We Rescue, Rehabilitate, and Release Imperiled Wildlife.
We are a non-profit organization whose mission is two-fold: to assist sick, injured and orphaned native wildlife by ensuring each receives the highest level of rehabilitative care for release back to its natural habitat; and to promote protection of wildlife and its habitat through public education.
A Bear - REALLY!
On July 25, 2010, the California Wildlife Center received a very large and unexpected visitor. The State Department of Fish and Game brought a 250-pound brown bear that they had captured in someone’s backyard. It had an injury to its leg, which they wanted the Center’s veterinarian, Dr. Duane Tom, to evaluate and treat. Dr. Tom was more than happy to help them out. The patient did very well and was later released back into the wild.
Photos courtesy of the California Wildlife Center by Gayle Uyehara
Pelican Release on May 2, 2010 at CWC's second annual Walk On The Wildside
These two Brown Pelicans were released at California Wildlife Center's 2010 "Walk on the Wild Side" event by long-time supporter and hard working volunteer, Pamela Anderson! Both pelicans had been receiving care at International Bird Rescue Reseach Center (IBRRC) in San Pedro, CA prior to their release on Zuma Beach.
NBC's John Boxley interviews our Cindy Reyes in this video about the Brown Pelican problem on the California coast - posted on msnbc.com
January 8, 2009 — Within the past 2 weeks, California Wildlife Center (CWC) has received dozens of calls about sick, dying and dead pelicans in the Malibu area (and beyond). Our emergency response team has rescued 12 pelicans and transferred the surviving 9 to International Bird Rescue & Research Center (IBRRC) in San Pedro. Unfortunately, several more animals died just prior to the arrival of our rescue team.
Many of the rescued birds seen by CWC were suffering from mild to severe dehydration as well as being thin to emaciated. All the birds were very lethargic and weak and typically did not try to fly away when approached. Some of the birds had sustained injuries that could well be a result of their generalized weakness putting them in more precarious situations. Some of the signs we’ve seen are a condition known as vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels) in their feet, edema (fluid swellings beneath their skin) and possible areas of contusions (bruising) or ecchymosis (areas of bleeding under the skin).
California Wildlife Center’s veterinarian, Dr. Duane Tom, is consulting with Dr. Heather Nevill of IBRRC and Dr. Emily Beeler of Veterinary Public Health in assessing this unusual situation. Diagnostic sampling and necropsies are currently being performed to hopefully determine the cause of this illness. The illness signs are not specific for any specific disease. Thankfully, many of these birds respond well to supportive care if we can get them to a rehabilitator in time, said Dr. Tom. With the diagnostic sampling currently being done, we hope to gain at least some insight into this problem very soon.
Individuals are asked to contact California Wildlife Center’s hospital at (818)591-9453 if they encounter a pelican that requires medical assistance.
