Dane County Humane Society's Wildlife Center

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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.

10/20/2026

Coming up THIS SUNDAY is our last Discovery Day for the fall season—don’t miss it!

We have a whole selection of activities that are available during the entire event, and a great line up of speakers for the day as well.

Buy your tickets here: https://buytickets.at/danecountyhumanesocietycampwildside

🌿 Meet the Patient Monday! 🌿This week’s patient is a 13-ish-pound reptilian bundle of joy: a Common Snapping Turtle!In J...
10/19/2026

🌿 Meet the Patient Monday! 🌿

This week’s patient is a 13-ish-pound reptilian bundle of joy: a Common Snapping Turtle!

In June, we admitted this turtle after she was hit by a car in Cross Plains. She had a facial and shell fracture, as well as many leeches on her.

After a little over a week in our care we tested her for lead toxicity because of her overall lethargy and reduced use of her hindlimbs, which was initially thought to be from trauma. Unfortunately, she did test positive for lead, which has made her journey to recovery much more complex.

She is currently receiving a medication called edetate calcium disodium (CaEDTA), which is a form of chelation therapy to remove lead from the bloodstream. She also now gets physical therapy in the water every few days, where we attach a floaty made out of pool noodles to her shell. Giving her some buoyancy reduces the strain on her muscles and encourages the use of those back legs! She is not the best at it yet—she prefers to use only her forelimbs to get around and not her hindlimbs, but we hope with time she will get used to it.

She will be staying with us for the winter and possibly longer depending on her progress. It takes a long period of time for lead to be chelated out of the body, and turtles also take a long time to heal from physical trauma. Wish her luck on her rehabilitation journey!

10/16/2026

This week the Wildlife Center released a Chipping Sparrow, a Brown Creeper, 4 Eastern Gray Squirrels, an Ovenbird, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, an American Beaver, 4 American Goldfinches, 12 Mallards, and a Red-tailed Hawk.

This week’s Red-tailed Hawk survived an encounter with a gas flare–the super hot fires that burn at the top of stacks of industrial plants, refineries, and landfills. In part because these fires often burn clear and are essentially invisible, they pose a huge threat to flying wildlife. Without rehabilitation, this bird would have been in extremely dire straits. All of its flight feathers, as well as many body feathers, were essentially destroyed. Staff made use of a technique called “imping” to splice donor feathers onto the damaged remnants. It was clear from the moment this bird arrived that it would be a long-term patient. After 10 months of care and regrowth, the hawk returned to the wild on Saturday!

In early October, we passed 3,000 admissions for the year! We had not reached 3,000 admissions until mid-November last y...
10/14/2026

In early October, we passed 3,000 admissions for the year! We had not reached 3,000 admissions until mid-November last year, so we are way ahead of our regular admission numbers.

We are so grateful for everyone who has supported our efforts and reached out to us about wildlife! We would not have been able to admit this many animals in need without all of you - the kind people in our communities who find and bring us wildlife needing help.

We have had several confirmed cases of Avian Influenza in the Dane County area. We are unsure which avian flu strain it ...
10/13/2026

We have had several confirmed cases of Avian Influenza in the Dane County area. We are unsure which avian flu strain it is at this time, but birds testing positive have shown symptoms suggesting they may have had Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). HPAI is a contagious viral disease that affects wild/domestic birds and mammals (including in rare cases, humans).

If you live in an area with lots of waterfowl:
- Watch for sick or dead birds in waterfowl populations—if you see five or more sick or dead animals, consider contacting your state wildlife agency to report. In Wisconsin, you can report concerns to the Wisconsin DNR Sick or Dead Wildlife Observation Reporting System.
- Disinfect (10% bleach solution) or change your shoes if you frequent areas with large waterfowl populations.
- Monitor your pets, and keep them away from wildlife—mammals that have tested positive for HPAI in past studies were suspected to contract the disease by eating affected animals.

If you're in Wisconsin and see waterfowl or birds in your area that appear injured or sick, contact your local wildlife rehabilitator.

Visit https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/wildlifehabitat/disease/Avianinfluenza for more information.

🌿 Meet the Patient Monday! 🌿In honor of October, we wanted to highlight a spooky-season staple… the Big Brown Bat!A few ...
10/12/2026

🌿 Meet the Patient Monday! 🌿

In honor of October, we wanted to highlight a spooky-season staple… the Big Brown Bat!

A few weeks ago, this bat arrived in a slimy state! He was accidentally sprayed with a polyurethane sealant while some homeowners were working to seal up the outside of their house.

The material coated his entire body and was thoroughly stuck in his hair. To remove the sealant, we have been sedating him for 30 minutes every few days and carefully taking it off piece by piece with warm baths, mascara brushes, and small tweezers.

We only put him under anesthesia for 30 minutes at a time to minimize his exposure to the isoflurane gas, and so he doesn’t lose too much body heat during the procedure. It has taken quite a bit of time, but we have removed the majority of the sealant from his skin and hair, and hope to get the remainder off today. A big thank you to our Certified Veterinary Technicians for all their hard work!

If we do get the remaining sealant off today and he has not lost too much hair in the process, then hopefully we can get him back in the wild before winter.

We have a Bobcat update!A few weeks ago, we shared our new furry patient for Meet the Patient Monday!Unfortunately, he t...
10/10/2026

We have a Bobcat update!

A few weeks ago, we shared our new furry patient for Meet the Patient Monday!

Unfortunately, he tested positive for ringworm, so it is going to be a few weeks before he can be transferred to a facility with other young Bobcats.

He is currently taking oral antifungal medication and twice weekly lime-sulfur baths (which he is not a fan of) to treat his ringworm. Right now, we can give him his baths without too much trouble, but as he gets bigger, we may have to start sedating him. He has an active and feisty personality that keeps everyone at the Wildlife Center on their toes!

Despite the handling challenge, it’s great news that he gets harder to handle as he grows. We want him to have his natural Bobcat instincts for when he goes back into the wild.

His favorite activity is playing with an enrichment box full of shredded newspaper, and at night (or after his lime-sulfur baths), he enjoys cuddling with a warming “snuggle disk” we provide!

This week the Wildlife Center released a Big Brown Bat, a Little Brown Bat, an Eastern Cottontail, a Swainson’s Thrush, ...
10/08/2026

This week the Wildlife Center released a Big Brown Bat, a Little Brown Bat, an Eastern Cottontail, a Swainson’s Thrush, a Common Yellowthroat, a Green Heron, 3 Cooper’s Hawks, a Western Painted Turtle, and 3 American Robins!

Two of this week’s Cooper’s Hawks arrived at the Wildlife Center in July as hatchlings. They had somehow fallen from the tree they called home and neither nest nor parents could be found. These rugged little cotton balls were quite new to the world and unfortunately had not been in the care of their parents for long. Well, at least not while they're conscious–it’s pretty dark inside an eggshell. Raising babies in rehabilitation is time and resource consuming but very rewarding. The Wildlife Center received the wonderful gift of watching them return to the wild earlier this week!

This week's Green Heron fractured part of the gnathotheca, (the lower part of the beak) and underwent a creative surgical repair to get back into shape. Wildlife orthopedics often involves thinking outside the box. There are no designers who specialize in every variety of bird beak in Wisconsin, let alone the whole animal kingdom. As the injury healed and new beak grew in, staff ensured that the two parts of the beak would sit together well enough to hunt and survive in the wild. This handsome young fellow returned to the wild on Monday in good form to migrate before winter arrives.

🌿 Meet the Patient Monday! 🌿We currently have eight Mourning Doves in our care, so we thought it was about time to highl...
10/05/2026

🌿 Meet the Patient Monday! 🌿

We currently have eight Mourning Doves in our care, so we thought it was about time to highlight one of them!

In mid-September, we admitted a juvenile Mourning Dove that was found with their feathers all puffed up and in a depressed state. We believe that this dove was attacked by another animal, as they were missing many feathers and had wounds on their back. They were also extremely thin and dehydrated—this bird was having a rough time.

In the last couple of weeks, they have almost doubled in weight and their wounds have healed. We now only need to patiently wait for their remaining feathers to grow back!

We recently moved them into an outdoor enclosure so that they could have more room to stretch their wings, and socialize with other doves in care. They are bright and active, and in no time at all should be ready to go!

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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