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stories from the Sanctuary

A baby gray squirrel with a missing ear pinna drinks from a syringe.

November 15, 2024

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 […]

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A Common Raven perches and looks out of its enclosure

October 31, 2024

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 […]

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A black baby squirrel sleeping

September 26, 2024

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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 […]

A baby striped skunk drinks formula from a syringe.

August 15, 2024

August’s Patient of the Month was a surprising intake at the Sanctuary. Meet 24-836, an orphaned baby striped skunk! 🦨 Wildlife rehabilitation has trained us to expect the unexpected, and this kit and his six siblings were certainly unusual. Typically, we admit 20-30 orphaned striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) kits each year, but they almost always come into care […]

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July 22, 2024

July’s Patient of the Month is a bit more punk rock than most of the species we treat, thanks to their crazy backstory and heavy metal look! 🤘👨‍🎤 Meet Chimney Swift 24-729. Being later season nesters, Chimney Swifts are often the last big wave of orphaned songbirds we get before the baby bird season begins to […]

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June 19, 2024

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May was busy, but we’re screeching in June! This month, we’re highlighting Eastern Screech-Owl patients 24-447, 448, and 504.

May 10, 2024

Every once in awhile, the Sanctuary admits a patient that gets our staff to say, “Wow, that’s the smallest I’ve ever seen!” Meet RWS Patients 24-295, 296, and 297: a trio of infant raccoon kits. They each weighed in at just about 55 grams upon admission, which is essentially birth weight for raccoons. In fact, they […]

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