SAN ANTONIO — If you come across an injured opossum, squirrel or an armadillo, would you know where to take it?
That's what happened to KENS 5 Anchor Sarah Forgany when an injured bird landed in her backyard and she didn't know where to go to save it. She did some research and took the bird to the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation's San Antonio office. There she learned that the facility rescues and rehabs all sorts of wildlife, even some you might not expect.
All thanks to a local woman, Lynn Cuny. She single handedly started this mission 45 years ago out of the backyard of her home and it eventually blossomed into the giant sanctuary it is today. The non-profit relies on volunteers and donations to stay running.
Sarah Forgany traveled to the main sanctuary out in Kendalia to see how they care for the wounded wildlife and how you can help keep them stay in business.
Tucked away at the foot of the hills in Kendalia, there is a haven for once hopeless animals looking for refuge from the outside world.
The sanctuary is massive housing monkeys, bears, skunks, ringtail cats, pigs, donkeys, and many more. They live on the 212 acre Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation sanctuary.
Some animals arrive from the streets or homes, others from the circus or even labs. “Many of the primates that we received come from laboratory testing," said James Martinez is Director of Development." He said they receive an estimated 10,000 animals a year from all across the U.S.
They even host a mountain lion that someone had declawed before it arrived at the sanctuary. It’s been there 15 years living on an entire acre all to himself.
The place is a permanent home for non-native creatures, but it’s more for those native to Texas where they come to be rescued, rehabbed and released back into the wild, to the closest location to their natural environment.
"I always loved animals just like everyone else that you'll talk to here," Rehab Director Emily Grizzell oversees the entire operation’s extensive rehab program.
She has been part of the team for five years.
“It’s a whole world of wildlife” she said, “Just immediately fell in love with it."
You can tell Grizzell is passionate about her job, “This is where they learn how to squirrel," she said with a smile while referring to an outdoor enclosure that houses squirrels. It's the group that has moved on from the treatment phase to getting re-acquainted with the outside world. The open-air enclosure allows them to spend time outdoors, in a safe zone, to prepare them for their final journey back into the wild.
"Seeing them back into the wild, makes it all worth it," Grizzell told us as she checked on a few squirrels nearing release.
Grizzell said once the animals show signs they ready for the world again, volunteers will pick them up from the Kendalia sanctuary and return them to San Antonio, to the closest location where they were found.
They also collaborate with ACS. Grizzell said the sanctuary will take any wildlife that anyone brings. Many times, they’ll even send help. “If someone's unable to bring us an animal or needs help capturing them, we can send out a rescue volunteer.”
The Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation has a huge network of more than 400 volunteers and staff that help with everything from picking up the animals, feeding them, and giving them medical care. “This place is really the difference between life and death for a lot of the animals,” Grizzell said, "We're giving them a second chance."
That fighting chance starts inside the hospital located on the property. The majority of the wounded wildlife comes from the San Antonio office at 166 Babcock, where most people drop off their wounded wildlife.
“There's just a lot more wildlife conflict in San Antonio. Animals are getting hit by cars or displaced by construction or caught by dogs and cats.“
Ever morning, volunteer rescuers pick up a new batch of animals from San Antonio then drop them off in Kendalia where the main sanctuary is located.
Most animals arrive either ill, injured or orphaned.
A possum was brought in while we were there. He’s one of 200 patients currently admitted to the hospital. They even have a fox and a coyote with mange. The animals are kept in separate rooms, away from stressful environments until they’re fully healed.
Parker Menchaca is one of the volunteers who started off as a customer. “One day we found a rooster that was caught by a dog," said Menchaca. "We brought him in. He was bleeding."
After dropping off the rooster, Menchaca said he picked up a volunteer brochure and he was hooked. It’s been a few years now and he's made the sanctuary a full-time job. One of his duties is transporting food and supplies.
Like Parker, Grizzell says volunteers and staff undergo training. Eventually trained caretakers can deworm, give medicine, physical therapy, and conduct radiographs while the Vet staff performs surgeries.
One of the rooms was fully equipped with X-ray machines where a vulture laid on a table as technicians took X-rays of the bird. Veterinarians perform anywhere from three to four surgeries per week.
“So it's usually like pinning fractures of bones,” Grizzell said while pointing to a baby squirrel in a room filled with 100 other squirrels in what she called the squirrel room.
"This patient has head trauma. That's why he has a head tilt. He's the 7,974th patient that we've gotten in this year.”
Caretakers spend many long hours tending to these delicate creatures and it's not unusual to form a bond one of the volunteers said. “Some of them are kind of spunky. Some of them will come to the door."
Among the many responsibilities at the sanctuary and hospital, volunteers help with feeding the animals.
Grizzell told us they encourage the public not to keep animals at home and not to feed them because more often than not, the information on the internet is incorrect.
"We are certified rehabbers," Grizzell added, "We do have a formula that's specifically formulated for eastern fox squirrels, a formula for raccoons and different formula for possums."
An array of diets is prepared in a large kitchen inside the hospital.
Volunteers spend part of the day preparing meals for a vast amount of species that's receiving medical care at the facility.
"Predator and prey, herbivores, omnivores, carnivores," Grizzell said. "From fruits and veggies to mice and chicks and red meat."
Saving an animal is an incredible collaboration involving long days and even nights and none of it would be possible without the passionate volunteers and strangers who join together to rescue the wildlife. It's what makes this place so special. “It's magical out here," Grizzell said.
But not even a magic spell could protect all this wildlife from Mother Nature herself.
The drought has clearly taken a toll on the facility. It was evident as we drove around in a golf cart for a tour of the facility. Development Director James Martinez said for the first time ever this year they had to purchase water even though they have a well on-site. They also saw an increase in needy animals. He said more lethargic and unresponsive wildlife is coming to the sanctuary searching for food and water.
Then there is inflation making for the perfect storm. The high cost of groceries is producing new challenges. Martinez added donations have slowed down and some regular donors are cutting back.
“Our biggest challenge as an organization is that we have an aging donor base. We're constantly looking for new ways to try to incorporate a newer generation of people who care about animals just as much as the previous generation did.“
A generation like that of the Patricks and Emilys willing to sacrifice a lot to help save animals that otherwise would not survive and strangers walking the extra mile to rescue a wounded animal, or may be even dropping off a contribution.
They say H-E-B and Costco are huge contributors in donating food.
Monetary donations also help keep the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation running.
If you would like to donate, volunteer or contribute to their mission click on this link.
If you have an injured animal, you can drop it off at 166 Babcock Road or call them and they can send a volunteer to come pick it up. The number is (830) 336-2725. Leave a voicemail and they will call you back.