Panhandle Wildlife Rescue

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Panhandle Wildlife Rescue FWC Permit # 906-000001
USFW Permit # MBPER14001609

We are a federally and state permitted 501c3 Wildlife Rescue Service that offers rehabilitation, hospitalization, and medical care for all sick, injured, and orphaned native Florida Wildlife.

THANK YOU! Yall brought tears to my eyes yesterday with all the donations of fuel, food, water, and even a generator. Th...
10/12/2026

THANK YOU! Yall brought tears to my eyes yesterday with all the donations of fuel, food, water, and even a generator. Thankfully (and surprisingly) the power came back on around midnight. For those that donated gas, and need the cans back we will leave them lined up outside the gate (still full) so no rush. For those that donated the cans and gas we will be making a run to ECWR in Navarre today with the spare gas and our generator to help our friends out up there. I know they have one generator but their property and buildings are much bigger than ours so we want to share the community love with our friends who provide the same services, NW of us. Today we will begin rebuilding our nursery and ward areas that were taken apart to accommodate the generator usage and increase in intakes. So far we’ve taken in nearly 100 patients since the storm. Please continue to be patient with us as we figure out our next steps which will most likely be starting to rebuild some of our outdoor enclosures. We’ll keep you posted and from the bottom of our hearts thank you for your support.

10/11/2026

Got nuts? Before you throw away those down oak limbs, can you shake any acorns loose from them and get them to us?
Something the kids can do, right?
5951 State Highway 20 East, Freeport, FL 32439

Hey Guys. I know this is a big ask but we’re going through more gas than anticipated with the generator providing life s...
10/11/2026

Hey Guys. I know this is a big ask but we’re going through more gas than anticipated with the generator providing life saving care to incubator and oxygen dependent patients. If anyone has gotten powered restored and would be willing to donate any left over fuel for our generator, our nearly 200 patients (with more coming every hour) would greatly appreciate it. We are located at 5951 highway 20 in Freeport.

Morning update. Still no power. We are still intaking patients at 5951 highway 20 in Freeport. Yesterday we responded to...
10/11/2026

Morning update. Still no power. We are still intaking patients at 5951 highway 20 in Freeport. Yesterday we responded to over 250 calls/texts and took in over 40 patients. Please be patient and show some grace today as we are running out of indoor space with working outlets far enough from the generator to be safe and not annoyingly loud. We are hoping chelco hets power restored but looking at the maps we may still have another few days without. If you can donate to help with fuel costs and assist with some repairs please visit our website at www.panhandlewildliferescue.org

We will update you later as soon as we know if The Sanctuary in P-cola and ECWR are accepting patients. Currently Wildlife Harbour in PCB is meeting finders for drop offs three times/day.

* I also wanna thank several of the finders that dropped patients off yesterday for bringing water, gas and asking if we needed anything as they were on their way here, it is greatly appreciated*

We have survived, but are cleaning up the extensive external damage. We still have no power, though have a generator con...
10/10/2026

We have survived, but are cleaning up the extensive external damage. We still have no power, though have a generator connected to starlink so we can finally take calls and respond to messages. The medical equipment, incubators, fans, and a freezer/fridge are all connected to it. Estimates are calling for around 5 days before our power will be restored, which is going to be a struggle. BUT, every patient (and human) here were unharmed (ask us again after 5 days on no A/C and that may change haha). We had staff and volunteers here at 7am (thanks Craig, Jim, Chris, Rebecca, Joe, and Ian) to help pick up our pieces and tend to our patients. From what I gathered ECWR in Navarre and the Sanctuary in P-cola are temporarily suspending intakes. We are trying to help as much as we can by providing 24/7 drop off availability, although our rescue ability is very limited for now. I know everyone is suffering right now but we are going to need help rebuilding so please think of the already 20+ patients taken in within the last 24 hours, while anticipating 60-100 more in the coming days as debris is cleaned up and if you’re able please consider making a donation so we can continue to help our wild neighbors who were just as negatively impacted by this storm as we were.

I’m not gonna post an AI image but want to put out a hurricane statement. PWR is not in an evacuation zone although we a...
10/09/2026

I’m not gonna post an AI image but want to put out a hurricane statement. PWR is not in an evacuation zone although we are close to the bay. We have moved patients inside if able and to the most fortified and covered outside if they cannot be moved back in, and provided plenty of shelter and other needs. We are not going anywhere and will continue to tend to them medically for the duration of the storm. We are still in taking a significant amount of baby animals, which is abnormal for this time of year so IF YOU FIND A BABY WILD ANIMAL during the storm you can contain it and try to give it the opportunity to get dry and stay warm. Do not force feed anything, please! If it “looks thirsty” 🙃 feel free to dampen a wash cloth with water and put it in so it can suckle if they choose. If possible try to reunite with mom after the storm (I’m looking at you squirrel people!) We will still be taking intakes 24/7 but this is our first named storm at our property 5951 hwy 20 E (just east of new Alaqua) so we don’t know what to expect-sometimes the driveway washes out in places so be careful. You don’t have to let us know if you’re coming to drop off a patient, but it is helpful to shoot a text to 850-889-1104 keep in mind I also have a family to keep safe during this along with the 150+ patients, so please be patient and kind. This is a big one: if star-link goes out we have NO service or internet access: cell service is non existent here so we are not ignoring anyone, I am just unable to walk 3/4 a mile to the road to regain service until conditions are safe. Stay safe, and look out for our wild neighbors while you’re at it. In the words of Walton County Sheriff’s Dept: We’re here if you need us!

10/05/2026

At PWR we have to keep up with 100’s of different diets to accommodate the over 200 different species that come through our doors annually. One thing they all have in common is we need to keep the diets temperature controlled. We are asking if any of our supporters have a working full size refrigerator/freezer combo they’re replacing and would be willing to donate. These opossoms and 148 of their buddies actively in care right now would really appreciate it! Thank you for helping us, provide the best care possible.

We’re up to 48 raccoons on property at PWR. Most of these little hellions were orphaned but we pride our organization on...
10/02/2026

We’re up to 48 raccoons on property at PWR. Most of these little hellions were orphaned but we pride our organization on allowing surrender of non-permitted pets so the animals have a chance for legal placement and proper medical care. In the last 6 weeks six raccoons that were being raised by non-permitted finders, but with our drop off area we allow anonymous intake to finders that are too scared to fill out an intake form. Although this method has caused some unnecessary headaches for staff at times, we feel it’s safest for the animals involved to continue to offer it. Most of the time we are able to reintegrate the habituated youngsters to others of their species after a full medical exam, vaccinations, and quarantine period, but sometimes they are older and much more acclimated to the captive lifestyle. When that happens we provide medical services, sterilization, and FWC finds placement with permitted individuals. These kiddos are on site for close to six months to mimic how long mom would still help support them in the wild. That gives us a lot of mouths to feed throughout the rest of fall. We are always seeking donations of dog kibble to support their dietary needs so if you have it in your heart to support the rehab and release of these intelligent, sneaky little bandits we can accept donations at our clinic located at 5951 highway 20 in Freeport.

I swear we live in a vortex here in the FL Panhandle. Our baby seasons aren’t nearly as predictable as they were in S FL...
10/01/2026

I swear we live in a vortex here in the FL Panhandle. Our baby seasons aren’t nearly as predictable as they were in S FL or W WA. This time of year the stragglers of baby season overlap with late babies which are usually southern flying squirrels and another round of fawns, along with the start of migration season picking up. This makes the perfect storm for staff and volunteers that include new and maintaining baby feedings of every species possible and the onset of more critical care patients usually comprised of raptors and shore/marshbirds but this year apparently all the mature opossoms want in on the action because we’ve in-taken 6 this week already with varying different issues ranging from jaw fractures to sepsis to the cutest/frailest old man covered in parasites! It’s not even 9am and we’ve had 14 different calls this morning (22 total) and over 50 text messages! So please give us some grace and show some compassion as we try to tend to the over 150 patients in care, many of which are on extensive treatment plans, along with the babies that won’t stop coming while we tend to the phones and try to coordinate rescues as time allows. Reminder our intake area is self serve and checked hourly so you can bring patients 24/7 just shoot us (me) a text at 850-889-1104 to let us know. Our address is 5951 highway 20 in Freeport (between Alaqua and green air). Pics of our motley crew of stragglers!

Address

5951 Highway 20 E
Freeport, FL
32439

Telephone

+18508891104

Website

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