Saving Wild Lives with Specialized Nutritional Care & Diets
This Giving Tuesday, we invite you to consider a vital aspect of wildlife rehabilitation: nutrition.
Proper diets are critical to the healing journey of every animal we care for. Feeding hundreds of animals every day really adds up and SBWCN spends almost $125,000 to feed thousands of patients in our care annually. Many, such as bobcats, foxes, raccoons, skunks, pelicans, and cormorants, require high-protein diets. Songbirds, too, often need high-protein insect diets to thrive.
Your generosity helps us provide species-appropriate diets that are critical for the survival and well-being of our patients. These diets are carefully prepared and administered by trained staff and volunteers every day of the year. In 2024, we have received almost 4,000 patients—a 10% increase from last year—and the year isn't over yet! This Giving Tuesday, we hope to make a profound difference in the lives of these animals and continue supporting one of the most vital aspects of their care.
Your support nourishes the animals that rely on us for rehabilitation and release back into the wild.
Your support literally nourishes the animals that rely on us for rehabilitation and release back to the wild.
FORMULA
The majority of wild mammals in rehabilitation at our hospital are juveniles, and are still dependent on their mothers for food. Thus, formulas are essential to their health, growth, and long-term survival.
Average Cost Per Year: $5,000
FRUITS & VEGETABLES
Fruits and vegetables are a nutritious part of a healthy diet for wildlife patients because they contain many vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Almost every patient that comes into our care consumes some sort of fruit or vegetable.
Average Cost Per Year: $13,000
INSECTS
68% of our patients are birds, and the majority of them consume insects. There are also many mammals and reptiles that eat insects. Insects are highly nutritious and contain proteins, fatty acids, and chitin that our patients need to survive.
Average Cost Per Year: $15,000
FISH
Given that we live in a coastal community, we receive many seabird patients. In fact, 20% of our patients this year to date were seabirds. These patients require a steady pescatarian diet. Fish is a vital source of nutrition for wildlife rehabilitation because it's high in protein and contains essential vitamins and fatty acids.
Average Cost Per Year: $17,000
RODENTS
Rodents are a common food source for a wide variety of predators, including raptors like owls and hawks, reptiles like snakes, frogs, and lizards, cats, raptors, and mammals like foxes, weasels, bobcats, mountain lions, and skunks. It is an incredibly important part of the food chain, and one of the biggest nutritional needs for our patients!
Average Cost Per Year: $75,000
Your support empowers SBWCN to provide specialized animal care and nutritional support to over 4,000 patients a year!
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