Nirvana Ridge Wildlife Refuge

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Nirvana Ridge Wildlife Refuge The Nirvana Ridge Wildlife Refuge is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing for orphaned, sick, and injured wildlife.

Our mission is to nurture and prepare these animals for release back into their native habitat. * We actively work with the state/local wildlife centers to include the Wildlife Center of Virginia, Blue Ridge Wildlife Center, and Rockfish Wildlife Center.
* We also network and coordinate with wildlife organizations with similar missions/objectives.
* We maintain and foster relationships with the wildlife veterinarians who are invaluable resources for caring for our wildlife patients.
* We work with the local county ACO's (Animal Control Officers), humane societies, and Wildlife nuisance companies, facilitating wildlife conflict resolution.
* We provide education and guidance to the public in support to numerous wildlife concerns, promoting effective wildlife coexistence solutions. Each year Nirvana Ridge Wildlife Refuge accepts over 250 injured and/or orphaned wildlife patients. The care and nurturing provided enables successful release of these animals back into their natural wild habitat.

UPDATE: This is a raccoon that was brought to us from the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA). She had been resc...
10/14/2026

UPDATE: This is a raccoon that was brought to us from the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA).

She had been rescued by one of the Animal Control Officers, trapped inside a dumpster. It is estimated that she had been trapped for at least a week. When found, she was very dehydrated and thin. She required sub-Q fluids twice daily. Over the past 2-3 weeks she has shown remarkable improvement. She has gained weight and is now eating on her own. Yay! 🦝

10/14/2026

CAPTURED, TREATED & RELEASED!

One less mangy fox in Reston. 🦊

10/10/2026

UPDATE: One of our nightly regulars. This is likely one of our recent releases that came to us from Hearts of the Wild Wildlife Rehab.

This is typical behavior for this year's babies who are still trying to find their way in The Great Outdoors. Raccoons reach sexual maturity and start to breed at about one year of age. Come Nov/Dec
timeframe, we will no longer see this animal hanging around.

In the meantime, he is enjoying a platter of fresh melons, mango, kiwi, plum, banana, avocado and grapes.

UPDATE: Our raccoon with the laundry detergent (or coffee creamer lid - ?) that was stuck on his arm is being treated a...
10/10/2026

UPDATE: Our raccoon with the laundry detergent (or coffee creamer lid - ?) that was stuck on his arm is being treated at the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center. They have shared details here on the animal's condition, treatment and prognosis. We are hoping and praying for a full recovery. 🦝❤️🙏

UPDATE: The adult male raccoon that was posted yesterday with the plastic trash ring attached to its arm is currently o...
10/08/2026

UPDATE: The adult male raccoon that was posted yesterday with the plastic trash ring attached to its arm is currently on his way to the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center (BRWC) in Boyce VA for further treatment. 🦝

We did everything we could without sedation, including removing the plastic trash piece from his arm. [If you think this was easy, try wrangling a 20 lb wild adult male raccoon who is in excruciating pain whose sole objective is to rip your face off.].

He will likely require x-rays and soft tissue evaluations to understand the extent of the injury. Over to the experts at BRWC. 🙏

UPDATE: This is the plastic ring that Hearts of the Wild Wildlife Rehab and we removed from the adult raccoon's arm. Th...
10/08/2026

UPDATE: This is the plastic ring that Hearts of the Wild Wildlife Rehab and we removed from the adult raccoon's arm.

The plastic appears to be the top of a laundry soap container. One cut through the plastic would not free the arm. The plastic was so rigid that two cuts were necessary.

The diameter of the narrow portion of the plastic was 1". The raccoon's arm was 3". Hence, the plastic restriction was preventing blood flow to the lower arm and hand, threatening loss of limb.

I feel the need to rant, so bear with me ...

Please, please, PLEASE! Consider using laundry detergent sheets instead of laundry soap in the plastic containers. They are no more expensive and just as effective in cleaning laundry. The laundry jugs contain up to 90% water. 💦. Why would anyone lug these heavy products from the grocery store into our homes when there is a much more convenient, more economical and Earth friendly solution-???

The plastic containers are killing our ocean and land wildlife alike.

I'm done now.

10/08/2026

WHY-?!?? 😫
Do you ever wonder why animal emergencies seem to always happen in the evenings, or during weekends and holidays? ALWAYS! Where's a vet when you need one?

We just had quite an experience. Got this video of an adult male raccoon with a plastic ring of sorts stuck around his arm. Look closely to observe that the arm is swollen 3x-4x the size of the other one.

With no veterinary services available and not even the 24-hour emergency animal hospitals would consider taking a wildlife patient, and certainly not a rabies vector species such as a raccoon. These situations fall to the wildlife rehabbers to do the best that we can in life-threatening situations. But, we are not equipped with the necessary sedation drugs and other medications to properly treat the animal.

Thanks to Crystal at Hearts of the Wild Wildlife Rehab, together we were able to wrangle this 20 lb giant, who was in severe pain, to use metal shears to cut the plastic from around the raccoon's arm.

The arm is a bloody mess, with cuts possibly to the bone. At least now, the extremities have blood flow. We hope that the arm can be saved. We will be seeking Veterinary Care in the morning and hope that the doc has some good news for us. 🦝❤️🙏

10/07/2026

TREAT & RELEASE!
With one-and-done medication, it offers the lowest stress to the animal. Trapping is indeed necessary to ensure that the targeted animal gets the medication and not another animal. Medication is toxic to some wildlife. It would be irresponsible to simply put medicine out for any animal to come along to consume it. We don't want to sacrifice one animal for another.

The medication works very quickly. Within 24 hours, the animal stops itching and scratching. It kills all the existing mange mites on the body currently. It goes on to kill the mites that hatch within the 30-day life cycle of the sarcoptic mange mite. It then goes on to protect for a total of 3 months. It's the best medicine currently available.

One more healthy fox! 🦊

ANOTHER FOX CAPTURED!!! 🦊This one in Manassas. This mange is an epidemic and it's keeping us extremely busy. This is th...
10/07/2026

ANOTHER FOX CAPTURED!!! 🦊
This one in Manassas.

This mange is an epidemic and it's keeping us extremely busy. This is the time of year when most wildlife rehabilitators are starting to wind down and get some reprieve from the hectic spring season. Not so, when dealing with mangy foxes. There are no breaks. This need is year-round and we need more fox rehabilitators.

10/07/2026

Meanwhile, back at the farm, our recently released friends are enjoying their dinner together. 🦝🦊

This particular fox returns in the evening to sleep in the pen, door propped open, even though he had earned his freedom a few weeks ago. Some require a little more time to adjust to living in the wild. Eventually, they all find their way.

Address

19524 Swamp Poodle Lane
Brandy Station, VA
22714

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