Wildlife In Need Center

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Wildlife In Need Center

The Wildlife In Need Center: Connecting people and wildlife through rehabilitation, education and research. (262) 965-3090
Address:
W349 S1480 S. Waterville Rd.

Oconomowoc, WI 53066 The Wildlife In Need Center is dedicated to wildlife rehabilitation and environmental education. WINC rehabilitates injured and orphaned wildlife and releases healthy animals back into their natural habitat. WINC also delivers educational programming to area elementary schools and to residents of all ages including scout groups, civic groups and senior citizens. The overall m

essage of the programs is to encourage an understanding and appreciation of Wisconsin wildlife and to provide practical, real life applications on the best way for humans to interact with wildlife.

12/06/2026

Take a deep breath in, and a looooong exhale out. You’ve almost made it to the weekend! Which also means… it’s “Fun Fact Friday!”

Today’s Fun Fact is brought to you by “Twiggy,” our Ambassador for Midland painted turtles. Here you can see her puffing her throat in a very interesting way! She might look like she is breathing, but she is actually doing something called “Buccal oscillation.”

Buccal oscillation is the movement of air or water in and out of the buccal cavity without it passing to the lungs. Twiggy makes these movements to “smell” the water around her! She pulsates her lower jaw to pump water through her nares (nostrils) into the buccal cavity, where it is processed by her olfactory (smelling) system!

In simplest terms, whenever you see a painted turtle making frog-like throat puffs, imagine they are getting a good whiff of the world around them – and you can see them doing this remarkable ability both in and out of the water!

You can come see Twiggy fascinatingly-oscillating this Sunday, 06/14, at Discovery World’s 2nd Annual “Turtle Fest!” See the link below for more information:
🐢💚
https://discoveryworld.org/calendar-of-events/turtle-fest-2026-2026-06-14/

10/06/2026

For this we are in dire need of whole unsalted nuts for all our growing orphaned squirrels in our nursery! Our mammal nursery is full of lots of Eastern Gray Squirrels and Red Squirrels that are eating SO many nuts per day (walnuts and pecans are their favorites)! These whole inshell nuts are an important part of their diet, and provides them with the necessary practice for cracking into them. We could also use more rodent block, gallon rubbermaid jugs for their formula, and cleaning supplies such as paper towels and bleach.

These items help our patients on their journey to recovery. We are so thankful for our supportive community! Our Amazon Wishlist can be found at this link or link in bio:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1DORO61XYAICK?ref_=wl_share

08/06/2026

Spring is in full swing here at WINC with our Avian Nursery getting busy and our Mammal Nursery full of orphaned Eastern Gray Squirrels, Red Squirrels, Raccoons, Eastern Cottontails, and a large influx of Virginia Opossums as well. We typically admit infant Virginia Opossums (joeys) due to them being found with their deceased mother, most commonly due to being hit by vehicles.

Because joeys spend the first couple of months in the mothers’ pouch, if you ever come across an adult opossum during their breeding season (about March to September) that has been hit by a car, it may have babies in the pouch! In many cases, even if the mother is deceased, the infants can be saved.

You can help by carefully pulling over, and when it's safe, you can check the pouch to see if there are any babies. If so, we recommend bringing in the deceased mother with her young, so that our trained staff can safely remove the babies. In some cases, you may find the babies nearby on the side of the road. If you find an infant opossum under approximately 7 inches (not including the tail) without its mother, it may be too young to be on its own and should be brought to a wildlife rehabilitator for help.

05/06/2026

Today is "World Environment Day!"

The Wildlife In Need Center works to rescue and rehabilitate injured, orphaned, and sick wild animals with the express goal of returning them to the natural environment. Our rehabilitative efforts not only help those individual animals, they also help the families and social groups they return to after release, and sometimes the entire population of that species living in that ecosystem! WINC's work makes a positive, meaningful difference in protecting Wisconsin wilderness, whether that difference is big or small.

Just like WINC, you can do big and small things to help the natural world right outside your door. If you can give this day purpose in whichever way is most meaningful to you, then it will have environ-meant something. 🌎🌻🌳💚

04/06/2026

We’d like to give a big shout out to Kasen for his hard work and dedication for this Thank You Thursday! Kasen built and delivered three squirrel boxes as part of his 3 hours of Conservation Service for the Boy Scouts.

Amazing effort and contribution-- Thank you, Kasen!

03/06/2026

I Found A Baby Bird, Now What?
We start by asking, what does the songbird look like? If its eyes are not yet open, it is probably a hatchling, a youngster recently emerged from its egg. If its eyes are open and it still has fluffy down feathers, it’s most likely a nestling. In either case, check for a nest nearby. If possible, gently place the bird back in the nest if you can reach it and it is safe to do so. Its parents will return to care for it.

If you cannot safely reach the nest, make a makeshift nest out of a hanging basket filled with dry grass and twigs (make sure rainwater can drain through) and hang it as close as possible to the original nest. If the bird is cold to the touch, contact a wildlife rehabilitator before attempting to renest it.

Is the baby bird mostly feathered and able to stand/hop/flutter its wings? In this case it’s most likely a fledgling. It is normal for fledglings to be found on the ground as they continue to grow, seek their own food, and work toward being able to fly. In most cases, it is best to leave it alone. However, you should check if the fledgling is in immediate danger. Is the fledgling at risk of an encounter with a cat or dog that lives nearby? Is it on or near an active roadway? If so, carefully move the bird to a safer spot. Placing the bird as close to the nest it came from as possible can increase the chances its parents will find and continue to care for it.

Check on your baby bird after 6-8 hours. If the nestling chick is cold or the fledgling hasn’t moved after this amount of time, contact your local wildlife rehabilitator.
Does the bird appear weak, sick, injured, or attacked, such as by a cat or a dog? If the hatchling, nestling, or fledgling appears weak, sick, injured, or attacked, you should contact a rehabilitator. For more infor, check out this helpful video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nREw_WKViLA

30/05/2026

We are happy to share we have successfully wild fostered out multiple orphaned goslings so far this past month! The practice of "wild fostering" refers to introducing orphaned goslings to wild Canada Goose families that have similar aged young. Because Canada Geese have a strong parental drive, they tyically are very accepting of other young similar to size and age of their own young.

Each one of these little cuties were admitted because they were found alone with no signs of their parents. While none of these goslings were able to return to their true parents, they were still able to return to the wild with new parents! We found a family of geese that had similar aged goslings, and luckily, the parents were very willing to accept a handful more! We are so glad it worked out for these little ones go to a new family that they can grow up with in the wild!

27/05/2026

Happy "World Otter Day" 2026!

This day is celebrated globally on the last Wednesday in May to raise awareness for otter conservation. The photos on the first slide showcase a river otter pup from 2018 who was orphaned after some excavation work surprisingly disturbed a den. Work was halted and the mother was given ample time to return. Unfortunately she didn't, so he was admitted to our center! We transferred him to another center that has a specialized pond and lots of experience raising river otters to be wild. Wildlife in Need Center is not presently able to rehabilitate animals in the Mustelid family (otters, weasels, minks, martens, badgers).

Some fun facts you Otter know:
North American River Otters are the largest species of mustelid in Wisconsin! They are more active during the day (diurnal) during winter, and more active at night (nocturnal) during every other season! The Wisconsin DNR ("WDNR") surveys estimate that there are around 11,000 otters in Wisconsin. To gather this population information, the WDNR conducts aerial surveys to search for the presence of otter "slide marks" in the snow. Otters are the only species in Wisconsin that produce slide marks as they slide their bodies along ice/snow!

The following slides show camera trap photos from the "Snapshot Wisconsin" library that is managed by the WDNR. These photos of wild river otters from cities and counties all over the state capture a glimpse of otters' playful personalities as they frolic and slide together. This might be why a group of otters on land is called a "romp," while a social group of otters floating together in water is called a "raft!" Whether this term, that term, or the otter one, m'otters not. Whenever, wherever, whatever, what otter!

25/05/2026

We hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend and got some extra sleep, like all of our infant mammals we are currently caring for. We couldn't help but share some sleepy baby cuteness today! They have been keeping us extra busy as our mammal nursery is filling up with orphaned infant squirrels, cottontails, opossums, and raccoons.

More importantly, on Memorial Day today, we honor the heroes who gave their all for freedom. Remembering with gratitude the sacrifice of those who served.

We want to thank all of our volunteers, interns, and staff that have been working all holiday weekend to care for our wildlife patients.

23/05/2026

Ex-scutes our interruption-- it is World Turtle Day today!

Turtles can be found on every continent except Antarctica, so it's no wonder they are celebrated all around the world! You can tell a turtle's preferred habitat by looking at the morphology of its limbs: if it has flippers it is a sea turtle, if it has webbed feet it is a fresh water aquatic turtle, and if it has long claws with no webbing it is a terrestrial turtle.

The most abundant turtle species in Wisconsin is the painted turtle, while the most rare species is the ornate box turtle. Amazingly, the Wildlife in Need Center has one of each working as Animal Ambassadors for the Education Team! Watch until the end of the video to see Twiggy and Jewel on their leisurely strolls in the sunshine outside the center. Turtles love to soak up the sun on basking rocks and other objects, and these two are no different. They are rays of sunshine to all of our staff and volunteers!

When it comes to rehabilitating turtles, WINC takes in common snapping turtles more than any other species of herptile. You can help turtles stay safe in their environments by helping them cross the street, keeping their environment clean of any litter, and being sure no fishing equipment gets left behind after a day on the water. Doing everything we can to save the turtles is turt-ally cool. 😎

Address

Opening Hours

Monday	09:00 - 16:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 16:00
Wednesday	09:00 - 16:00
Thursday	09:00 - 16:00
Friday	09:00 - 16:00
Saturday	09:00 - 16:00
Sunday	09:00 - 16:00

Telephone

+12629653090

Website

http://www.helpingwildlife.org/

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