🚨 Tickets are NOW ON SALE for our Sanctuary Soirée! 🎉 Join us on November 14th for a fun evening in support of our lifesaving work for wildlife. ⁣🐢 ⁣ Early bird pricing is only available through October 14th, so grab your tickets today! 🐣 ⬇️ 🎟️ onecau.se/_catqa1

Taylor Swift looooves opossums 🧡❤️‍🔥 We’ll be tuning into @newheightsofficial.bsky.social later to hear all about North America’s favorite marsupial! 😍⁣

A generous donor sent us these playnets from our Amazon Wish List, and boy, do our raccoon patients love them! 🥹🦝 Send these pics to someone who needs an extra reason to smile today. ♥️⁣

Pride has 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 to do with conservation and helping wild animals! 🏳️‍🌈 Though Pride Month is drawing to a close, we celebrate all year long because we know that our earth and all of its inhabitants—humans and animals alike—are stronger when 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 is safe, protected, and heard. 💪⁣ ⁣

Us today: 🥵😭🤬😓🫠🍦⁣ ⁣ The good news is that you can help keep your wild neighbors cool this summer! 🧊 Providing shade and fresh water are safe, easy ways to support backyard wildlife as long as you follow some simple guidelines. ⬇️

Enrichment is a vital part of wildlife rehab. It’s what transforms an instinct into a skill. 🤓 For this fledgling Red-bellied Woodpecker patient, for example, we drilled holes in his enclosure logs and stuffed them with suet to encourage him to begin to forage independently. 💪♥️

He’s not angry, just disappointed. 😖 What do you this juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk is so grumpy about? 😆

How your email finds us this morning ⬇️🫠⁣ ⁣ Young groundhogs tend to be dramatic eaters! They’ll clean their bowl and then pass out surrounded by the scraps, showing off a full belly. Sounds like a great way to spend a morning, if you ask us. 💤⁣

Happy Father’s Day to all the songbird dads out there, feeding their babies every 30 minutes, all day long…and Happy Father’s Day to the human dads out there, probably doing about the same! 🤣♥️⁣

This Eastern Ratsnake arrived last Friday quite literally in knots! 😅 Read all about his rescue in our new blog post: 🐍 rockfishwildlifesanctuary.org/2025/06/12/e...

Cuteness alert! ‼️ Our skunk playpen cam footage is here to brighten your day. 🦨⁣ ⁣ We already have 𝟭𝟴 𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗸𝘂𝗻𝗸𝘀 in care at RWS this season! The majority of these kits have arrived after their mother was hit by a car, sadly. We’re happy to give them the second chance they deserve. ♥️

We kicked off our new weekly Community Conversation segment on NBC29 yesterday! 🎉🎥 Our executive director enjoyed chatting about snapping turtle facts and myths with anchor Steve Rappaport. Tune in every Thursday around 4:45PM and hear what's new at RWS. 📺

We said what we said! 🤭 Wildlife myths hurt animals and the humans trying to care for them.

Where did May go?! Oh, right, we were kind of busy. 😅 We admitted nearly 200 patients in May and have 𝟭𝟵𝟭 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝘀 currently in rehabilitative care at RWS. 😮‍💨 That’s 191 animals receiving daily husbandry and treatment, some with 6+ bottle feedings per day! 🍼⁣

Mark your calendars! 🗓️ We are so excited to announce our Sanctuary Soirée at Pollak Vineyards on 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟰𝘁𝗵, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱. 🥳⁣ ⁣ 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻! If you are an artist or business-owner interested in donating an art piece or experience, please get in touch! ❤️

Look at this patient’s lovely pink tail! 😍 Opossums sometimes get a bad rap for their “rat tails,” but that tail represents an important feat of evolution. Also, we love native rats. 🐀 ⁣ Opossums have prehensile tails, meaning their tails can grasp. It acts like a fifth hand as a result. ✋

Please enjoy these four Carolina Chickadee patients being adorable. You’re welcome. 💖

This former patient and her lovely moss hat would like to wish you a very happy #WorldTurtleDay! 🐢 She has since been released back to the wild, where we hope she's currently thriving.

It’s a feet up, belly out kind of day. Do ya agree? 💤⁣ These two hoglets were initially both admitted to RWS as lone orphans! 😮 They have now become fast friends in rehabilitative care, as you can tell. 🥹 ⁣ #WildlifeRehab

Need a Friday pick-me-up? Look no further than these two adorable fox kits! 🦊💖 Learn all about their story in our new Patient of the Month blog post. ⬇️ 🔗 rockfishwildlifesanctuary.org/2025/05/16/r...

Now THOSE are some perfect ears for eavesdropping. 👂👂 What kind of gossip do you think this cutie is picking up? 🤫⁣ ⁣ #WildlifeRehab #Opossums #BigEars

Our executive director, Sarah Cooperman, had the pleasure to chat with 29News WVIR's Erin Brown last night about RWS's busy baby season and upcoming projects. 🎥 Check out our Community Conversations segment at the link below! ⬇️ www.29news.com/video/2025/0...

Baby birds are here! 🐣 We’ve been so busy feeding them every 30 minutes that we haven’t posted about them. 🤣 Currently we are caring for: ♥️ 5 Eastern Bluebirds ♥️ 3 Carolina Wrens ♥️ 1 White-breasted Nuthatch ♥️ 2 Eastern Phoebes ♥️ 2 American Crows ♥️ 1 adorable teeny House Finch ⬇️ #BirdNerds

Raise your hand if you wish you woke up in the triple decker opossum pouch this morning. 🙋😭⁣

Today's the day! 🥳 Swing by our baby shower at Selvedge Brewing this evening from 4PM-7PM this evening. Bring a baby season wish list item and get a drink ticket from Selvedge! 🍺

Come on out to Selvedge Brewing's #Charlottesville taproom tomorrow and support our wildlife baby shower! 🍼🐾 Bring an item from our baby season wish list and get a free drink ticket as a thank you from our friends at Selvedge. 🍻 Check out our wish list in the replies. See you there!

Are you left or right hog today? 👀⁣😊😠 ⁣ Our baby groundhog patients are growing fast! They’re enjoying their dirt bowls, as you can tell from these two messy hoglets. Dirt bowls are important enrichment items for young burrowing species as it gives them the opportunity to practice digging. 🪏⁣

MANDATORY VIEWING‼️

Please tell Gumbo you love her even though she’s so small she needs to be fed in a separate bowl-sized Tupperware so we can confirm exactly how much she eats. 🥹⁣

Earth Day presents an opportunity for all of us to pause and reconnect with the world around us! This Earth Day, consider pledging to: ⁣ 🐱 Keep domestic cats indoors. ⁣ 🌿 Plant majority native plants at your home. 🐭 Stop using rodenticides and glue traps—for good. ⁣

If you have a yard, you probably have an Eastern Cottontail or two! 👯‍♂️ Save this post so you have a quick reference guide for when you encounter a bun that looks fresh outta the oven. 🐇⁣

Meet our very first orphaned raccoon kit of 2025! 🎉 The second photo shows just how teeny this patient is compared to our seasonal rehab staff member, Caitlynn. 😲🥺⁣ ⁣ Learn about this little raccoon kit’s story in our new blog post. ⬇️ 🦝 rockfishwildlifesanctuary.org/2025/04/16/f...

Opossum baby season is here! 🎉 Share these tips with folks in your life so we can all lend a helping hand to our favorite native pouched mammals. ⁣💪 Have you ever rescued a baby opossum before and brought it to RWS or another licensed rehabber? Reply with your rescue story! 👀

Any guesses about who’s been chewing on this patient’s house? 🤔 This squirrel couldn’t 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 be the culprit. Someone better own up to it or ELSE. 😡⁣

We're slapping our tails to tell you it’s #InternationalBeaverDay! 🦫⁣ What's your favorite thing about beavers?

Happy #WorldRatDay! 🐀 Please admire RWS patient 25-016, an absolutely adorable Allegheny Woodrat. 😍⁣

After carefully considering how we could best improve skunk patient wellbeing, we have decided to implement a revolutionary new program at the Sanctuary: every orphaned skunk patient coming into care will be fitted with eyeglasses! 🦨🤓⁣

Share this important PSA with a bird lover in your life! 🐤

Hummingbird migration is coming! 🌹🌸We chatted with 29News WVIR about how folks can attract these charming flying jewels to their yards in the next few weeks. www.29news.com/2025/03/28/h...

No thoughts — just 👁️👄👁️⁣

Leonard the opossum made his debut on @cbs19news.bsky.social last night. 🎥 He nailed all of his cues! 😆 Learn some opossum mating season tips and see Leonard enjoy his moment in the spotlight. ⬇️ www.cbs19news.com/news/wildlif...

This is why we really mean it when we say don’t try this at home, folks! 🚨 (Pssssst…it’s also illegal.) ⁣ Please take a moment and share this so more folks can learn that licensed rehabbers like us are here to help wild animals and humans alike. ♥️⁣ #WildlifeRehab #BabySeason #TheMoreYouKnow

Happy St. Paddy’s Day from our o’possum patients to you! 🍀 Share this for a little dose of luck today. ✨ ⁣ And yes, we mean *O*possums. Possums live in Australia and are a different group of marsupials. Remember to include that o when writing about your favorite North American marsupial! 💕⁣

They’re heeeeeeeere! 👽🛸⁣ ⁣ Okay, no aliens (yet). But, we have welcomed the first baby squirrel patients this season at RWS! This trio came in on the same day as two other groups of baby squirrels, kicking off our baby season with a bang.💥

Happy National Wildlife Rehabilitators Appreciation Day! 🥳 We are so thankful to have such intelligent, passionate, and often quite hilarious rehabilitators on our team at RWS. 🐾 Between our staff and our dozens of dedicated volunteers, we are powered by licensed rehabbers who truly care. 💪💕⁣ ⁣

Baby squirrels: masters of cuddling. 🥹 These two were orphaned patients last year and have since been released back to the wild. 🎉 That said…do y’all think we have babies yet? Are we keeping squirrelly secrets from you?! 😉👀 #WildlifeRehab

This World Wildlife Day, we want you to know that your hope, fight, and care still matter to 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 of species around the world. 🌎🐾🌳 Let these released patients be the proof you need to keep going. 💪⁣ #WorldWildlifeDay #WildlifeRehab #Conservation #Wildlife #AnimalLovers

Hey Charlottesvillians! Join us on March 15th at Wild Birds Unlimited. 📢🐦 #Charlottesville #Cville #BirdLovers #Birdwatching

Attention Charlottesville-area folks! Please share and help us house our fabulous summer student interns this season. 💕🐾 #Cville #Charlottesville #NelsonCounty #Scottsville

Wildlife baby season is almost here! 🍼 What species are you most looking forward to seeing this spring and summer? 👀