Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren DuBois.
Lauren, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Project Wildlife began in 1972 as a resource for San Diego to care for ill or injured wildlife. Each year, we triage and care for 8,000-10,000 animals. Over the years, we have expanded our influence and care of the animals and serve many parts of San Diego County. Our goal at Project Wildlife is to rehabilitate the animals so they can be returned to the wild. Project Wildlife also reaches out to the community through education projects to inform the community on ways to coexist with wildlife.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Adequate funding is a struggle for any nonprofit. But Project Wildlife merged with San Diego Humane Society in 2014, which allowed us to combine resources to be more efficient. The support and commitment to the care of all animals has been a great benefit to Project Wildlife.
Project Wildlife – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Project Wildlife cares for injured, orphaned and sick wildlife throughout the County with the goal of returning healthy animals to the wild. So far, this year, we’ve cared for more than 12,000 wild animals, providing them with safe housing, advanced veterinary care and time to heal.
San Diego is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the United States, home to more than 320 different animal species – making us a critical community resource for preserving our community. One of the aspects of San Diego County that makes it such an attractive place to live and visit is the great bounty of natural beauty we enjoy. Wildlife also find our diverse habitats attractive and we share our region with an enormous variety of wild animals, from all of the migratory birds like raptors, seabirds, and songbirds, to rabbits, Opossums, skunks, fox and raccoons.
One exciting development in the immediate future is our new Wildlife Rehabilitation Center! Since 1972, Project Wildlife has operated in a Triage Center that is not sufficient to meet growing needs for wildlife emergency services and rehabilitation in San Diego. For decades, in a trailer measuring fewer than 1,200-square-feet, Project Wildlife has worked to rescue and rehabilitate 10,000 sick, injured and orphaned wild animals each year.
In 2018, Project Wildlife will relocate from its undersized trailer to a new, 5,200-square-foot facility on Gaines Street, across from the San Diego Humane Society’s San Diego Campus. The Pilar & Chuck Bahde Wildlife Rehabilitation Center will greatly increase our capacity, improve quality of care, and include a new wildlife veterinary hospital to offer state-of-the-art medical services. The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is a significant advance in helping to protect wildlife and will serve as a vital resource for San Diego’s animals while further establishing San Diego Humane Society as a national leader in animal welfare.
The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center has significant benefits, including:
• Expanded habitats will reduce animals’ stress by providing adequate space to limit patients’ exposure to humans and other animals. These habitats will also ensure that incompatible species are segregated effectively to reduce their overall anxiety level.
• Increased space will help to reduce the transmission of disease, as many of the wild animals coming into our care are suffering from illness or carrying a high parasite load.
• Species-appropriate habitats are similar to the animals’ natural surroundings. The Center will have larger pre-release enclosures that are necessary for birds to test their wings for flight or to develop their foraging abilities before being released to the wild.
• State-of-the-art veterinary hospital will enable fast access to medical services and ample treatment facilities for injured and sick animals.
Contact Info:
- Address: Wildlife Care Center
Custer Street
San Diego, CA 92110 - Website: www.projectwildlife.com
- Phone: (619) 255-WILD
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProjectWildlifeSD
- Twitter: @projectwildlife
Image Credit:
Project Wildlife
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