3 Ways to Support PWC this Valentine's Day

This Valentine's Day, Pumpkin the opossum invites you to celebrate your love for wildlife, conservation, and outdoor education by supporting Piedmont Wildlife Center. Whether you're head-over-heels for romance or would rather say "not today, Cupid," you can make a big difference this month - while having a blast learning about native NC wildlife!

Keep scrolling for 3 easy (and fun!) ways to support nature connection at PWC this Valentine's Day. Thank you for sharing your love for nature with us!

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1. Enter our Valentine's Day raffle for a chance to win a pet portrait, animal encounters, and more!

$625 down, $3375 to go! Help us reach our goal of $4,000 before 11:59 PM EST on February 15th by joining Love at First Flight, an online raffle for Piedmont Wildlife Center. You can purchase entries on our RallyUp raffle page for a chance to win the prize(s) of your choice:

• One Week of Summer Camp at PWC

• A Custom Oil Painting of Your Pet

• A Private Raptor Tour

• An Opossum Squishmallow Plush

• A Private Turtle Trek

• Two $50 Apple Gift Cards

• A Private Animal Encounter

Tickets start at $10 for 10 entries. The more you buy, the more you save - and the better your chances of winning your favorite prize! Winners will be drawn on Friday, February 16th.

Void where prohibited. Piedmont Wildlife Center is an IRS-designated 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Proceeds from this raffle will support the care of our Ambassador Animals, provide camp scholarships to kids in need, and help sustain our award-winning environmental education programs.

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2. Surprise your sweetheart with a personalized video from one of our Ambassador Animals...

Celebrate your sweetie's love of wildlife by gifting them an Ambassador Animal sponsorship! Our Valentine's Day "adoption" packages include a personalized video and virtual Valentine's Day card from Pumpkin the opossum, Shelly the box turtle, Wink the red-tailed hawk, or Parsley the rabbit. Your loved one will also receive an adoption certificate and an information packet about your chosen Ambassador.

This $30 sponsorship package makes a great Valentine's Day gift for the nature lover in your life, whether they live nearby or across the globe!

Please note: Packages must be ordered by noon on Monday, February 12th in order to be received by Valentine’s Day. Any order placed after noon on Monday, February 12th will be delivered by February 23rd.

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3. ...or unleash your petty side by feeding our Ambassador Animals a rat, worm, or veggie in "honor" of your ex!

Not feeling the love this Valentine's Day? We get it. Put your spite to work for a good cause with a "Petty Pals" Ambassador Animal sponsorship!

Your $30 sponsorship will feed Pumpkin the opossum or Wink the red-tailed hawk a tasty rodent in honor of the "rat" in your life. Feeling a little more earthy? You can also opt to sponsor a superworm for Shelly the box turtle, or a veggie snack for Parsley the rabbit! Whatever option you choose, you'll receive a personalized video of your Ambassador Animal eating their snack, plus a virtual Valentine's Day card, an information packet, and an "adoption" certificate.

Please note: Packages must be ordered by noon on Monday, February 12th in order to be received by Valentine’s Day. Any order placed after noon on Monday, February 12th will be delivered by February 23rd.

In Memory: Miracle the Dove

Our Conservation Team has had a rough start to 2024. We are heartbroken to announce that Miracle, our frizzled ringneck dove, passed away last week on January 2nd. He was 16 years old.

Miracle was born in 2007 to a pair of doves kept at a library as education animals. His parents always laid two eggs each year, and their caretakers would remove the eggs before they hatched. One year, unknown to the library staff, the pair laid an additional egg – which hatched into Miracle! The library donated Miracle to “Birdman” Dave, and Piedmont Wildlife Center adopted Miracle from Dave in 2009.

While ringneck doves are domesticated birds not native to North Carolina, Miracle played a very important role in our animal programming. Unlike our raptors, which do not enjoy touch from humans, Miracle happily accepted pats from both PWC staff and the public. Getting to meet a gentle, patient bird up-close was an inspiring educational moment for students at the schools he visited. His unique characteristics helped our educators teach about albinism, feathers, bird anatomy, and responsible pet ownership, among other topics.

Even adults found Miracle inspiring. Many visitors at outreach events told us that Miracle was the first bird they’d ever touched!

Miracle’s sweet-but-sassy personality made him a favorite among our staff and volunteers. As the “training bird” for our Raptor Team, Miracle gave new raptor trainers valuable experience holding and transferring a bird before moving on to handle our hawks and owls. He also kept our office staff in line, diligently interrupting meetings with his cackling call and overseeing important computer work from staff members’ shoulders.

If you would like to make a gift in Miracle’s memory, you may do so at the link below or at https://www.piedmontwildlifecenter.org/donate. Thank you for helping us keep him happy, healthy, enriched, and curious about the world for the last 14 years. We miss you, little buddy.

In Memory: Arlo the Eastern Screech Owl

We are so sad to share that Arlo, our eastern screech owl, passed away unexpectedly last month. Arlo came to us in October 2022 from Nature’s Nanny Wildlife Rehabilitation in Chesapeake, VA, where he’d been deemed non-releasable after sustaining head trauma and an eye injury in a collision with a van. His calm temperament on the glove (and adorable fluffiness!) quickly made him a favorite of our raptor handling team.

Our staff and volunteers work hard to give our Ambassador Animals the best quality of life possible. Because we only work with non-releasable wildlife, however, we understand that many of our animals come to us with permanent injuries that may ultimately shorten their lifespans. After speaking with our vet team and other experts, we believe Arlo’s neurological issues played a role in his passing.

During the year he was with us, Arlo met hundreds of kids and adults at school programs, outreach events, field trips, and raptor tours. His story helped us teach the importance of coexisting responsibly with wildlife, and gave nature lovers of all ages an opportunity to learn about the smallest owl species native to the Durham area.

Arlo may have been a small owl, but we know he had a big impact on our team and the communities we serve. Whether you worked with Arlo as a volunteer, met him at a program, or donated to our Wildlife Ambassador fund, thank you for helping us share our little friend with the world. If you would like to make a gift in Arlo’s memory, you may do so at the link below or at https://www.piedmontwildlifecenter.org/donate

(Note: Piedmont Wildlife Center focuses on education and conservation, and does NOT rehabilitate injured or orphaned wildlife. If you’ve found a wild animal who needs help, please contact Our Wild Neighbors at 919-428-0896)

Myth or fact: Do snakes chase people?

Move over, Thanksgiving. Today, we’re celebrating Snakesgiving!

Celebrate these misunderstood creatures with Jenna Williams (Conservation Assistant) as she tackles a common myth about North American wildlife: Do rat snakes, cottonmouths, and other snakes actually chase people? Watch the video above to find out!

In Memory: Pepper the Virginia Opossum

We’re deeply saddened to report that Pepper the Virginia opossum passed away last Saturday, November 4th. At about 3.5 years old, Pepper lived nearly twice as long as wild opossums, who typically live only 1-2 years. Starting in October, our staff and volunteers noticed Pepper showing decreased interest in food and sleeping more than usual. She declined further at the beginning of November, becoming uncharacteristically lethargic and refusing to eat. When it became apparent that she would not improve, we made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize her to prevent further suffering.

The fact that Pepper retained a high quality of life until the very end is a testament to the hard work of our Conservation Team, especially Kaitlin Saxton (Research & Husbandry Coordinator). Over the last year and a half, Kaitlin made huge improvements to our opossums’ diet, adding more calcium-rich foods like yogurt, broccoli, and kale to prevent metabolic bone disease. She also put together a ‘possum playground outside the cabin so Pepper could enjoy supervised outdoor enrichment - and even built a new, larger indoor opossum enclosure from scratch with help from Camryn Jefferson (Conservation Assistant)! Because of these improvements to her care, Pepper remained active, inquisitive, and healthy until her final days.

Pepper and her sister were found as orphaned babies in early 2020. They were brought to Our Wild Neighbors in Hillsborough, NC, where they were given the care they needed to grow up strong and healthy. Her sister was released after a few months, but Pepper remained so small that she wouldn’t have survived in the wild. She was deemed non-releasable and came to live as an Ambassador Animal at Piedmont Wildlife Center in November 2020.

Over the 3 years she was with us, Pepper went on countless programs where she met hundreds of students, campers, and adults. Her inquisitive and calm personality (not to mention her adorable face!) helped teach them not to fear these beneficial, often-misunderstood animals. Pepper was also popular online, receiving the second-highest number of “adopters” through our Adopt-an-Ambassador program. Most of her adopters were from out of state, including Georgia, Pennsylvania, and even the United Kingdom! Pepper educated so many people during her lifetime, and we are forever grateful for her time with her.

If you feel moved to make a gift in Pepper’s memory, you may do so below. Thank you, Pepper, for working so hard to connect people with the wonders of native NC wildlife. We hope you’re enjoying yummy snacks, interesting smells, and cozy naps over the Rainbow Bridge.