Wildlife Welfare Inc

07/26/2026

🦝 Building Enrichment, One Wheel at a Time! 🛞💚

On June 20, Linda Veraldi hosted her incredibly popular Opossum Wheel Workshop, where attendees had the opportunity to build their very own giant enrichment wheels designed specifically for opossums in rehabilitation.

Thanks to Wildlife Welfare, all of the supplies were provided, making it possible for participants to leave with a finished wheel ready to use in their own rehab enclosures. These oversized wheels provide essential enrichment by encouraging natural movement and exercise, helping opossums stay healthy, active, and physically prepared for life back in the wild.

A huge thank you to Linda for sharing her knowledge and to everyone who joined us to support the well-being of our wildlife patients. Every wheel built is another step toward giving rescued opossums the best chance at a successful release!

💚 Together, we’re enriching lives and preparing wildlife for a second chance at freedom.

07/09/2026

07/09/2026

⚠️ Graphic photos at the end. Viewer discretion is advised.

Please Check the Pouch. It Could Save a Life. ❤️

Every summer, countless mother opossums lose their lives to vehicles, predators, and other tragedies. Sadly, many of their babies are lost simply because no one knows to look.

This week, two heartbreaking stories became stories of hope because compassionate people took a moment to check.

The Pouch Saved Three Lives

A mother opossum in Durham, NC was killed by a predator. While heartbreaking, one observant finder, Elizabeth, knew something many people don’t—mother opossums often carry their babies in a pouch.

She gently checked the mother’s pouch and found three tiny joeys still alive.

Our very own William Bailey, a volunteer wildlife transporter with Wildlife Welfare, Inc., stepped in to safely transport the babies to Linda Veraldi, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, where they are now receiving the care they need.

Although their mother’s life was cut short, her legacy lives on through her babies.

When There Is No Pouch to Check

Only weeks earlier, Joe of Wendell, NC witnessed a vehicle strike and kill another mother opossum. He watched as the driver circled back to see what had been hit… and then simply drove away.

Joe stopped.

He immediately looked for a pouch, but the impact had been so catastrophic that it had been destroyed.

Instead of assuming there was nothing more he could do, Joe searched the area around her.

Scattered nearby were tiny joeys that had been thrown from their mother’s body during the collision.

Local wildlife rehabilitator Stefanie LaJuett responded to collect the mother’s precious cargo. Miraculously, three babies survived—two little boys and one little girl, each weighing just 53 grams.

They’ve been named Miracle, Marvel, and Phenomenon—or Mira, Marv, and Phenny for short.

Three tiny lives.
Three second chances.
Three little reminders that compassion matters.

What We Hope You’ll Remember

If you ever find a deceased opossum:

🩶 Check the pouch.

🩶 If the pouch is empty, damaged, or missing, carefully check the surrounding area. During vehicle strikes or predator attacks, joeys may be thrown several feet away and can still be alive.

🩶 If you find babies—or aren’t sure what to do—contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator immediately.

Because Elizabeth, Joe, and William Bailey took a few extra moments to care, six orphaned joeys now have the opportunity to grow, return to the wild, and continue the legacy their mothers never had the chance to finish.

Sometimes the greatest act of kindness is simply stopping… and looking.

💙 A heartfelt thank you to Elizabeth, Joe, our dedicated Wildlife Welfare, Inc. volunteer transporter, William Bailey, and our wonderful network of permitted rehabbers. Your compassion transformed two heartbreaking losses into six extraordinary second chances.

Please share this post. You never know whose life it may help save.

06/30/2026

06/30/2026

🐿️ Annual Reminder: It’s Time to Clean Out Your Squirrel Tree Boxes! 🌳

Every July, we encourage wildlife rehabilitators to take a little time to inspect and clean out their squirrel release tree boxes.

These boxes provide a safe place for recently released juvenile squirrels as they gain confidence and learn to build nests of their own. Over the course of a year, however, the bedding can become damp, moldy, infested with insects or parasites, or even contain deceased wildlife that sought shelter inside.

A quick annual cleaning helps ensure the next group of youngsters has a clean, dry, and safe place to call home during this important transition.

✅ Remove all old nesting material.
✅ Check the box for damage, loose nails, leaky roofs and make any needed repairs.
✅ Add fresh, dry nesting material (such as pine straw, dried leaves, straw or other appropriate natural bedding-No Hay!). A layer of untreated, kiln dried pine shavings at the bottom of the box can help keep the leaves and straw drier above.
✅ Secure the box back in place and get it ready for another season of helping squirrels thrive!

It only takes a few minutes, but it can make a world of difference for the next generation of wild squirrels.

🐿️ A clean box means a healthy start for the babies who will soon call it home.

🌿

05/23/2026

On Saturday May 16th Paige Person, hosted a very informative and eye opening cottontail class packed with a massive amount of crucial, life-saving information about these incredibly fragile creatures by walking attendees through every aspect of cottontail care. The 3 hour class included instruction on advanced feeding techniques, formula making protocols, common medical hurdles, and release protocols.
Since cottontails are the most commonly kidnapped babies our newest rehabbers Learned how to handle public calls to keep healthy bunnies in their nests with mom which often saves more lives than any rehab center can alone!
Bunny rehab experts Sarah Antoshkiw and Crystal Tillman were also there to support these new cotton tail rehabbers and answer their many questions. Participants were shown live handling techniques centered on gentleness, absolute quiet, and minimal contact. Paige performed a live tube feeding demonstration and Sara Antoshkiw, wrapped up the day with a clever twist on "Pin the Tail on the Cottontail"—reimagined as a high-stakes wildlife rehab trivia game to test everyone's new knowledge!

Our new bunny rehabbers left with supplies and all the knowledge and support we’ve come to expect from our WWI mentors! 🐇💚

05/19/2026

The past few weeks have been full of learning, collaboration, and baby wildlife at Wildlife Welfare Inc.! 🐾

On April 26th, Linda Veraldi hosted an incredible opossum rehabilitation training class attended by both WWI members and our friends from Oak City Rehab. After an hour presentation participants received hands-on experience in feeding and caring for baby opossums and many left with their very first group of joeys to rehab! Attendees also toured Linda’s amazing prerelease enclosures, and rehab room where she had possums in different stages of rehabilitation gaining valuable insight into proper cage setup, enrichment, and preparing wildlife for successful release back into the wild. Building connections with fellow local organizations helps all of us save even more babies every year, and we are so grateful for the teamwork and knowledge sharing.

There is always room for more wildlife rehabbers, fosters, and supporters, and we are so excited to continue growing this compassionate and dedicated community together. 🦝🐇💚

If you are interested in wildlife and becoming involved with rehabilitation please visit us at www.wildlifewelfare.org for more information.

05/02/2026

Rehabbers across the country are currently feeling the effects of what we call “baby season.” It is so hard when we have to prioritize cases based on urgency, species, and the likelihood of successful release. When we truly care about each and every call, each and every single animal in need of help, it takes a lot of effort and coordination on everyone’s part to achieve the best outcome possible for as many creatures possible. We are so lucky to have a great team of volunteers and we appreciate your partnership with us.

It’s a beautiful day to save lives. 🫶🏼

⚠️ A little honesty from your local wildlife rehabbers ⚠️

The truth has to come from somewhere… and right now, 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗱.

Some are completely full. Others can only take certain animals, typically the ones that are more independent and don’t require around-the-clock care. Baby season has pushed everyone to their limits.

What really hit me recently is that even as a small, home-based operation, we’re taking in just as many animals as some of the larger rescues. We’re getting calls from out of state. We’ve grown to 10 fosters (which is amazing!), but just like a classroom needs a proper teacher-to-student ratio… we need a 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿-𝘁𝗼-𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼 to provide safe, quality care.

To take in more animals, every rehab needs 3 things:
1️⃣ Money & supplies
2️⃣ Manpower & volunteers
3️⃣ Physical space & enclosures

We can ask for donations. We can ask for help. But space? That’s not something we can magically expand, especially when every day is already spent feeding, cleaning, and saving lives.

So if you reach out to a rehabber and they can’t take an animal, please understand:
💔 It’s not because they don’t care.
💔 It’s because they physically 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 compromise the care of the animals already depending on them.

And they cannot pour from an empty cup.

Here’s how you can help:

👉 Use Animal Help Now to contact multiple rehabbers—some may be able to coordinate transport, even from a distance.
👉 If you find an animal, 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 to the rehabber. This saves critical time and energy.
👉 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻. There is NO funding for licensed wildlife rehab—this work is paid for out of pocket or through donations.
👉 Offer your time or skills—fundraising, organizing drives, or community outreach makes a huge difference.
👉 And most importantly… 𝗯𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱.

We are exhausted. We are heartbroken. We’ve lost babies we fought hard for. We’ve had to turn animals away that needed help. We’ve missed time with our families. We’ve stayed up all night for emergencies and still gone to work the next day.

Wildlife rehab is incredibly rewarding but it’s also incredibly hard.

Thank you to everyone who supports us, stands by us, and helps us keep going. 🐾💛

04/21/2026

Earlier this week, one of our rehabbers received a call in the middle of the night about this sweet baby opossum who was left behind after its mom visited a feeding station on the finder’s porch. The incident was caught on the finder’s security camera and highlights just how easy it is for a baby to get separated from mom. Opossums are nomadic and often carry up to 13 babies at once. Because they have so many young, mothers often do not notice if one falls off and do not have a "counting" instinct to realize someone is missing. Had the baby called out for mom, mom would almost certainly have turned back around and retrieved it. If you ever find a young opossum that appears too small to be on its own, it has probably been orphaned and needs immediate assistance in order to survive.
Baby season is in full swing and we are getting calls just like this one almost daily- but it is just one of the ways that we receive opossums into our care. We are so grateful to this particular finder for sharing this video and going above and beyond to get help for this baby. This baby was immediately brought in and is now thriving under the care of one of our experienced licensed rehabbers.
If you are interested in supporting the work we do by volunteering or donating, please visit our website wildlifewelfare.org

04/17/2026

A tiny opossum got a second chance today 💛

Thank you to Tracey from Smithfield, who drove 50 miles to bring us an abandoned baby from her backyard—and even donated $40 to help with care, knowing we are all volunteers. This is the heart behind wildlife rehab. It’s not just what we do—it’s what all of you make possible.

Babies found alone are often truly orphaned and won’t survive without help. At this size, they should still be with mom, tucked safely in her pouch.

And here’s the part most people don’t realize—opossums grow up to be incredibly beneficial animals. They help control insects and ticks, clean up carrion, and are generally quiet, non-aggressive neighbors. Despite their bad reputation, they’re one of the good guys.

We’re so grateful for people who take the time to care, learn, and do the right thing for wildlife. It makes all the difference for little ones like this. 🐾