Vote for us in the Defender Service Awards!
We’re one of just five finalists across the U.S. and Canada. Vote once a day through August 14 to help us win a Land Rover Defender and $30,000 for local wildlife care.
Help Us Build a Forever Home for Wildlife!
Construction is officially underway on Pacific Wildlife Care’s new home, the Kim and Derrel Ridenour Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in San Luis Obispo! Located on a beautiful 10-acre property, this purpose-built facility will allow us to provide the highest standard of care for wildlife and expand our capacity to better serve the entire community.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our supporters, we’ve raised more than $11.5 million in gifts and pledges to bring this vision to life. But we’re not done yet and we still need your help to finish construction and open our doors to wildlife and the community.
Behind the Scenes at PWC
Pacific Wildlife Care (PWC) has been an advocate for wildlife in San Luis Obispo County since 1984.
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. 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
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 […]
PWC’s Test Pilot
In May 2023, rehabilitated Brown Pelican 23-757 became the first ever pelican to be fitted with a promising new tracking […]
Winter of the Grebes
For a while this season, PWC turned into “Grebe Town.” Western and Clark’s Grebes filled the treatment room, carriers, drying […]
Release Story: RTHA #2717
On Christmas Day, PWC received a call from a Paso Robles resident, Alton, who explained that his kids were playing […]
Facebook Posts
Let’s learn about lead! Did you know lead poisoning is a threat to wildlife?
Where does the lead come from?
Two major sources are lead ammunition and fishing tackle.
1️⃣ When lead ammunition strikes an animal, it can fragment into hundreds of tiny pieces. Scavengers like California Condors, Bald Eagles, and Golden Eagles can ingest these fragments when feeding on carcasses or gut piles.
2️⃣ In waterways, loons, ducks, and other waterbirds can accidentally swallow lead sinkers and jigs while foraging. Even a single small lead sinker can be fatal to a loon.
Once absorbed, lead can damage the nervous system, interfere with blood function, cause weakness, seizures, and ultimately death. For long-lived species that reproduce slowly, these losses can have consequences for entire populations.
California is currently the only U.S. state with a comprehensive, statewide ban on the use of lead ammunition for all hunting (went into full effect in 2019), but there is currently no statewide ban on lead fishing tackle.
The good news? Lead exposure is preventable!
✅ Hunters can choose non-lead ammunition. Check for non-lead ammunition incentive programs near you. (On the Central Coast? Check out VentanaAWS.org)
✅ Anglers can choose non-lead fishing tackle.
✅ All of us can help spread the word and support efforts to reduce lead exposure for wildlife.
#LeadPoisoning #WildlifeConservation #ChooseNonLead ... See MoreSee Less
✨ Wild at Heart is just 25 days away! ✨
Join Pacific Wildlife Care for our annual fundraising celebration on September 26th at the Octagon Barn for an afternoon celebrating wildlife, community, and the next chapter of wildlife care on the Central Coast. Enjoy wine, appetizers, silent and live auctions, and special appearances by our Animal Ambassadors, all while supporting the rescue, rehabilitation, and care of local wildlife.
🎟️ Get your tickets today!
pacificwildlifecare.org/wild-at-heart
🥂 Sip, bid, and support wildlife! We hope to see you there! ✨
#SLOevents #SupportWildlife #pacificwildlifecare ... See MoreSee Less
✨ Happy Freedom Friday!
You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up
A juvenile gray fox had managed to get herself trapped in the skylight of a SLO home.
When homeowners Rick and Jo Anne Miller heard a noise during the night, they “gave little thought to it,” Rick says. But in the morning, when they found debris on the kitchen floor, they looked up “to see a large furry animal.” They called County Animal Control and were directed to call Pacific Wildlife Care if the animal was alive. They weren’t sure. Then the furry animal moved her legs.
PWC called Cal Fire and dispatched Rescue/Transport volunteer Mark Trunnell to the site. Trunnell arrived within an hour, followed within minutes by Fire Captain Lieberman and Engineer Uschman from Avila Beach Fire Station 62.
Up on the roof, they determined that only the tail was caught in the mechanism of the skylight. But freeing the fox proved a challenging operation, Trunnell explains. It involved one firefighter on the roof with a pry bar to open the skylight; the other on a ladder in the kitchen to catch the fox when she was freed; and Trunnell standing below with the carrier into which the fox was successfully lowered. Relief all around!
At the PWC clinic, the fox was given subcutaneous fluids and a physical exam, including radiographs, which revealed no injuries. Volunteer Kelly Cherry was recruited to release Gray Fox 26-2633 back to her territory in the wild. Jo Anne Miller had one request: “Please just don’t release her on the roof.” Cherry did not. In less than a day from the beginning of the ordeal, the fox ran off through the underbrush, free again.
✍️ Pam Hartmann
#WildlifeRelease #FreedomFriday #GrayFox ... See MoreSee Less
Mark your calendars! On Thursday, September 17th, 10% of all sales at Todo Bueno The All Good Grill will be donated to Pacific Wildlife Care!
Stop by anytime between 11am and 7pm for tacos, quesadillas, burritos, burgers (including veggie!), and more. No special code or mention of Pacific Wildlife Care needed. Grab a friend, bring your appetite, and enjoy a tasty meal that helps support local wildlife! 🦉
📍 Todo Bueno, upstairs in the SLO Public Market
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