Carolina Wildlife Sanctuary

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Carolina Wildlife Sanctuary Licensed 501(c)(3) wildlife rehab. Volunteer-run. Serving Cabarrus County and the Charlotte region. Call or text (980) 228-9686 · 9am–5pm.

Injured, ill, or orphaned native wildlife, songbirds to reptiles. https://linktr.ee/CarolinaWildlifeSanctuary

Lucy, caught mid-yawn. Very relatable for a Wednesday.These are some of our eastern box turtle patients, and ambassadors...
10/21/2026

Lucy, caught mid-yawn. Very relatable for a Wednesday.

These are some of our eastern box turtle patients, and ambassadors resting up in our turtle center.

A few things to notice while you swipe:
Check the eyes. Male eastern box turtles usually have red or orange eyes, and females usually have brown or yellowish eyes. It’s not a perfect rule, but it’s a good first clue.

The “box” is literal. A hinge across the bottom shell lets a box turtle pull in and seal itself up, front and back.

As the weather cools, wild box turtles bury into soil or leaf litter and go dormant until it warms up again.

Leave a corner of your yard leafy. It’s winter shelter. Check leaf piles before you mulch, mow, or burn them.

Those fake webs catch more than fake spiders.Halloween decorating lands right in the middle of fall migration through Ca...
10/20/2026

Those fake webs catch more than fake spiders.

Halloween decorating lands right in the middle of fall migration through Cabarrus County, while squirrels are busy building winter nests. Fake webbing doesn’t break the way real webs do, so a songbird, bat, or squirrel that runs into it can get stuck. Squirrels sometimes carry it back to their nests, too.

You can keep it spooky. A few small swaps make a big difference:
Keep fake webs indoors.
Put window clings on the outside of the glass, about 2 inches apart. They break up the reflection of trees and sky that birds try to fly into.
Turn porch lights off at dusk, or by 11 p.m. Birds migrating at night are drawn toward light.
When you’re done with your pumpkins, compost or donate them. Plain or painted, pumpkins left out bring wildlife closer to pets and cars.

If you find an animal tangled, please don’t pull or cut near its body. Even after it’s free, tight strands can cut off blood flow. Text us at 980-228-9686 and we’ll help. If it’s a bat, don’t touch it. Call the NC Wildlife Helpline at 866-318-2401 on weekdays, or your county animal control on nights and weekends.

Know someone decorating this week? Send this their way.

Follow along for more from our fall migration series. Linktree in bio.

Meet our newest Wonders of Wildlife Festival 2026 vendor: Possum Creations by Waylon! 🦡Handmade clay opossums and hand-d...
10/19/2026

Meet our newest Wonders of Wildlife Festival 2026 vendor: Possum Creations by Waylon! 🦡

Handmade clay opossums and hand-drawn opossum greeting cards, made to spread the good word about North America’s only marsupial and raise money for opossums. A perfect fit for National Opossum Day, and for WOW.

Come say hi Saturday, November 14, 11am to 4pm, at Cabarrus Brewing Company in Concord. Admission is free!

10/16/2026

Back in the water.

This snapping turtle was found in the middle of a road in Steele Creek. The finders suspected a broken leg and thankfully a full exam showed only a scratch.

It may have been displaced when a nearby retention pond was removed. After an evaluation in care, it was released at a lake nearby, close enough to reach familiar ground.

Snapping turtles spend their lives in a fairly fixed home range. They know where to feed, nest, and spend the winter. Moved too far, a turtle may never find its way back.

Follow along for more releases. Everything else, Linktree in bio.

10/16/2026

This male mallard came to us with a bite wound on his webbed foot, most likely from a dog or another predator. He stayed with us until it healed. Monday, he went home.

Ducks depend on their feet to swim, steer, walk and land. An injured foot can keep a duck from feeding or getting away from danger.

What helps:
Leash your dog near ponds, creeks and greenways.

Send this to someone who walks their dog by the water. 

Follow for more releases. Everything else is on our Linktree in bio.

Before you bag the leaves this weekend, think about who’s under them.Eastern box turtles spend the winter dug into the s...
10/15/2026

Before you bag the leaves this weekend, think about who’s under them.

Eastern box turtles spend the winter dug into the soil under the leaf litter, often only a few inches down. They share it with bumble bee queens, woolly bear caterpillars, and luna moth and swallowtail cocoons that look just like dead leaves.

Most of the “leave the leaves” advice stops at pollinators. We see the other side of it. Box turtles come to rehabbers every year after run-ins with mowers and yard equipment.

You don’t have to let the whole yard go. Rake leaves off the lawn and into your beds, around tree trunks, or along the fence line. A couple of inches is plenty. Skip shredding them with the mower. Save the big cleanup for spring, once it’s warmed up.

Share this before your neighborhood’s fall cleanup weekend.

’Twas the night before Wishlist Wednesday, and all through the farm, not a creature was stirring… except for the squirre...
10/13/2026

’Twas the night before Wishlist Wednesday, and all through the farm, not a creature was stirring… except for the squirrels.

This is the time of year squirrels get serious about storing food and building nests, and ours are no exception. A dozen-plus are in our care right now, busy and hungry and cracking shells as fast as we can hand them out.

Here’s the catch: a squirrel who spends fall in rehab misses the window to build a winter cache. So for some of ours, care doesn’t stop at release. We keep feeding them after they go, and in-shell nuts are a big part of that. (Thanks to our intern Ryley for catching some of our released squirrels on camera!)

Cracking shells is good practice, too. It keeps their always-growing teeth in check and builds the foraging skills they’ll need on their own.

That’s this week’s wish: in-shell mixed nuts. Every bag goes straight to our squirrels, before release and after. Our wishlist is freshly updated, with priorities and quantities set, so you can see exactly what we need most.

So fill up a cart before Wednesday’s first light. Mixed nuts for the squirrels, and to all a good night. 🌙

Your apple core could cost an owl its life.Food tossed from car windows draws small mammals to the roadside. Roadkill dr...
10/13/2026

Your apple core could cost an owl its life.

Food tossed from car windows draws small mammals to the roadside. Roadkill draws scavengers. Owls follow both, fly low across the road, and get hit. Barred owls end up here more than most, and young owls in their first fall on their own are the most at risk.

That’s where Lexi was found. On the side of a road with fractured bones, living on roadkill because she couldn’t fly or hunt. The injury left her unable to be released, and she stayed with us as an education ambassador.

The fix is small. Keep food scraps scraps in the car until you reach a trash can. Biodegradable doesn’t mean harmless on a roadside.

📷 Photos by our intern Ryley, who spends her free time passionately photographing wildlife.

Rain from Isaias has migrating songbirds grounded tonight, resting in our trees and yards. When it clears Monday, expect...
10/11/2026

Rain from Isaias has migrating songbirds grounded tonight, resting in our trees and yards. When it clears Monday, expect a big push south.

Today is World Migratory Bird Day, and this year’s theme is Every Bird Counts. With one week left in our peak migration window, magnolia warblers are passing through while white-throated sparrows, yellow-rumped warblers, and hermit thrushes move in for the winter.

It’s also eBird’s October Big Day. Count with us Monday: pick any spot, count every bird you see or hear, and log it in the free eBird app.

How to help:
Lights out 11pm to 6am, especially Monday night.

Window decals 2 inches apart, outside the glass.

Plant native. Leave berries and seed heads standing.

Keep cats inside.

Found a stunned bird? Ventilated box, quiet and dark, no food or water. Text us at 980-228-9686.

Follow for more from our fall migration series. Linktree in bio.

10/09/2026

This eastern box turtle came into care with a fractured shell. After treatment and healing, Lancaster went home last week. The name is how we kept track of this turtle and where it came from.

That last part matters. A box turtle can spend its whole life within a few acres, and it knows that patch well. Moved somewhere new, it will often keep wandering, trying to get back. Going home means going back to the same spot.

This time of year, box turtles are settling in for winter, digging down into leaf litter and loose soil.

What helps:
Leave some leaf litter in place this fall, and check leaf piles before you mow, blow, or mulch them.
Crossing a road? If it’s safe, carry the turtle across in the direction it was already headed. Never relocate it.
Cracked or bleeding shell? Keep it in a ventilated box, quiet and dry, and call a wildlife rehabber.

Follow along for more releases. Everything else, Linktree in bio.

Address

Concord, NC
28025

Telephone

+19802289686

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