Every year, WildCare takes in over 3,500 injured or endangered animals, looking after them and later releasing them back into their natural habitats. Established in 1954, WildCare is a professional organization composed of over 250 volunteers and medical professionals who devote time to rehabilitating injured animals brought in from all over Marin. They focus on providing the safest and most painless experience for wild animals needing treatment. 

WildCare undergoes everything from taking care of small animals to engaging in public outreach. Although WildCare teams are highly specialized in the types of animals that they can take in, there is a certain requirement that these animals must meet. Pets or domestic animals of any kind cannot be treated at WildCare. 

When a community member calls WildCare for any reason, team members follow an important procedure. Before an animal can be taken into WildCare, the team gains as much knowledge about the animal as possible. This consists of learning the species of the animal, its location, and the level of danger that the animal is in.

“[The team] tries [to] make sure it’s an animal that is not someone’s pet [or that it] hasn’t ever been a pet. So they’re not taking in someone’s pet canary that escaped,” said WildCare volunteer Amy Hunt. “They try and find out where they’re located; up in Sonoma and Napa County, there are other organizations that might be closer to somebody that can help rehabilitate animals.”

To achieve their ultimate goal of releasing every possible animal they take in, WildCare nurtures and completes all necessary operations. That includes administering medicine, surgical operations, and nurturing animals through dieting and food management.

While many wildlife hospitals share similar structures and missions, WildCare’s execution of those missions is what sets it apart. Ten-year volunteer and President of the Board of Directors Veronica Geczi has found that WildCare’s open-admission policy separates it from other animal hospitals and rescue organizations.

“One of the things that drew me to WildCare versus the other wildlife centers across the Bay Area is that WildCare is open admission – no wild animals are turned away. And that means a lot to me. Some centers won’t take pigeons or rodents or non-native [species], but we do.” Geczi said. “The people at WildCare are also remarkable – they are all there because they believe in the mission and truly want to help wildlife, our ecosystem, and our community.”

WildCare is heavily dependent on the community it has created over the years. Donations from sponsors and supporters fund the organization’s need for new resources and equipment. Different aspects of animal care range in cost, for example, a two-week antibiotic course of Baytril costs about 50 dollars and a single meal for an opossum is 3.50 dollars. Food and medicine for animals adds up, WildCare spends a little over one thousand dollars a year on nuts alone. 

“The organization relies almost solely on generosity from our supporters and on community grants. We get very little to no funding from the county, city, or state. So when we say that our supporters are our life, we mean it,” Geczi said.

Alongside the support they receive from the public, WildCare has a strong inner community. This largely involves the network of volunteers and staff members who are on-call and prepared for whatever injured animals may need to aid during their shifts. With the large variety of work that needs to be done throughout the program, different branches of WildCare come together to make their overall mission possible. 

WildCare’s Director of Communications and Marketing Alison Hermance has worked with the program for 22 years. Through her work with volunteers, medical staff, and sponsors, she has witnessed how different departments are able to work together to generate the program’s success. 

“All of the programs in this amazing organization work together to help people navigate the boundary where humans and animals come into contact with each other…The people there are dedicated, compassionate, and capable, and I feel lucky to work alongside them to try to help the world around us,” Hermance said. 

Release back into the wild isn’t always an option for the animals that WildCare takes in,  typically due to permanent life-altering injuries or damages that the animal has sustained. Animals that live permanently at WildCare are referred to as “ambassadors,” and are involved in the outreach and education program instead. 

“WildCare is a world-class wildlife hospital as well as an environmental and nature education center. Our educational programs help us teach the importance of wildlife in a healthy ecosystem, reaching over 13,000 children and adults from all walks of life each year,” Geczi said.

Through education and outreach, WildCare provides a means of reducing human-induced harm to wild animals. Some animals are taken in as a result of climate change, such as gas flares, global warming, or the industrialization of natural areas. By properly educating the next generations, WildCare aims to diminish the harm that humans cause.

“Wild animals get injured when they’re caught by cats, when they get tangled in fishing lines or garden netting, when they fly into our windows, or get hit by our cars. It’s amazing all the ways that humans can negatively affect wildlife, and I love that WildCare helps right those wrongs and reduce those harms,” Hemance said. 

Archie Williams sophomore Emily Goodwin recently volunteered as a camp counselor for one of WildCare’s many youth education-based summer camps. This allowed her to experience WildCare’s goals firsthand and gain an understanding of how their outreach expands to all generations.  

“[WildCare is] trying to educate the younger generation about what’s going on around us in the environment. They have a bunch of different camps with different lesson plans,” Emily said. 

“We talk about [things like] how the water comes from different places just so they can learn about those things that are really important.”

Along with their education and outreach, WildCare takes pride in their large care team and the effects that they’ve had on nature. Since 1975, they have continued working together and combating the negative effects of humanity as a donation-funded, volunteer-run organization. 

“WildCare makes a real and tangible difference for animals by giving them hands-on medical care in the wildlife hospital, but also by teaching people how to avoid harm to wildlife, how to preserve habitat and protect the environment, and just generally how to live well with our wildlife neighbors. I get to see and do amazing things at WildCare, and I literally learn something new every single day about wildlife. WildCare truly is an amazing place,” Hermance said.