Peace River Wildlife Center - PRWC

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Peace River Wildlife Center - PRWC Working to protect our native Florida wildlife through rehabilitation, education and conservation.
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Peace River Wildlife Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating southwest Florida's native wildlife. We admit injured and orphaned birds, mammals and reptiles and provide necessary medical treatment to aid recovery and re-release into their natural environment. Patients which are deemed non-releasable reside here at the center, where the public can learn about and see first-hand the wide variety of birds and mammals that co-inhabit our area.

Freedom Friday!This week’s release features one of our red morph Eastern Screech Owls heading back to the wild. (Patient...
10/23/2026

Freedom Friday!

This week’s release features one of our red morph Eastern Screech Owls heading back to the wild. (Patient 16-2455, released on 10/16/26)

In the first photo, the red morph is pictured with its cage mates. When we entered the enclosure to prepare this owl for release, they all immediately stretched themselves tall and narrow.

Fun fact: Eastern Screech Owls may stand tall, pull their feathers close to their bodies, and narrow their profile when they are trying not to be noticed. This helps them blend in with tree trunks and branches.

After completing rehabilitation, our red morph patient was ready to return home. The final photo shows this little owl back in the trees, putting that camouflage to good use.

Fly free, little one!

Moving Day!Lined up and ready for the next step. ❤️These Black-bellied Whistling Ducks are moving into a flight cage, wh...
10/22/2026

Moving Day!

Lined up and ready for the next step. ❤️

These Black-bellied Whistling Ducks are moving into a flight cage, where they’ll have more room to stretch their wings, build strength, and continue preparing for life back in the wild.

They’ve come a long way from their early days in care, and each move brings them a little closer to release.

🎶 THE ROOF! THE ROOF! THE ROOF IS... ON THE BUILDING! 🎶That's right! No fire here, just some seriously exciting construc...
10/21/2026

🎶 THE ROOF! THE ROOF! THE ROOF IS... ON THE BUILDING! 🎶

That's right! No fire here, just some seriously exciting construction progress!

The roof on our new Education Building is officially complete!

These photos capture the crew hard at work getting it into place, and we're excited to see another major milestone checked off the list.

With every step, our new Peace River Wildlife Center is looking a little more like the place we've been dreaming of.

And don't worry, just because the roof is raised doesn't mean we're done making some noise around here!

Some goodbyes are especially difficult.For more than 37 years, Lucy the Turkey Vulture was part of the Peace River Wildl...
10/18/2026

Some goodbyes are especially difficult.

For more than 37 years, Lucy the Turkey Vulture was part of the Peace River Wildlife Center family. She was a familiar face to generations of visitors, volunteers, and staff, and her loss is deeply felt by everyone who had the opportunity to know her.

Today, we share a special tribute written by our Lead Curator, who knew Lucy so well. Through these words, we hope you'll get a glimpse of the remarkable resident Lucy was and the many memories she leaves behind.

LUCY IN THE SKY WITH…MEMORIES

Our oldest resident, Lucy the Turkey Vulture has passed over the rainbow bridge. After being treated for arthritis and a luxating patella, it became too much to overcome so we chose to peacefully and humanely let her go.
She came in 1989 as an adult, so she was a minimal age of 37 years, though we truly do not know how old she was. She was the resident who had been here the longest.
This girl had s***k and personality! She made us laugh each day, chuffing words of encouragement (or correction) as we walked by. We all loved her larger-than-life personality, especially when it got close to feeding time. Then she would “talk” with her bark letting us know she was hangry and we weren’t serving her fast enough!
She loved all the enrichment we would give her. One time we gave her quail eggs to eat, just for something different. Well, she adopted them! She lay on them for a few days before deciding motherhood was not for her and eating them. Being here so long, she has seen a lot of changes and handled them all with grace and dignity. With several hurricane evacuations under her belt her feathers were never ruffled. Even when she was displaced after Hurricane Milton, she adjusted to life in a temporary habitat at our curator’s home, where she made friends with several other turkey vultures in the area who visited daily. They entertained us with their antics, full of mischief and perhaps feeling we needed a good laugh during that time. Lucy…..we miss you. But it was time; to love you enough to set you free.
Now, every day we will all continue to Live, Love, Laugh for Lucy.

10/17/2026

We're hanging out at St. Andrews South Golf Club for the Beyond Ourselves Chip in for Charity first annual golf tournament ❤️🦅⛳
Good luck to the golfers and thank you all for your support!

Join PRWC for some fall fun tomorrow, Saturday, October 17!We’ll be at the City of Punta Gorda’s Neighborhood Fall Festi...
10/16/2026

Join PRWC for some fall fun tomorrow, Saturday, October 17!

We’ll be at the City of Punta Gorda’s Neighborhood Fall Festival at Laishley Park from noon to 4 p.m. with Athena the Barn Owl and Tobie the Red-shouldered Hawk. Stop by and see us while enjoying trick-or-treating, costumes, games and more at this free community event!

Festival details:
https://puntagordachamber.com/event/3rd-annual-neighborhood-fall-festival/

We’re also celebrating National Opossum Day with a special presentation featuring Penelope on Monday, October 19 at noon! Join us at our Education Center, 3400 Ponce de Leon Parkway, to learn more about these often misunderstood animals.

Thank You Thursday! 💚🐿️WOW! In just 48 hours, you've helped us raise nearly $300 toward our $1,350 formula fundraiser!We...
10/16/2026

Thank You Thursday! 💚🐿️

WOW! In just 48 hours, you've helped us raise nearly $300 toward our $1,350 formula fundraiser!

We are so grateful to everyone who has donated, shared our fundraiser, and helped spread the word. Your generosity is helping us provide the specialized formula our Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital needs to care for some of its smallest patients.

We're off to a great start, but we still have a way to go! Every donation, big or small, helps us get closer to our goal.

Thank you for helping us give Florida's native wildlife a second chance!

10/14/2026

Small patients. Big formula bill.

Our Wildlife Rehab Hospital needs to place an order for specialized formula and nutritional supplements, and the total comes to $1,339.46 with shipping.

Can you help us fill the formula shelf?

Different species have different nutritional needs, so our staff needs several types of formula to care for young wildlife. This is one of the everyday expenses behind the care you help make possible.

We’re hoping to raise $1,350 to cover this order. A gift of $10, $25, $50, or any amount will help us get there.

Donation link in comments.

Thank you for helping us keep these essential supplies on hand for wildlife in need.

Gopher tortoises have been keeping our hospital team busy!So far this year, we’ve admitted 136 gopher tortoises, compare...
10/13/2026

Gopher tortoises have been keeping our hospital team busy!

So far this year, we’ve admitted 136 gopher tortoises, compared with 110 through the same date last year. That’s 26 more tortoises coming through our doors, and that’s just one species.

Last week, we had 16 gopher tortoises in care at the same time, which is a lot for us! We’re currently caring for 10, alongside the other native wildlife patients at our rehabilitation hospital.

Each patient needs care, space and supplies, whether they’re with us briefly or need a longer stay. These numbers offer a small glimpse into the work happening at our hospital every day.

Thank you for supporting our team and helping us care for Florida’s native wildlife.

10/10/2026

A little rain (okay, a LOT of rain!) isn't going to dampen our excitement! ☔🦅

Friday's visit to our new Education Center was definitely a soggy one! After a week of heavy rain, there was plenty of standing water and mud around the construction site. While the weather hasn't exactly been cooperative, there's still a whole lot of progress to celebrate!

Every week, we're seeing more of our new home take shape. From the buildings to the wildlife habitats, it's getting easier to picture what this incredible space will look like when it's complete.

Building something this special takes time, patience, and apparently a good pair of waterproof boots!

We're excited about how far we've come and can't wait to share what's next. Thank you for following along on this journey and helping us build a brighter future for Florida's native wildlife! 💚

Address

3400 Ponce De Leon Pkwy
Punta Gorda, FL
33950

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Saturday 8am - 5pm
Sunday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+19416373830

Website

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