Nikko's Mother selected a school yard for her den. Although school was not in session, it was not a good place for her to raise her two babies. Trappers were called in and the three were captured. They were brought to the Tucson Wildlife Center to prepare them for a release in a safe location.

Unfortunately, Nikko's Mother was so stressed by the trapping that she rejected her cubs.

Although he is bottled fed around the clock, Nikko's only hope is foster Mom Ruby.

Watch a short video to see Nikko's story.

Click here for the video. Adopt Ruby and help her raise her foster kittens.

 

How cute are bob kittens? You be the judge! Jack and Jill were found abandoned - cold, dehydrated, frail and extremely weak. Two littermates had already succumbed and Mom was nowhere to be found. We hoped it wasn't too late to save these tiny bob kittens. We warmed and treated them for hypothermia, dehydration, and low blood sugar. They were highly traumatized and fearful of their new situation. Initially they were too weak to suckle, so we fed them with a syringe.

In time they became stronger and were able to drink special formula from a bottle. We wore bobcat masks so that the kittens would not imprint on humans.

After one week, Jack and Jill were strong enough to join Ruby, our resident bobcat and surrogate mother. It's easy to see the love and devotion Ruby has for her adopted kittens.

They returned that love with abundance. Ruby raised them and taught them to stalk and hunt and move silently through the bushes. They were about eight months old and fully capable of taking care of themselves when they were successfully released back into the wild.

Click here to read Ruby's story.

Egor, an American Black Vulture, had a tragic beginning to life. Tethered to a pole in a medicinal shop in South Tucson, his talons were being cut off to use in potions.

Luckily, Egor is a very intelligent bird. He managed to escape his chains and flew onto the roof of a neighbor's store. The store owner called our Center and Egor was soon rescued and saved from further harm. It is unclear what the vulture was fed, but an x-ray showed a fractured leg and 14 stress fractures throughout his body. He had obviously not received the calcium he needed to build strong bones.

Egor was nursed back to health and was released. But, having spent his whole life around humans, Egor refused to leave the Center. He is now an educational animal and helps us educate people on the dangers to animals when they interfere with an animal's young life.

In the summer of 2003, the Aspen fire burned 85,000 acres in the Santa Catalina Mountains in Tucson Arizona. This devastating fire left many injured and displaced animals.

The Tucson Wildlife Center was the only rescue center allowed on the mountain. We spent a month following the hotshot crews through the blackened and smoldering forests rescuing wildlife.

This is a picture of a baby coyote that could fit in the palm of your hand. Her paw was burned by the fire. During her recovery, a mature female coyote with two broken legs was also rescued. This surrogate mother was able to train the baby on how to survive. Both recovered and were released back into the wild.

"Bubba", a Great Horned owl, is one of the Tucson Wildlife Center's educational owls. He fell out of his nest when he was just a baby and broke his wing. His fracture healed very well and eventually Bubba was released back into the wild.

Two weeks after his release, Bubba returned to the Center on his own. He was hungry and had not been able to feed himself.

When he was healthy again and put in the flight cage, the director of the Center discovered that although Bubba was able to fly and maneuver through the air flawlessly, his wings were no longer silent. Because of scarring, a critical serrated feather would never regrow on his wing. Silent flying is necessary for Great Horned Owls to hunt successfully - but Bubba sounds like a freight train!

Today, Bubba lives happily at the Center with 2 other owls. He goes with us to presentations all over the Tucson area.