Fall colors begin!

I went for a walk today on the back property and I saw some small indicators of the upcoming fall color! 

 I’ve heard because we had a wet summer and dry fall, the colors should be awesome! 

Can’t wait to see!

Our young crow goes nuts for peanuts!

Master Gardener David Hopkins grows a variety of crops here at the Volunteer Garden at Reflection Riding. He is donating his recent crop of peanuts as a special treat for our ambassador crow, who serves as part of our educational programs here at the Nature Center. 

Thank you, David! 

Chillin' Out!

Cool weather + cool animals = cool job!

I love my job all days, but it is especially nice when the weather cools down and I don’t sweat all day while I work outside with the animals. 

Welcome Fall!

We have a new animal ambassador!

A new groundhog!

This groundhog was suffering from neurological issues which have significantly improved, but not enough for him to return to the wild. He has a wonderful disposition and personality. 

We are excited to have a new animal ambassador to help spread the word about his species! I’ll write more about groundhogs as Groundhog day approaches in February!

A Perfect Fit!

When you visit the Wildlife Wanderland to see our collection of native animal ambassadors, there are several things to keep in mind:

All of our animals have permanent injuries that prevent them from returning to the wild. When an injured animal is found, it usually goes to a wildlife rehabilitation facility where the injuries are treated and the animal is released. Some injuries are not treatable and the animal must be euthanized. If an injury is not detrimental to the quality of life of the animal, then the animal is placed with an education facility like the nature center. When the animal arrives at our facility, we are prepared to house the animal in the correct size enclosure based on the animal’s needs. 

There are captive animal enclosure guidelines that we follow and often times our enclosures are larger than recommended size.

If we receive a non-flighted bird meaning it cannot fly, the enclosure that bird(s) is in will be smaller than a fully flighted bird. Furniture such as perches, platforms and nest boxes are appropriately placed for the abilities of the animal.

So as you tour our Wildlife Wanderland that is snugly nestled in the natural woods, remember the trauma some of our animal ambassadors have been through and the wonderful life they have now. A nice enclosure, quality food and care and the admiration and love of its keepers.

Pruetts provides healthy diet for animal ambassadors

Every day we make diets for all of our animals. 

Some animals get rats and mice, other meat items, dog food or cat food while others get a variety of produce. 

We use a lot of produce each week and we are fortunate enough to receive produce donations from Pruetts Signal Mountain Market. The quality we receive is excellent and it allows us to give our animals the balanced and varied diet they need and deserve.

HUGE thanks to Pruetts! 

Check them out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pruettssignalmountainmarket

A Web-tastic Fall

Have you noticed a large increase in spiders this summer? 

We certainly have at the nature center. While we are accustomed to running into spider webs while we are working with the animals, we have most definitely noticed lots more webs than years past. Here’s a link to an article explaining why I’m not the only one noticing this!

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/09/is_it_the_year_of_the_spider_b.html#incart_m-rpt-2