Toronto Wildlife Centre
4 - 60 Carl Hall Rd. M3K 2C1 Toronto, ON, Canada

Have you ever wondered how a turtle survives the winter? They go subterranean! Beginning in October, they head to the bottom of ponds and lakes, below the frost line where they remain for several months. To maintain energy stores, their metabolism slows way down. No air is no problem because turtles obtain oxygen through their skin during hibernation! Sometimes a turtle doesn’t quite make it to their hibernation site on time like this wee painted turtle that was found next ...to a trail path quite a distance from water and admitted to TWC last week. She will stay at the centre until she can be released when the warm weather returns in spring. You can help support #BackyardBiodiversity this winter by keeping an eye out for wildlife that have come out of hibernation too early. Animals such as turtles, snakes and bats are regularly admitted to TWC and often won’t survive if found out and about between October and April. Want to learn more about turtle hibernation? Visit our friends at Adopt-A-Pond: https://adoptapond.wordpress.com//winter-is-here-and-many/ #Backyardbiodiversity is a campaign run in partnership with LEAF - Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests and Ontario Power Generation.

While striped skunks are excellent diggers and scavengers, they aren’t the best climbers. If they accidentally fall into a hole, like a window well or excavation at a construction site, their strategy to escape is also to start digging! That’s exactly what Chris saw this skunk doing when he found him at the bottom of a 5-7 foot ditch that was dug for a new swimming pool in his backyard. Concerned for the trapped animal, Chris lowered a large wooden plank against the side of t...he dirt walls and hoped the skunk would crawl out. But the animal didn’t recognize the platform as a way out and continued to burrow at different ends of the pool as he searched for an escape route. Chris called TWC’s hotline for advice and tried suggested strategies to help free the skunk, until TWC’s Rescue Team could be available to help. But no matter what Chris did, the skunk remained dedicated to digging instead of attempting to climb. Still, Chris wouldn’t give up on him and could tell the skunk was getting tired; he had likely been down there since the night before. Just as TWC’s Rescue Team was able to head over to help, Chris decided to try one more thing. He lowered down a ladder, leaning it against the wooden plank at the side of the pit, after slathering a little peanut butter on each individual rung. Rescue Team’s Andrew and Sara got there just in time to see the hefty skunk slowly climb up one step after another, licking each rung clean of peanut butter before moving up to the next. It’s interesting to see how the food is more important than the escape, Andrew said to Sara, who laughed as they watched to make sure the skunk made it out. After a leisurely climb and a hearty snack, the skunk topped the last rung and waddled away before digging himself an exit under a nearby fence and disappearing underneath it!

What do you do if you come across an evening grosbeak who’s been hit by a car? A little mink who’s lying wounded on a rocky shoreline? A great snapping turtle who’s entangled in fishing line? Contact the only wildlife hospital in the GTA! Despite the challenges of COVID-19, Toronto Wildlife Centre continues to help patients like these, along with many other wild animals who are rushed through our doors every day. Our experienced and skilled Rescue, Rehabilitation and Veterina...ry Teams are only able to save wild lives with the help of generous supporters who could be you! You can help us to help all of them on GivingTuesday! On TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1ST, your donations will be matched up to $100,000, thanks to our generous matching donors Sokoloff - Personal Injury Lawyers and MapleCross. This means double the amount of resources available to provide wild patients with the best care possible, ensuring the sick are medicated, the hungry are fed, the injured are treated (like this grosbeak) and more! Your matched gift will go far in helping these animals recover and return to their wild lives. Please save the date and share with your fellow animal lovers don't miss your chance to help wild patients twice as much this Giving Tuesday!

Emilio hurried to help the mallard he had just found struggling in the fishing line she was entangled in. The line was tightly wrapped around the poor duck’s body, and a fish hook had pierced her left wing. Luckily he saw a member of the local humane society passing by and immediately flagged her down. The Animal Protections officer knew to contact TWC and the duck was rushed to the wildlife hospital. At the centre, Registered Veterinary Technician Naschelly carefully examine...d the bird. She was relieved to see the hook wasn’t deeply embedded in the wing, and she was able to carefully remove it. She then cut away and unwrapped the fishing line so the bird could finally stretch her wings. It wasn’t until Naschelly took x-rays that she saw a second hook, shockingly deep inside the duck’s esophagus. TWC’s Veterinary Team needed to perform surgery to safely remove the hook. Head Veterinarian Dr. Heather Reid was able to carefully pull out the hook, and was surprised to find a small cloth bag full of bait still attached to it the poor duck had swallowed the whole thing! Thankfully the surgery was a success, and Dr. Reid stitched the incisions closed. Two and a half weeks after her surgery, the mallard could return to the wild! See more

This Eastern cottontail rabbit is pictured here resting after a frightening encounter with a dog that lead to her suffering head trauma. After treatment, she was given hay and lots of different greens to nibble on during her recovery. Human parents out there know that for some kids, getting them to enjoy veggies can be a challenge but not for Eastern cottontails, who are often seen eating a variety of greens. #DidYouKnow rabbits have an estimated higher number of taste buds than humans? They can distinguish subtle differences between sweet, sour, bitter and salty plants. In the wild, rabbits have even been known to stay away from toxic plants because of the foul taste!

Kenny was shocked to see this pie-billed grebe struggling in the parking lot of his workplace. The waterbird was flapping his wings frantically and sliding on his belly across the pavement until he toppled over. Like loons, grebes are expert divers in water and aren’t built to walk well on land (they belong to the Latin genus Podiceps which translates to feet at the buttocks), and it was clear to Kenny that this poor bird needed help. The pie-billed grebe was soon brought... to TWC for care, where Wildlife Rehabilitation Manager Ashley could examine him closely. The diving bird’s webbed feet had sores underneath them, and as Ashley placed him in water to swim she could see his feathers weren’t as waterproof as they needed to be to keep him dry and warm. Throughout the week, the grebe was given time to swim and preen (groom his feathers). Everyday, he dove after minnows in his pool, and his feathers began to remain dry his waterproofing had returned, and his feet had healed. Finally, he was ready for release, and was set free to swim out in a lovely pond not far from where he was found. See more