Pacific Wildlife Care's Latest News, plus Many Memorable Stories

WILD AT HEART–AT HOME, Oct. 27 – Nov. 1

October 27, 2020

Join us for our first ever Wild at Heart – at Home virtual event, a week of Celebration, October 27 – 31 culminating into a live-streamed virtual VIP event on Sunday, Nov. 1! Each day, we will be hosting free, Facebook presentations featuring our Wildlife Ambassadors with daily raffles and wildlife-themed film links for the…

In Memory of Fiona

February 18, 2019

Fiona, the Red-shouldered Hawk who has been with Pacific Wildlife Care for more than 12 years died earlier this month. Fiona has lived with PWC volunteer Kelly Vandenheuvel since she was a baby. Fiona laid her first eggs in the spring of 2008. She sat on her infertile eggs diligently for almost two months. Kelly…

A Nearly Impossible Rescue

October 22, 2018

As I was paddling my SUP (standup paddleboard), checking up on wildlife in the San Simeon Cove, I noticed a very young deer on a hidden beach that is almost impossible to climb out of (steep and fragile)…I call it ‘paddler’s beach’ and have had many animals get stuck there or claim it during the…

Senator Monning Names Pacific Wildlife Care as 17th Senate District Non-Profit of the Year

June 9, 2018

SENATOR MONNING HONORS PACIFIC WILDLIFE CARE June 06, 2018 (SACRAMENTO, CA) – Today, Pacific Wildlife Care was honored as the 17th Senate District Nonprofit of the Year by Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel). Pacific Wildlife Care is the only licensed rehabilitation center in San Luis Obispo County that cares for injured birds, mammals, and reptiles. “Pacific…

Young Filmmakers: A Contest Just For You

May 25, 2018

In March an 11-year-old from Oregon Won the First Annual Youth Film Competition ‘The Wild World We Love’ Sponsored by Pacific Wildlife Care PWC is partnering again with the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival to sponsor another wildlife film contest in 2019, calling for an original short, or animated film, as part of the Film…

The Outside the Oalm Theater at the showing of The Cat that Changed America

The Cat That Changed America – From The Mustang Daily

March 27, 2018

“The Cat That Changed America” brings awareness of human and wildlife interaction to San Luis Obispo by Emma Kumagawa (An article from Cal Poly’s Mustang Daily) In 2012, Los Angeles’ Griffith Park received a visit from an unexpected guest: a mountain lion. As P22’s story began to circulate, people began to learn about his journey…

Pacific Wildlife Care

22 hours ago

Don’t miss your chance to help us feed wildlife patients this Thanksgiving! Any little bit helps. And thank you to all our donors who make this lifesaving work possible. ❤️🦃 ... See MoreSee Less

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Miss you all❤

Pacific Wildlife Care

2 days ago

This little opossum and his siblings were still in their mother’s pouch when she was hit and killed by a car. Luckily the babies survived and were brought into the clinic where we raised and cared for them. They are now old enough to be released! 🙂
Opossums may look scary to some but they mean you no harm. They are easily frightened but when cornered will show their teeth and growl. Please just leave them alone and let them go on their way... they have an important job to do eating all the snails, slugs, and ticks from your yard!

#opossum #awesomepossom #wildlife #pacificwildlifecare #pwcopossum #wildliferescue ... See MoreSee Less

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I love them. North America's only marsupial species. They are adorable, and they are natural pest control. I love their pointy little teeth too. Let them be. We're lucky to have these little critters.

Such a nice rescue story!❤️

If you see an opossum that's been hit, how do you know if it has babies? We live on a back road and sadly see several hit every year. I'm happy to stop and check them/ rescue babies, but have no idea what to look for without traumatizing my kids and other drivers. 😬

Love O'Possums

❤️

❤️ this ❤️ you guys ❤️❤️❤️

Luv them

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Pacific Wildlife Care

7 days ago

Make this Thanksgiving a wild one by helping us feed our wildlife patients! Our animals rely on a healthy diet to help them heal and our food bill is one of the largest expenses we incur in keeping the clinic open. A donation in any amount can help these animals get the nutrition they need to thrive. So don’t just eat turkey this year, help feed a Turkey Vulture, who eats about $100 in food every month. Share your wisdom with your family during Thanksgiving dinner, then support feeding these two Great Horned Owl nestlings that need about $4 per day to sustain them. Show your love for your country by helping feed an eagle, who eats about $25 worth of food per week. Maybe even weasel out of that mound of Thanksgiving dishes by taking a moment to donate to feeding our Long-tailed Weasels where three of them this spring ate about $450 worth of food each month! You can help us feed our wildlife patients by making a donation in our name directly with one of our local food suppliers, Layne Labs, at www.laynelabs.com/product/wildlife-rehabilitation/pacific-wildlife-care or you can click on the donate button here and we will use it towards our food bill.
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect and be grateful for the wonderful people and animals in our lives. Thank you for any donation you can offer to help us keep our wildlife patients' bellies full. We wish you all a bountiful and healthful Thanksgiving!

#Thanksgiving #Thanksgiving2020 #wildlife #helpfeedwildlife #baldeagle #longtailedweasel #turkeyvulture #donate ... See MoreSee Less

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That Bald Eagle is SO COOL! Thank you for helping these critters. 🐥

Thank you for all that you do! 🦉❤️

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Pacific Wildlife Care

2 weeks ago

Freedom Friday times two! These two Brown Pelicans, one an adult and the other a juvenile, were found on the beach tangled in fishing line with hooks embedded in their wings, legs and feet. Fishing line and hooks can cause severe injuries, but these birds were lucky and made it to the wildlife clinic where they could be properly treated. Discarded fishing tackle is a hazard for many species of wildlife especially those that live near water and eat fish. Please pick up any hooks or line you find and dispose of it properly in a designated receptacle. Birds often raid regular trash cans so they are not a good option. If receptacles can’t be found, take it home to be cut up and discarded safely away from wildlife. If you find wildlife with line or hooks on them, call your local wildlife rehabilitation center. They will x-ray the animal to be sure there are no swallowed hooks in addition to treating injuries which may not be apparent without a careful examination. Thank you!

#freedomfriday #homesweethome #wildliferelease #brownpelican #fishing #fishinglineinjury #wildlife #pacificwildlifecare ... See MoreSee Less

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The most beautiful site! Love seeing the release of wildlife! Magical!

Nice to see the release. I miss getting the occasional invitation to attend a release. Hope that possibility will be available again in the future.

Woo Hoo! They were ready for freedom!

That's awesome thank you

Good job! Congratulations!

👏🏼

Thankyou

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Pacific Wildlife Care

3 weeks ago

The whales are here! But with that comes our own responsibility to be respectful and keep our distance. These beautiful animals come to our area following the bait balls of fish. Please let them do so undisturbed. Their behavior, like any wild animal, is unpredictable. An accidental whack with a pectoral fin could prove deadly if you are in your kayak or SUP trying to get that selfie. The good news for wildlife lovers is they come close enough to shore that we can safely view and enjoy them from there while giving them the space they need! 🐋 ❤️PORT SAN LUIS
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
THE WHALE (Observe, Don't Disturb!)

The Humpback whales are back at Port San Luis and everyone wants to be a part of the story! I mean, we all love whales, right? Their songs have made them the musical icons of the animal world and their acrobatics are an unrivaled crowd-pleaser. They are part of a small group of species, including Orcas and Bottlenose dolphins that are the poster children for whale watching, and their celebrity status makes them seem so cool and approachable. Not so fast friends! While it is super exciting to see these huge, magnificent creatures up close there are a few things to consider before paddling out for a closer look:

1) When possible, do your best to maintain AT LEAST 100 yards of distance between you and the whales – think the size of a football field. Do not attempt to feed, touch or interact with ANY marine mammals.

2) Do not chase, encircle, or leapfrog animals, and avoid approaching marine mammals when another watercraft is near. Multiple vessels are more likely to disturb marine mammals.

3) If there are already a lot of other people on the water observing whales, consider coming back later or limiting your time watching the whales to 30 minutes or less. While it may be tempting to watch these beautiful creatures for hours, it can be really distracting to the whales. The presence and sound of your vessel or paddles or even talking can actually deter them from looking for food, socializing and even breeding. In fact, noise pollution may even cause some whales to change their migration routes.

4) When you do encounter a whale, slow down and alter course so that you are parallel to the whale’s course. Never approach head-on!

5) Be wary of breaching, flipper slapping and feeding. While these are some of the largest creatures in the ocean, they eat some of the smallest creatures, which include small fish and krill. Don’t paddle through large schools of fish (usually indicated by lots of seabirds in the immediate area) because this is where whales will be lunging out of the water to catch fish in their giant mouths. If you swim, paddle-board or kayak near or in a large school of fish, you may be injured, fined, have your intellect questioned - or all three.

6) Stay clear of light green bubble patches in the water. These are sub-surface bubbles before whales rise up to feed at the surface.

7) If you see a mother whale and her calf (i.e. a big whale with a smaller whale), do not put yourself between them. In fact, I would venture to say that you should never put yourself between a mother of any species and her child. Just a word of warning. Be cautious when venturing into waters where whales are present and always look around before entering and exiting the area. If there is a pod hanging around, watch for changes in their behavior that could indicate signs of distress. If you notice a rapid change in their swimming pattern, lots of surface displays (tail slapping) or females shielding their calves with their bodies, leave the area IMMEDIATELY.

Remember, it is ILLEGAL to cause a marine mammal to alter their behaviors in any way. These big annual visitors are always a pleasure to see, but we must be respectful of them so we can continue to enjoy them for years to come, and also do what we can to limit the chances of an observer getting unintentionally injured by one of these gentle giants or a whale being unintentionally injured by an observer. ... See MoreSee Less

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Take photos from shore. Cellphones are inadequate for wildlife photos and only endanger the person holding the phone. A lot of people are injured by elk, deer, bears, and other wildlife, like whales, thinking they can get a good shot with a tiny little camera that is inadequate for the task.

Over the years, I have seen more whales from LAND on the SLO coast, than I‘ve ever seen from a kayak or out on a boat. We are so fortunate here- there are so many great spots on the bluffs + cliffs around feeding areas + kelp forests, where some breathtaking whale watching can be done❣️

Thank you. I am disturbed by national media showing kayakers, boaters or others so close to the whales!