Wildlife center celebrates 20 years of rehabilitation
By Melanie Byer
Edited by Belton White
April 8, 2009
Ralph the opossum crawls along the beige tile floor of Carolina Wildlife Care and makes a run for the shelter of a covered table. All the while, BG the bird chirps from his perch in a window frame across the room.
They are among 40,000 animals Carolina Wildlife Care has treated during the past 20 years, releasing those that can be released back into the wild and using those that can't be as examples for children's educational programs.
It's slow going for Ralph. His previous caretaker gave him food that lacked the nutrients he needs, and he now has the equivalent of human osteoporosis, where his body robs his bones of calcium.
BG, or "Blind Grackle," cannot be released and is one of the center's wildlife ambassadors used to educate local schoolchildren about species native to South Carolina.
Five founders started the rehabilitation effort in 1989, and the first animal they cared for was a fledgling blue jay. They took in 80 animals that year, said Executive Director Joanna Weitzel, who joined as a volunteer in 1996.
It started in one founder's bonus room. The hospital moved to its current Bush River Road building near Saluda Shoals Park in 1998. Now, Weitzel said, the center rehabilitates more than 3,000 animals yearly with the help of six staff members and over 100 volunteers like Zach Steinhauser.
Steinhauser, a 16-year-old Lexington High School student, has worked with the center during the past two summers.
Steinhauser said the 20-year anniversary is important for him as a young volunteer because he knows all the animals that have been there have been given second chances.
"It has given the residents brand new lives, other than what would've been death for these creatures," he said.
Heather Traylor, the outreach coordinator and fawn rehabilitator for Carolina Wildlife Care, first worked as a volunteer 11 years ago. She said some volunteers, such as Steinhauser, enjoy specializing in certain species. Steinhauser is interested most in treating opossums.
"They love all the animals, but there's really something that tugs at their heart, that they have a special connection with," Traylor said.
Weitzel said the number of animals admitted yearly has plateaued recently because the center's focus has shifted to education.
"If you're only taking care of those that have already been impacted, and you're not doing anything to minimize that impact, then you're taking like a Band-Aid approach," she said.
Part of correcting that approach involves telling people at the center's door that the animals they bring in might not really need rescue.
It also means creating educational programs for schools and the public, like the center's annual wildlife baby shower the weekend of April 25 and 26. Visitors can tour the center and learn how it functions as a wildlife hospital.
"A lot of people have never even seen a baby squirrel or a baby possum," Traylor said. "It's really a neat opportunity."
The center, which spent over $140,000 in 2007 according to the last year its tax returns are available, is funded by community donations.
On May 9, it's hosting its first $100-a-ticket Black Tie & Tails Gala as part of its 20-year anniversary celebration. Guests will learn more about the center's history and future. The gala is being held at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough law offices in the Meridian Building at 1320 Main St.
Other anniversary events are in the works.
"We're trying to beef it up a little bit to celebrate," Weitzel said.
