LUCY

Canada Goose

Disability: Imprinted

Lucy came to our center as a gosling.  She was hand raised by a little girl who even let Lucy sleep in her bed.  Lucy became very fond of people and soon relied eavily on them for her survival.  She was brought into the center and introduced to a flock of her own kind.  When Lucy was taken to the release site she darted toward the pond with all of the other geese, and had a great time splashing in the water.  However, the second everyone retreated back to their cars, Lucy came running toward us and honking.  After another attempt at release turned out unsuccessful, we knew that Lucy would live with us at the center year round. 

Lucy was raised by a human and never got the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to survive on her own in the wild.  Lucy has a strong personality and is VERY spoiled and loved at the center.  Here she gets baths every morning and her favorite snack is melons.  Also, if you forget to talk to her, she’ll find a way to get your attention, whether it be a tug on the pants or a honk.  She’s a very talkative young lady!

Lucy is doing a great job as one of our new education ambassadors.  She assists in exciting both children and adults about the importance of wild animals. 

ERNIE

Rock Dove

Disability: Broken wing and unable to fly

Ernie was brought to the center from the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors in 2004.  He suffers from a permanently fractured wing and is unable to fly.  Ernie cannot be released back into the wild due to his injured wing.

We use Ernie as an education ambassador who advocates that all species of birds deserve a second chance.

TOBY

Three-toed Box Turtle

Disability:  Imprinted

Toby came to the center in the summer of 2004.  Animal control found him alone in an alley and brought him to us.   Because he is so friendly to humans, it is suspected he was dumped there by someone who raised him and no longer wanted to care for him.

Toby was never given the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to survived in the wild so he cannot be released.

Toby is one of our wildlife ambassadors and helps out with education programs.

SUMMER

Common Raccoon

Disability: Blind and Scoliosis

Summer came to us as an orphaned baby after her mother was hit by a car.  Shortly afterward we found out that she was blind.

Despite her disability, she gets around very well particularly due to her increased sense of smell and hearing.  She is he first to know when it is dinner time!

SNITCH

Virginia Opossum

Disability: Blind/head trauma

Snitch is a Virginia opossum that was brought into the University of Illinois veterinary wildlife clinic in Champaign, Illinois as an adult at the end of October 2010. She was hit by a car, suffering major head trauma and not moving at all. The only sign of life was her heavy breathing.

She was placed in an incubator and received IV fluids and a high dose of pain medications. After about a week of intense supportive care she was upright and standing. Upon further examination at that time, it was found she had a slight dislocation of her shoulder, major head trauma, an ear injury, and a few fractured teeth. X-rays showed a hard palate fracture on the roof of her mouth and a few fractures in her skull, which all heal with time.

The fractured teeth were removed, and after a month of rehabilitation she was eating on her own. Her shoulder healed itslef and was ot causing her pain. At that time, we realized she wasn't able to see. A veterinary ophthalmologist found her eyes and retina intact, but thought her optic nerve was damaged with the head trauma. This means she will never see and cannot be released.

Snitch's skull fractures healed great and it has now been over several months since her accident and she is adapting nicely at FVWC. Snitch will be used for education purposes, representing the only marsupial presen in the United States.

Captain Jack

Great Horned Owl

Disability: Missing an eye

Captain Jack had a severe injury to his eye that required that the eye be removed. Because of this, he will not be able to be released. He does not live on site but can be requested at any educational event.

Yodi

Coyote

Disability: Imprinted

Yodi was brought to Fox Valley as a coyote pup in 2009 with three other in his litter.  As they all were rehabbed together, Yodi never learned the skills of hunting or being afraid of humans.  His litter-mates were successfully released, but Yodi wanted nothing to do with the wild.  He was imprinted on humans and never learned the skills to survive on his own in the wild.

Right now Yodi is housed at our center in his new cage outdoors.  The public is allow to view him on certain event days and in the future we hope to use him on certain education programs.