Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue

05/22/2026

🥚🐟🍉FOOD DONATIONS NEEDED!🍎🥕🍌

Baby season is in full swing at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue and many of our growing wildlife patients are now transitioning from formula to solid foods. We go through an incredible amount of fresh food every single day and could use your help keeping our patients fed and healthy.

One of our most-needed donations is hard-boiled eggs. By donating eggs that are already boiled, you help save our staff and volunteers valuable time that can instead be spent directly caring for wildlife patients.

We are also frequently asked what other foods are most helpful for our patients. These are the items we most frequently purchase:
• Whole fish (not gutted, if possible)
• Whole or shelled walnuts
• Apples
• Pears
• Bananas
• Grapes
• Avocados
• Carrots
• Corn
• Cantaloupe
• Watermelon
• Green beans
• Cucumbers

Please ensure produce is ripe, but not overripe or rotting.

For hard-boiled egg donations, please make sure eggs are:
• Hard-boiled
• Unpeeled
• Clearly labeled with the date they were boiled

📍 403 Mecham Road, Petaluma, CA 94952
🕘 Donations accepted daily from 9 AM – 5 PM
📦 A donation station has been set up on our front porch for easy drop-off.

Every donation directly supports the wildlife currently in our care and helps get them back to their lives in the wild!

05/08/2026

Spring is in full swing at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue, and we are already responding to the seasonal demand of orphaned wildlife in need of care. This is baby season, our most critical and impactful time of year.

From May through September last year, we admitted over 1,000 patients. True to its name, baby season brings a steady influx of young animals who require weeks to months of specialized care before they are ready to return to their lives back the wild.

The cost of care for each animal varies widely, depending on their age, condition, and length of stay. But one thing remains constant: the high level of care each patient receives from our staff, interns and volunteers.

Last year alone, we spent $773,000 on animal care, with nearly 70% of those expenses occurring during baby season.

Today, we are asking for your support to help us meet the growing demand of this season.

Your gift will help provide the essential care these animals depend on. From life-saving medical treatment to the daily feeding, care and enclosure space they need to grow strong enough for release back to their homes in the wild.

If you’re able, please consider making a donation today to support wildlife during this critical time:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YFVV2F945AFLS

Every contribution goes directly towards wildlife care and the animals that rely on us for a second chance.

With gratitude,

Doris Duncan
Executive Director
Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue

04/22/2026

Days like today at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue feel especially fitting for Earth Day. 🌎

What started as a refreshing and rainy spring morning has turned into a vibrant sunny day, with clouds rolling over the valleys and mountains of Sonoma County. California poppies are beginning their annual bloom, and our first spring crops are starting to emerge from the rich garden soil. Wild birds are singing along the hillside, creating a steady chorus that feels like the heartbeat of this land.

Interspersed between it all, our staff, interns, and volunteers are hard at work rescuing and caring for the wildlife who find their way to us through our community.

We’re sharing snapshots of the work happening here today and hope you enjoy these glimpses into what it looks like when a community comes together for wildlife and the planet we all call home.

Happy Earth Day. Thank you for being part of it 💚

04/05/2026

🎉 Celebrate the Next Chapter of Mountain Lion & Black Bear Care With Us! 🐾

Thanks to your incredible support, we’ve built a state-of-the-art Apex Predator Enclosure designed to provide the highest standard of care for mountain lions and black bear cubs.

As this dream nears completion, we’re excited to celebrate this milestone with you.

This August also marks 20 years since our move to the Mecham Road campus, and we have so much to celebrate together.

📅 Save the Date: August 14 & 15

To make this celebration meaningful for everyone, we’re hosting two open house events:

Friday, August 14
Open house for county agencies and Apex Predator Enclosure project donors

Saturday, August 15
Open house for our community of supporters

We hope you’ll join us in celebrating these incredible milestones.

👉 Sign up for our newsletter to get updates and event details: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/3RaRPEc

04/04/2026

Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue has been receiving increased media attention lately, highlighting the mountain lion kittens currently in our care from across California. We work hard to share these stories in a way that helps the public connect with each animal and better understand what goes into their care.

Recently, CBS LA featured two of those kittens who were both orphaned in separate instances in Southern California earlier this year. Both cats were brought to SCWR and, in a carefully managed process, have been successfully placed together.

This marks the first time we’ve been able to pair two unrelated mountain lion kittens in care. While it may seem simple, introductions like this require extensive planning, expertise, and close monitoring to ensure the safety and wellbeing of both animals.

Now, they are able to grow and prepare for their return home to the wild together.

We wanted to share this heartwarming story with you, our supporters who make this work possible!

While receiving state-of-the-art care in Northern California, the injured mountain lion cub found on a Castaic street has made a new friend, a fellow orphane...

03/28/2026

We came together this weekend to celebrate something really special: the people who make this work possible.

Our Volunteer Appreciation Party is one small way we try to say thank you… but the truth is, it could never fully capture what our volunteers give.

You clean enclosures. You feed animals. You pick up p**p. You scrape it of walls, carriers, towels, and keep returning to do it again and again. You shake out endless laundry, hang it to dry, and prepare diets for hundreds of patients with care.

You clean carriers, scrub floors, and flip our enclosures so they are ready for the next patient that needs them. You create enrichment, spending time ensuring each animal not only gets the care they need, but that they thrive in care. You keep an eye out for each other and work as a team.

You show up in the heat, in the rain, on your days off. You go out on rescues. You foster our smallest and most fragile patients. You answer the call, again and again and again.

You educate your communities. You offer calm, professional support in moments that matter. You practice compassion and kindness when it’s needed most.

You mulch trails, w**d pathways, water the garden, and keep this place not just running, but thriving. You care for the sheep, the goats, the chickens, the cats and keep our PEEP barnyard a place that inspires human wildlife-coexistence.

You do the work that is messy, exhausting, and deeply meaningful. You face the hard things without turning away.

You keep this place running smoothly.

You give wildlife a second chance.

We couldn’t do it without you.

To every single one of our volunteers: thank you. 💛

03/26/2026

📞 Help Us Answer the Call This Baby Season 🐾

Spring is here, and with it comes baby season, our busiest and most critical time of year at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue.

Every day, our phones ring nonstop with calls from community members looking for help for sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife. Between our Wildlife Hotline, Wildlife Exclusion line, and main business line, the need for support is constant and growing.

With a small but dedicated team, we are doing everything we can to care for the increasing number of animals coming through our doors, but we cannot do it alone.

We are looking for volunteers to help answer phones and support daily operations. If you can commit to just one 4-hour shift per week, you can make a real difference for wildlife and our community.

💚 Join us and be a lifeline for local wildlife.
Learn more and sign up here: https://conta.cc/4bCaMGI

03/19/2026

🐻 Did you know black bears are returning to the North Bay?

Join naturalist and educator Meghan Walla Murphy, founder of the North Bay Bear Collaborative, for an evening exploring the hidden world of black bears in our region.

Learn how scientists and local communities are studying these incredible animals and what we can all do to safely coexist as bears return to Marin County and the surrounding North Bay.

🐾 April 28, 2026
🐻 6:00–7:30 PM
🌲 Tiburon Library

This fascinating talk will cover things like:
• Bear behavior and ecology
• How researchers track bear populations
• Practical ways our community can help prevent human-wildlife conflict

Come discover how we can share the landscape with these remarkable animals!

🔗 Register to attend: https://www.beltiblibrary.org/event?id=15801271 — space is limited!

03/17/2026

🔨 Calling All Carpenters!
Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue needs your help!

March is here and baby season is right around the corner. Our team has been hard at work this winter preparing to serve the wildlife in our community in the year ahead. Now we have a few projects that we need help wrapping up this spring before our busy summer season begins.

Since many of these projects involve light to moderate carpentry skills, we are reaching out directly to carpenters, skilled DIYers, and handy people in our community who may be willing to donate their time and talents.

If this description does not fit you, but you know a spouse, friend, or relative who might enjoy helping, please consider sharing this post and encouraging them to get involved.

🔗 Learn more about the projects and how to help: https://conta.cc/3O2Vy5g

03/12/2026