Dane County Humane Society's Wildlife Center

Dane County Humane Society's Wildlife Center DCHS’s Wildlife Center provides rehabilitation services to injured, ill, and orphaned wildlife.

Humans have a big impact on the natural world, especially on the wild creatures that share it with us. Since our wildlife center was founded in 2002, we have constantly strived to expand, adapt, and hone our skills and resources to provide the best care possible for the wildlife patients that come through our doors. We rely on a small dedicated staff, many passionate volunteers, and the invaluable

generosity of donors in order to make a difference one paw, wing, tail, or scale at a time. We are Dane County Humane Society’s Wildlife Center, and we couldn’t do what we do without you! Please consider supporting our work by donating at www.giveshelter.org/donatewildlife. You may also offer support by donating items from our wish lists: https://www.giveshelter.org/how-to-help/wish-list or from Amazon - https://a.co/dv8XThb.

Because of the potential for severe weather, the Wildlife Center, Dane County Humane Society's Main Shelter, and Dane Co...
06/11/2026

Because of the potential for severe weather, the Wildlife Center, Dane County Humane Society's Main Shelter, and Dane County Humane Society Thrift Store are closing at 2:00 pm today (June 11). Please stay safe.

If you find a wild animal in need of assistance, please contact the Wildlife Center at (608) 287-3235 and leave a message. Learn more about how to help a wild animal in need by visiting www.giveshelter.org/wildlife

🌿 Meet the Patient Monday! 🌿This week's patient has been with us since December of 2025. This bird is actually our last ...
06/08/2026

🌿 Meet the Patient Monday! 🌿

This week's patient has been with us since December of 2025. This bird is actually our last remaining patient from 2025, all the others remaining from last year have been released!

This juvenile Red-tailed Hawk’s story starts when they flew through a methane burner at a landfill, and sustained significant feather damage. That single day began their long recovery journey.

Red-tailed Hawks (like the majority of flying birds) have primary and secondary feathers on their wings. These feathers allow for flight, and without them a bird is grounded. Most of this hawk’s primary and secondary feathers were burned down to the rachis—the central shaft or “backbone” of the feather—making them unable to fly. Their tail feathers were also burned, and their body feathers were singed.

Soon after they were admitted, we “imped” a set of new feathers on this bird. This means we implanted a set of donor feathers to replace their burned ones, allowing this bird to fly while in care. This is to help reduce stress and any complications from long-term flightlessness.

We are unable to release this bird even with their imped feathers for a few reasons. First, because it is possible the imped feathers could fail prematurely. Additionally the material used to attach the imped feathers adds weight to the wings and tail, which may impact the bird’s ability to maneuver or hunt. Either of these issues could impact the bird’s ability to survive, so it is best to keep them in rehabilitation until the majority of their new flight feathers have come in.

After their first 6 months in our care, the Red-tailed Hawk is molting in a few new feathers and is very active in their outdoor flight pen! Once enough feathers have molted—which will be months in the future—we will be able to prepare for this Red-tailed Hawk’s release!

Fast Feather Facts:
🪶Red-tailed Hawks have 10 primary flight feathers and 14-16 secondary flight feathers on each wing.
🪶 Birds molt only a few primaries or secondaries at a time, so they can maintain flight.
🪶 Red-tailed Hawks have an incomplete annual molt, which means they replace many, but not all of their flight feathers in a single year.

Wild Greens Needed! 🌱☘️We have had an increase in rabbits and ducklings in our care, and could use donations of wild lea...
06/05/2026

Wild Greens Needed! 🌱☘️

We have had an increase in rabbits and ducklings in our care, and could use donations of wild leafy greens! The three leaves we accept are dandelion, plantain, and clover. These plants must be herbicide/pesticide free.

Any amount is appreciated! Thank you for caring for Wisconsin Wildlife!

This week the Wildlife Center released 1 Canada Goose, 1 Western Painted Turtle, 1 Veery, 2 American Robins, 1 Gray-chee...
06/04/2026

This week the Wildlife Center released 1 Canada Goose, 1 Western Painted Turtle, 1 Veery, 2 American Robins, 1 Gray-cheeked Thrush, 1 Baltimore Oriole, 1 Eastern Cottontail, 1 White-throated Sparrow, 1 Turkey Vulture, 1 Common Map Turtle, 1 Virginia Opossum, and 1 Broad-winged Hawk.

This week the Wildlife Center released a variety of beautiful adult songbirds that had dangerous interactions with common perils for wildlife—windows and cars. See the link in the comments for DCHS resources on how to prevent window strikes in your own home.

This week's Turkey Vulture was covered earlier this month in a Meet the Patient Monday. It was released at a Dane County park on May 28th.

This week's Broad-winged Hawk is a fledgling that was found with an injured leg in Iowa County in July of 2025. This bird's treatment was very involved and had to include "overwintering," which we have covered recently in reference to reptiles and amphibians but also applies when migratory birds miss their window to fly south. After this extended stay, this patient is surely glad to be back in the wild and we are wishing it many days of soaring through the sky and enjoying the sun!

A couple weeks ago we got 72 animals in one weekend (!) and almost all of those animals did not have an appointment. If ...
06/03/2026

A couple weeks ago we got 72 animals in one weekend (!) and almost all of those animals did not have an appointment. If you find a wild animal in need and do not know what to do, please follow our checklist below! ✅

First, give us a call at (608) 287-3235 and then leave a detailed voicemail.

We will call or text you back advice, a referral, or an admission appointment.

We understand how stressful it can be when you find a wild animal in need and are unsure of how to help, but it helps us immensely to have people call first before coming to the Wildlife Center. That way we can receive and give all the necessary information, and space out our admissions.

We will do our best to get back to you in a timely manner to help in any way we can.

Thank you for caring for Wisconsin Wildlife! 🐾

🌿 Meet the Patient Monday! 🌿This week’s patient is one we don’t see often: a Yellow-throated Vireo!This songbird came to...
06/01/2026

🌿 Meet the Patient Monday! 🌿

This week’s patient is one we don’t see often: a Yellow-throated Vireo!

This songbird came to us after being found on the side of the road with labored breathing.

Our team determined that the Yellow-throated Vireo had subcutaneous emphysema. This means that air leaked out of the bird's lung and/or air sacs (birds have both) and got stuck just under the skin. In this case, the bubble of air was located on the Yellow-throated Vireo’s chest, but thankfully it was a fairly minor case of emphysema.

Since its injuries were mild, we were able to release the Yellow-throated Vireo a little over a week after intake!

The Yellow-throated Vireo is a unique species at our wildlife center because they are area-sensitive. Yellow-throated Vireos need a lot of woodland area to properly breed, which makes them uncommon in urbanized areas.

Yellow-Throated Vireo Facts:
🐤 Both female and male Yellow-throated Vireos incubate the eggs
🐤 Yellow-throated Vireo pairs stay together for the breeding and incubation period, but separate once the chicks leave the nest
🐤 In the winter, Yellow-throated Vireos migrate to Central and South America for warmer weather

For more information on Yellow-throated Vireos, go check out Cornell’s All About Birds!

-throatedVireo

This week, the Wildlife Center had 35 releases! Including 3 American Robins, a Canada Goose, a Clay-colored Sparrow, a C...
05/29/2026

This week, the Wildlife Center had 35 releases! Including 3 American Robins, a Canada Goose, a Clay-colored Sparrow, a Common Grackle, 8 Dekay's Brownsnakes, an Eastern Chipmunk, 11 Eastern Cottontails, a Gray Catbird, 4 Mourning Doves, an Ovenbird, a Tennessee Warbler, a Virginia Opossum, and a Yellow-throated Vireo.

Spring is picking up, and the Wildlife Center is getting busier—this is the highest weekly release count so far this year!

This week, we released a small and diverse collection of songbirds that had struck windows or vehicles, along with an entire clutch of very small, very charming young DeKay's Brownsnakes!

Around 30% of the world's snake species are ovoviviparous, which means that mom never lays her eggs—they "hatch" inside her and the babies are born in a way similar to us humans! DeKay's Brownsnakes fall into this special category, which means these babies were born at DCHS and were immediately free to wiggle around their surroundings. Their mother was actually the Wildlife Center's first intake of the year (on 01/01), and was released in mid-April—her 8 offspring were released at the same spot as her earlier this week.

05/27/2026

Are you team🐞Wild Wisconsin🐞
or 🌱 Into the Wild 🌱

Camp WildSide Summer Registration is OPEN and there are a few spots left!

Camp sessions are from June to August, and every week we switch between our themes, Wild Wisconsin and Into the Wild!

Register now to join Wild Wisconsin or Into the Wild (or maybe even both!) 🐾

🌿 Meet the Patient Monday! 🌿This week, we highlight the Midwest Kangaroo, the Virginia Opossum!Our Opossum patient was b...
05/25/2026

🌿 Meet the Patient Monday! 🌿

This week, we highlight the Midwest Kangaroo, the Virginia Opossum!

Our Opossum patient was brought to us in early April after she was found on the side of the road, hit by a car. She did not come alone, though; she was carrying joeys in her pouch!

She came to us with several health problems, including frostbite on her tail, upper respiratory congestion, a fractured left cheekbone, and being very thin.

She was immediately started on fluids, anti-inflammatory medications, and received an x-ray. Unfortunately, 2 of her joeys passed in the first week of care, but she and her 4 remaining babies are in recovery! The 4 joeys have slowly started coming out of mom opossum's pouch and have wasted no time crawling onto her back!

More recently, we had an orphaned infant opossum that was just the right size to be introduced to her young, and this mother opossum accepted the new baby into her family. We typically do not care for infant mammals, but the opportunity to place this young opossum with a foster mom was simply too perfect to pass up.

Opossum breeding takes place from late winter to early fall, which means we are right in the middle of their baby season. Female opossums that are found on the side of the road may have joeys in their pouches, but if you decide to check for joeys, be cautious and only do so if it is a safe situation.

If you find an infant opossum, make sure to reach out to your local wildlife rehabilitator. A great website to find a local rehabilitator that takes infant mammals is ahnow.org or the wildlife rehabilitator directory that can be found on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website.

DCHS's Wildlife Center will be open regular hours today (5/25), but admission is by appointment only. If you find a wild...
05/25/2026

DCHS's Wildlife Center will be open regular hours today (5/25), but admission is by appointment only. If you find a wild animal in need of assistance, please contact the Wildlife Center at (608) 287-3235.

We also have helpful information at www.giveshelter.org/wildlife on what to do if you find a sick, injured, or orphaned wild animal.

Dane County Humane Society's Main Shelter and both Dane County Humane Society Thrift Store locations are closed today for Memorial Day.

Address

5132 Voges Road
Madison, WI
53718

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+16082873235

Website

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