Central Florida Wildlife Center Inc.

05/27/2026

We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to Dr. Bohannon and the staff at Valrico Animal Clinic for taking the time and care to remove eggs from a tortoise that was fatally injured after being struck by a car.

Because of your compassion and dedication, we were able to extract the eggs she was trying to lay when she was struck by a car.. Your kindness and efforts during such a heartbreaking situation mean more than words can express.

We appreciate you so much. Thank you for the incredible work you do for wildlife and our community.

05/27/2026

We had the pleasure of releasing for rehabilitated water turtles back into the wild where they belong recently. They were so excited to be released that we were only able to get a picture of one. Stay out of the road you guys!

04/29/2026

This Gopher Tortoise came in through Gopher Tortoise Alliance last week in very rough shape. She had sustained a big fracture on her carapace and another smaller one on her plastron.

Unfortunately by the time she was found her injuries were old and maggots had set in. 🤢 I’m sparing you the intake pics!

We got her wounds all flushed out and bandaged up so she could start healing and now they’re cleaned up, we’re putting on some brackets to stabilize the fracture.

She’s still not out of the woods yet but we are really hoping she can recover. Send all the good vibes!! We’re calling her “Maggie” 🐛🐛🐛

Thank you Environmental Learning Center in Vero Beach for getting her to us!

04/28/2026

04/22/2026

Miles driven for tortoises today: too many. Miles we'd drive again: every single one.

Jim makes trips to help injured or orphaned animals to the right place as Okeechobee no longer has a rescue other then our turtle rescue.

This morning, Jim hit the road early making the haul from Okeechobee all the way up to Kissimmee to get a radiograph. . Then, before the day was even done, they turned around and drove out to Lake Wales to rescue an injured tortoise found by a concerned citizen. There have been days we have had to go to Sebring 2 to 3 times to get tortoises. This is not cheap!

That's a lot of Florida highway for one day!

Here's the thing about wildlife rescue that doesn't always make the highlight reel: it's not just the care that happens inside these walls, it's the hours behind the wheel getting animals HERE in the first place. Gopher tortoises can't call an Uber. Injured wildlife doesn't wait. And with gas prices where they are right now, every one of these pickups hits our budget hard.

We don't say no. We won't say no. But we need your help to keep saying yes.

If you've ever pulled over for a tortoise, called a wildlife hotline, or just rooted for the underdog (or under-shell 🐢), this one's for you.

👉 A donation of even $10 helps cover the gas to bring the next one in. 👉 Link to donate in our bio / comments below.

Every mile matters. Every tortoise matters. Thank you for helping us get there. 🧡

04/10/2026

Bubbles, one of our gopher tortoises in rehab would like to wish you a happy gopher tortoise day!

03/04/2026

This has been a big week for releases here! 🥳

We have been busy behind the scenes taking care of these Gopher Tortoise patients and just waiting for the cold weather to cease so we could get them back to their homes!

This week we released [number of tortoises] back to the areas where they were found. This means driving anywhere from 1-3 hours around the state to make sure they get back to their territory. It's worth the miles to see these tortoises walk off into their habitat, ready to get back to their normal life!

03/03/2026

🐢 RELEASE DAY: Meet Bravo. ❤️

In September 2025, this Gopher Tortoise arrived at Central Florida Wildlife Center after being struck by a car. You can see the original intake photo in the comments of this post but TRIGGER WARNING, the injury was severe!

At many facilities, a tortoise in this condition would have been humanely euthanized, With proper and concise wound care The tortoise that has a 50/50 chance beet the odds and made it!

But under the expert care of Amanda Ebenhack and her team, Bravo got a chance.

For nearly five months, Bravo healed. Slowly. Quietly. The way tortoises do.

This week, rehab apprentice Sue carried Bravo back to the place he came from and watched him disappear into the landscape he was always meant to be part of.

Look at those two photos. Intake. Release. That is what dedicated wildlife rehabilitation looks like.

Gopher Tortoises are a state-threatened keystone species, their burrows shelter over 350 other animals. Every single tortoise matters. If you ever find an injured tortoise, please don't assume nothing can be done. Reach out to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Bravo is proof that it's worth it.
Thank you, Amanda, Sue, and the entire Central Florida Wildlife Center team. Bravo earned his name!

Gopher Tortoise Alliance

03/03/2026

We are sending a big THANK YOU to the team at Tortoise Alliance for spending their Saturday afternoon here helping us get our Gopher Tortoise pens ready for the upcoming spring! The last couple cold snaps did a number on our shade trees so we needed to pull some up to get ready for new ones. We also did some overhead maintenance in some of the pens and helped move some enclosures around so our patients can experience better habitat when recovering. Team work makes the dream work!
rehabilitation Gopher Tortoise Alliance

03/01/2026

A lot of exciting things going on over here stay tuned for pictures and stories and a much-needed fundraiser!