Help Us Build a Forever Home for Wildlife!
Pacific Wildlife Care is thrilled to announce our plans for a new, permanent home in San Luis Obispo. Located on a beautiful 10-acre property, the Kim and Derrel Ridenour Wildlife Rehabilitation Center will enable us to better serve our community’s wildlife. Our comprehensive goal of $11.5 million will secure funding needed for the construction of this transformational project and create a sustainable future for PWC. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we’ve raised $5.7 million towards the $7 million needed for initial planning and construction needs. Additionally we have raised $3.8 million in legacy gifts to help create a sustainable future for PWC.Â
With construction starting in early 2025, your support is vital. Donate today to help us create a brighter future for wildlife in San Luis Obispo County.
Behind the Scenes at PWC
Pacific Wildlife Care (PWC) has been an advocate for wildlife in San Luis Obispo County since 1984.Â
From that time we have grown from a small group of dedicated home rehabilitators into a successful non-profit organization with a well-equipped rehabilitation center, a full-time wildlife veterinarian, a small paid staff, and nearly 200 volunteers. Â In addition to the Rehabilitation Center, which is open every day of the year, we maintain a Wildlife Hotline that the public can call to report distressed wildlife (injured, sick, orphaned) and to receive information about our local wildlife.
The Latest from PWC
Pacific Wildlife Care News
A Very Good Badger
“Charming” is not a word used in wildlife rehabilitation, but everyone was secretly charmed by American Badger 24-936. More precisely, […]
The Summer of Baby Bats
In the sweltering July heat, baby Mexican Free-tailed Bats dropped to the ground like unripe fruit. These tiny mammals need […]
A First for PWC!
 On Friday, July 26th a California Department of Fish and Wildlife Services biologist brought an endangered California Condor into PWC’s […]
Hanging by a Wing
Such an innocuous thing – a piece of string, likely from a kite. Innocuous, maybe, to the human eye, but […]
Bringing Up Baby (Owls)
The surge of baby birds at PWC every spring and summer – beginning with raptors, followed soon by songbirds – […]
The Care and Feeding of All Those Babies
Spring is turning to summer, and the demands of the Baby Bird Program (BBP) are intensifying. At the hub of […]
Facebook Posts
We hope everyone is staying cool in this summer weather 🌞! Here is Rocky our educational Rock Pigeon’s favorite way to spend his days lately.
#Rocky #RockPigeon #EducationalAnimal #WildlifeEducation #Summer #BirdBath ... See MoreSee Less
Come check out our animal ambassadors at the Too SLO Turtle Club’s 30th annual reptile show!!
On Saturday, September 14th, from 10am to 3pm at the SLO Veteran’s Memorial Building, bring the family for an educational exhibit featuring turtles, tortoises, snakes, lizards, and other exotic animals!
It will be a day full of education, conservation groups, care and adoption information, and raffle prizes.
Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for ages 6-12, and free for children 5 and under!
Visit TooSLO.org for more information! ... See MoreSee Less
Meet our Staff! 🌼🌼
Sophie is one of PWC’s rehabilitation technicians!
Sophie grew up in Mendocino, California, moving to San Luis Obispo to attend Cal Poly’s Animal Science program. She’s stuck around because she feels at home on the central coast and appreciates the connections she’s made to both the local biodiversity and the people.
Her first experience with conservation and wildlife management was working with endangered Nubian giraffes at an African hoofed animal preserve in Northern California.
Sophie notes that there isn’t much to do in Mendocino besides fully immersing yourself in nature. She was specifically drawn to pelagic birds throughout her childhood. After learning about the detriment of oil spills in school, she was inspired to take action to combat anthropogenic events. She believes wildlife rehabilitation is one of the most direct ways of adding fundamental health back into our ecosystems. She started volunteering and interning at various centers as her way of giving back to the ecosystems around her.
Her favorite part of working at PWC is working with grebes. She finds them very amusing and unusual – “they’re so strange looking!” She feels honored to work with them, as most people will never come in close contact with a grebe (and they shouldn’t). More than anything, though, Sophie loves her connections with the PWC volunteers.
To those looking to get involved in wildlife rehabilitation, Sophie urges you to take the initiative and learn from volunteers, staff, and literature. Ask questions you may think are trivial and volunteer anywhere and everywhere.
Thank you Sophie for your dedication to PWC and the betterment of our local wildlife. Your passion is obvious in everything that you do! 🪿🦨🌱 ... See MoreSee Less
Happy International Vulture Awareness Day! 🌵🌵
An ecosystem underdog, vultures are nature’s clean-up crew, providing essential services that often go unnoticed.
If you live in San Luis Obispo County, you likely see Turkey Vultures on a daily basis. Turkey Vultures have a wingspan of up to 6 feet, so they are easy to spot! They cruise around catching warm thermal drafts and using their impeccable sense of smell to find food. A flying group is called a “kettle,” because their wobbly upward flying resembles boiling water in a pot.
Vultures are scavengers, meaning they feed on animal carcasses. They play an important role in keeping our land clean and preventing the spread of disease. Vultures have uniquely strong stomach enzymes that kill disease and bad bacteria that may be present in their food. They can digest carcasses containing botulinum toxins, anthrax, and even rabies! This keeps humans and other animals safe.
Vultures can live for up to 25 years, but as a species, they have seen an overall population decline due to poisoning from the carrion they consume, as well as habitat loss and car collisions. Common contamination of carrion includes rodenticides, lead, and DDT.
California Condors, the largest of the North American vultures, saw a steep decline due to the use of lead bullets in hunting. Thanks to California lawmakers, lead bullets are now banned in the state. Research and legislation like this are crucial to wildlife’s survival, and California Condors have been able to make a comeback after careful regulation and monitoring.
Vultures are incredibly unique animals that play an irreplaceable role in our ecosystem. Their protection is vital to keeping our world balanced. Despite the unwarranted negative connotations, vultures are incredible birds. The next time you see a vulture, take a second to appreciate all they do for us!
📸 Kathleen Jackson via Flickr ... See MoreSee Less