We tend to hear the most about wild animals that get the heck out of Dodge (migrate) or get the heck…under Dodge (hiberate). What about the many species that don’t do either to survive the winter?

Our ED chats with our animal care staff about the patients that stuck with them the most in 2024.

Meet our newest education ambassador: all two inches of her! This charming Eastern Mud Turtle joined the Rockfish Wildlife Sanctuary team in the most unusual way. 

Gobble, gobble, gobble,Snood, caruncle, and wattle!No idea what we just said? Keep reading this month’s Critter Corner. ⬇️ As Thanksgiving approaches, turkeys take center stage in our minds and on some of our tables.  But Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo)  have been strutting through North America’s landscapes for millennia—long before they became cultural icons. This month, we’re talkin’ turkeys! […]

When one squirrel is released, another arrives! 🔄 🌰 Shortly after we successfully released September’s Patient of the Month, a charming melanistic squirrel, we welcomed yet another unique baby. (Baby season ain’t over til the fat squirrel sings!) Meet Eastern Gray Squirrel 24-984, a slightly asymmetrical yet still adorable patient.  This young male squirrel originally arrived […]

Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore Feed me more!” 🖤 Our Patient of the Month this October is one of Edgar Allan Poe’s favorites: a Common Raven, known at RWS as patient 24-859. Fitting for spooOoOoOoky Halloween! 👻 This beautiful patient arrived at the Sanctuary this summer after being rescued from a forest fire in Clarke County a […]

It’s the most magical day of the year: National Opossum Day! 🎉 You might be thinking, “A whole day dedicated to opossums? Really?!” In honor of our most marvelous marsupial neighbors, we’re shining this month’s Critter Corner spotlight on the fascinating Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) so you can learn about just how much these eco-superheroes do. […]

September’s Patient of the Month is small, dark, and handsome. Meet 24-873, a melanistic Eastern Gray Squirrel currently in care at the Sanctuary.  This fascinating baby squirrel arrived at RWS in mid-August after his nest was cut down by some folks doing tree work in Augusta County. Our friends at the Wildlife Center of Virginia transferred […]

This month’s star critter is a bit different than the furry, scaly, and feathery species we’ve featured before. This particular critter is bipedal, speaks French, and greets everyone with a smile and her trademark: “Hey, buddy!” Meet our founder, Nathou Attinger. Nathou announced her retirement from RWS earlier this past spring, and we interviewed her as […]