Wild and Free

14/10/2026

🌲 Back where she belongs! 🐾

This little bobcat came to us as a kitten several months ago, and after lots of growing, learning, and plenty of feisty bobcat attitude, she was finally ready to return to the wild!

When she first arrived, we were concerned about how calm and docile she was, as we wanted to make sure she retained the natural wariness of people that she would need to survive in the wild. Thankfully, it didn't take long for her true bobcat personality to shine through! She quickly became a feisty, independent cat, just as she should be.

This past weekend, we released her in a secluded area with ideal habitat for a bobcat. She was SO ready to go that she practically flew out of her kennel and disappeared into the woods before we could even capture much of the moment! We may not have gotten the best pictures or video, but we'll take that as a pretty good sign that she was ready to be wild again.

We're so happy to see this girl get her second chance where she belongs. Good luck out there! 💚

13/10/2026

🦅 Ever seen an eagle in action? Check out this short video capturing an eagle’s lightning-fast attack! Nature is pretty amazing. 👀

Watch here:

Bald eagles can reach top speeds of right along 100 pm or 160 kmh, ...

13/10/2026

We’re celebrating a big milestone for one of our bald eagles! 🦅 Bloodwork now shows no abnormal lead levels, meaning this eagle has officially recovered from lead poisoning. We couldn’t be happier with this news! There’s still some flight practice ahead, but overcoming lead poisoning is a huge step in the right direction!

Meanwhile, another bald eagle arrived a couple of weeks ago with lead poisoning. Thankfully, the levels aren’t too high, and we’re hopeful that with treatment and time, this eagle will make a full recovery, too!

07/10/2026

🍎🐻 A little bear food update! 🐻🌰

Wow. We have been absolutely overwhelmed—in the best way—with acorn donations this year! Thanks to everyone who has spent time gathering and donating acorns for our bears. We have received so many that we’re now stocked up for quite a while!

Because of your incredible generosity, we are no longer accepting acorn donations at this time. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 🥹

We are still looking for red, ripe apples and dry dog food. These two foods will be especially important over the next month or so as our bears continue preparing for hibernation and stocking up for the winter ahead.

If you have red, ripe apples or bags of dry dog food to donate, our bears would be very grateful!

Donations can be dropped off right outside our intake door at any time!
📍10036 Old Hwy 18 Garrison

Thank you for helping us keep our bears happy, healthy, and very well-fed as they get ready for their long winter nap!

07/10/2026

Yet another red-tailed hawk has joined the crew!

This beautiful bird came to us yesterday and is dealing with a concussion. Thankfully, it seems to be doing pretty well otherwise! It needs a little encouragement to eat, but we’re optimistic about its recovery.

For now, it’s getting plenty of rest and taking it easy while its brain catches up with the rest of it. 😴❤️‍🩹

06/10/2026

We currently have five red-tailed hawks in our care! That's a lot of hawks!

They’ve all arrived for different reasons — from window strikes and vehicle collisions to other injuries and illnesses.

The good news? They’re all on the road to recovery! ❤️‍🩹 They're eating well, getting stronger, and practicing those very important flight skills as they work their way back toward release. Follow along as they get ready to head back to the wild!

06/10/2026

🐻🧡 A HUGE thank you to Barrett Pet Foods! 🧡🐻

With hibernation getting closer, our bears have been eating a lot as they prepare for the long winter ahead. We’ve been flying through our dry dog food, and before we knew it, we were down to our last couple of bags! Then Barrett Pet Foods came through with an incredible donation of more than 300 pounds of dry dog food!

Barrett has generously donated dog food to us in the past, and we are so grateful that they continue to support our animals year after year. Our bears are currently going through more than 80 pounds of dry dog food every single day, so this donation makes a huge difference in keeping our shelves stocked and our bears well-fed and happy as they pack on the pounds for winter.

A HUGE, HUGE thank you and shout-out to Barrett Pet Foods for helping keep our bears fed during this very hungry time of year! We truly appreciate your continued support of Wild & Free and our wildlife. 💚

05/10/2026

🦅 Can you ID this raptor? 🦅

Here’s your chance to test your bird-watching skills!

Take a look at the photos and guess what species you're seeing. No peeking at the comments until you've made your guess! 🤫

Drop your answer below and tell us what clues gave it away!

We’ll reveal the mystery raptor in the comments later. 🪶

01/10/2026

Meet one of our smallest patients! 🦉

This little Screech-Owl came to us after being hit by a car. Thankfully the only issue we could find was a concussion. When a concussion is the only injury from a vehicle strike, the prognosis is often pretty good!

Other than what we can only assume is one heck of a headache, this little one is doing well. It's eating plenty and otherwise seems to be on the right track, so we’re hopeful it’ll continue to improve with some time and rest. 💚

30/09/2026

OPOSSUM UPDATE! 🥰

These two little opossums arrived at Wild & Free about a month ago, and they’ve come a LONG way since then! When they first came in, they were much smaller, barely had their eyes open, and were still relying on milk feedings.

Fast forward a month, and they’re officially weaned and absolutely DEVOURING the food they’re given each day! Watching them grow and become more independent has been so incredible.

When the time eventually comes for these two to head back to the wild, they’ll be released farther south, where the climate is a little more forgiving. Opossums aren’t particularly well adapted to the cold temperatures this far north in the state, so releasing them farther south gives them a better chance of thriving long-term.

For now, though, they still have plenty of growing to do before heading back to the wild!