Lake Tahoe is home to a number of different species of wildlife, from the porcupines to bears, but when they get injured or orphaned, there is one place to turn to: Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, who is getting a massive expansion to help care for, rehabilitate, and release wildlife.
“We rescue, rehabilitate, and release wildlife. So if it's wild and it's in the Sierra Nevada and it's been either orphaned or injured, we'll bring them back to life and give them their chance back in the wildlife where they belong," said Bruce Richards, the capitol projects manager for Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care.
LTWC made a big move in 2019 to this 27 acre facility, coming from some very humble origins…
“This is the biggest change, we went from three quarters of an acre in a back yard, which worked for many many years,” said Denise Upton, the Animal Care Director for Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care.
“We [help] about 700 animals a year, they range from tiny bats, these cute little tiny bats, up to bears, we do pretty much all the species around," said Richards.
You may remember them helping out a little bear named Tamarack, who was named after the fire he was burned by. The group also helped out countless animals who were displaced or injured by the Caldor Fire... and to help even more, LTWC is about to get a major upgrade: a massive 5,000 square foot building to act as the operations center for, providing everything from a surgery center to a dormitory, allowing them to provide 24 hour care.
"A real upgrade for us in terms of the service we can provide to the wildlife in the area and the survivability and long term health of the wildlife we release,” said Richards. This six million dollar project has been a labor of love for Richards, as it was funded not by state or federal dollars, but by donations and volunteer man-hours from the public. “It's very rewarding work that we do, and important I think for maintaining wildlife.”
Even if they may not receive any "thank you" responses from patients, staff and volunteers say this is important work, as most of the animal they help have had a bad run in with humans.
“We've either injured them with our cars or we scared mom away and created orphans or we just did other dumb stuff, and so these animals deserve a chance in the wild."
The new animal hospital and caretaker residence will be open by next spring, and officials invite the public to come check it out when it's complete.
Lake Tahoe Wildlife care is also always looking for volunteers or donors, you can learn more by clicking here:
