for fleas by our Project Wildlife team. The opossums were deemed healthy and released by volunteers on March 10 in San Diego County. The raccoons and skunk were given a clean bill of health and released by volunteers the next day, on March 11.
“It is always our goal to rehabilitate and return wildlife to their natural habitat as quickly as possible,” said Andy Blue, campus director of San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center. “We are glad we were able to assist an important state agency and have our Project Wildlife medical team diagnose and treat each animal based on their individual needs.”
The animals still receiving care by Project Wildlife’s team include an adult female opossum, who came in with significant wounds on her face, body and tail; and two adult squirrels who were transferred to our Bahde Wildlife Center in San Diego. One of the squirrels needed a tail amputation and is now recovering from surgery. The second squirrel is healthy and helping with the recovery of the first squirrel by reducing stress while in care. Both squirrels are expected to return to the wild together in the coming days.
Our Project Wildlife program is the primary resource for wild animal rehabilitation and conservation education in San Diego County. Each year, SDHS gives more than 13,000 injured, orphaned and sick wild animals a second chance. In 2020, SDHS announced a new Ramona Campus, where they specialize in caring for native apex predators and birds of prey, including hawks, owls, eagles, coyotes, bears, bobcats and, under special pilot authorization, mountain lions.
Published: March 14, 2022
